Nov 15, 2011
As he tours to commemorate the 25 years (actually 26) of his post-Police solo career, Sting is also looking to his next phase, which includes a theater piece as well as a just-launched app geared towards the anniversary. Sting calls the forthcoming "The Last Ship" "a play with songs. I'm loathe to call it a musical because I don't like that term." He has 25 songs written so far for the project, which he describes as "a play set in my home town, in Newcastle (England). I was born in the shadow of a shipyard. I often wondered why I was exposed to this rather surreal environment when I was growing up, and I realize now it has a massive psychological and symbolic importance to me. That's the landscape of my dreams, my little home town and the house I was brought up in and the ghosts that were there." The plot meanwhile, is "a story of redemption and occupying a shipyard against the wishes of the owners - which is kind of topical at the moment, occupying things."
Nov 14, 2011
Sting, in partnership with global transmedia company @radical.media, has launched STING 25. The expansive, dynamic app for iPad explores the life, music and activism of one of the world's most influential musicians. With unparalleled access to seminal performances, rare photos and personal stories, the comprehensive app depicts the past 25 years of Sting's career as a renowned musician and humanitarian. "This 'appumentary' harnesses the display and Multi-Touch capabilities of iPad to tell a much richer story than you could using a single medium," said Justin Wilkes, the app's Executive Producer. "The narrative behind Sting's journey as a songwriter and a solo artist is as layered as this app, which is why he was the perfect subject to collaborate with for this new approach to storytelling."
Nov 11, 2011
On Monday, rocker Sting and the New York-based production company @radical.media will release a free app combining music, concert footage, photographs and videos. The central feature: footage from Sting's performance last month at New York's Beacon Theatre, including duets with guests like Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder. But the app, which is only available for the iPad, is also intended to serve as a retrospective of the artist's entire solo career. Users navigate through the app, "Sting 25," in multiple ways. A sliding timeline breaks out photos and video from career milestones such as Live Aid in 1985. Another navigation bar moves through about 20 "influences," from author Quentin Crisp to the Cold War; each category offers images and audio commentary from the singer. If any songs from 11 Sting solo albums reside on the user's iPad, the app automatically recognizes them; tracks that the user doesn't have can be sampled in the app and then purchased via iTunes...
Oct 27, 2011
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Sting.com 25 Days Countdown! The grand prize winner, George Rapitis, will receive a unique, one of a kind Sting Signature Series Precision Fender Bass customized with artwork inspired by the Sting: 25 Years box set, plus an autographed copy of the box set, a Sting.com fan club one-year membership and a Back to Bass tour merchandise pack. The three runners up, Jen Ashlin, Sheila Barnes and Denise Holder will each receive a signed copy of the Sting: 25 Years box set, a Sting.com fan club one-year membership and a Back to Bass tour merchandise pack. Congratulations to all of our winners and thank you again to everyone who participated in the 25 Days Countdown!
Oct 24, 2011
Representing a diverse cross-section of Sting's enduring solo career, 'Sting: The Best Of 25 Years', is released internationally today, October 24. The US version is comprised of 12 remastered songs and the International releases will be available as both a single-disc containing 13 remastered tracks and a double-disc comprised of 31 remastered songs, all featuring several remixes and newly unearthed live recordings. 'Sting: The Best Of 25 Years' was produced by Rob Mathes and Executive Produced by Sting's longtime manager, Kathryn Schenker...
Oct 21, 2011
Over the last month, through our series of webisode premieres, we've shared Sting's personal reflections on his enduring 25 year solo career. Today, AOL and Sting.com are excited to bring you previously unreleased interview footage highlighting the beginnings of Sting's musical journey, from his childhood memories of Newcastle to his first rock 'n' roll catharsis. To celebrate the release of Sting: The Best Of 25 Years, in stores watch Sting discuss his earliest inspirations...
Oct 12, 2011
"Sixty feels comfortable," Sting told the sold-out crowd at New York's Beacon Theatre on October 1st. "I've always felt sort of old." But celebrating the milestone birthday onstage, Sting was positively boyish, ecstatically jamming with a stacked all-star roster of friends and fans including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga. He has a lot to celebrate this fall: Sting just released 25 Years, a box set focusing on his quarter-century as a solo artist, and this month he kicks off the 32-date Back to Bass tour, playing in theaters with a stripped-down band. "I thought it was a good time to reflect," says Sting. "For me, getting older enriches life. You realize there are a limited number of summers left - or tours, songs, relationships - so you really have to value them..."
Oct 10, 2011
When The Police agreed to split at the end of their 1984 American tour, all three band members began to create things to fill the space the absence of an enormously successful rock band would leave in their lives. Stewart Copeland began working on a film and solo album called 'The Rhythmatist'. Andy Summers took to writing a long-since-lost screenplay. Sting, being the sort of chap Gordon Sumner was even then, assembled a whole new band made up of exemplary musicians who had played with, among a million others, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Weather Report. They decamped to Barbados and made 'Dream Of The Blue Turtles', an almost-jazz record where Sting laid out a template delineated by tasteful instrumentation, musicianly chops and lyrical smartness. This was neither rock nor pop; this music had nothing to do with Elvis, or punk or The Beatles or, indeed, The Police; its eyes were set on the far horizon of a land no one had yet visited, modern adult popular music...
Oct 10, 2011
Sometimes being the leader of the biggest band on the planet isn't enough, and the artists formerly known as Gordon Sumner has previously spoken about how he was frustrated by the musical limitations of The Police. Indeed, since embarking on a solo career a quarter of a century ago, Sting has avidly pursued a resless, occasionally schizophrenic path, as this bos set testifies. The easy shorthand suggests Sting had designs on becoming a jazz artist, and that's borne out by his earlier albums on tracks such as 'Moon Over Bourbon Street' or 'We'll Be Together' (not to mention his live re-workings of his old band's 'Bring On The Night' and 'Driven To Tears'). But listen more carefully to the elaborate musical tapestry of 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You' or 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' - probably two of the most complex songs to scale the singles chart...
Oct 08, 2011
There's a moment just a few songs into Sting's live concert video, Rough, Raw & Unreleased: Live At Irving Plaza, that recalls the effortless power and grace of The Police in their prime. The song is “Synchronicity II,” and the legendary bassist and frontman is leading his solo-career touring band through that song's tricky high/low, loud/soft textures. Sting's voice - still strong and supple - glides above the swirl of Dominic Miller and Shane Fontayne's guitars. Meanwhile, drummer Josh Freese rides the high hat diligently, replicating Stewart Copeland's impossibly tight fills on the snare. It's the concert film's musical highlight, and if it's not the real thing without the original Police men, well - it's delightfully close...
