Paul Carr is Professor of Popular Music Analysis at the University of South Wales. He has worked as a professional musician with The James Taylor Quartet and former Miles Davis sideman Bob Berg.
"About as thoroughly well-researched as a book can be, tracking
Sting's journey from his mostly dreary childhood in working class
Wallsend, to the height of the punk era with the accomplished and
decidedly non-punk Police . . . to becoming the biggest band in the
world within a very short space of time. Carr, like Sting and
myself, a 'distant Geordie, ' interviewed dozens of people from
every step along the way, giving the reader a vivid portrait of
this driven and singular man who has proved to be an unstoppable
musical force for the past four decades, and illustrates with
startling clarity how his unhappy family life and his youthful
desire to escape from Newcastle shaped his music. The latter issue
is eventually resolved in his fine musical show The Last Ship,
which as well as being a tribute to the wisdom of women and the
value of work, is an affectionate homage to the working class
people of Newcastle. A thoroughly authoritative and fascinating
insight into the character of one of the great artists of our
time."--Carl Orr, composer and guitarist on "The Last Ship"
"Analyzing the career of any successful public figure requires a
multi-faceted approach to understanding their evolution. With
Sting: From Northern Skies to Fields of Gold, author Carr
highlights the influence of Sting's North England working-class
upbringing as a driving factor, from the youthful rejection of his
hometown to his subsequent acceptance of it in maturity. Indeed,
location and the influence of countries near and far serve as the
book's primary driving force. The book realizes Sting's musical and
philanthropical efforts as a result of his travels. . . .
Well-researched and comprehensive yet also accessible for the
occasional reader. Brimming with exact date citations and a wealth
of footnotes, Sting is unquestionably thorough. . . . Diehard fans
of the musician will relish accounts of early gigs and technical
details of first recordings."--Andy Jurik "PopMatters"
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