Sting feels that grown men shouldn’t be in a band, and that it limits your musical growth.
He tells Mojo magazine, “I don’t think any grown man can be in a band actually. A band is a teenage gang. Who wants to be in a teenage gang when you’re knocking 70? It doesn’t allow you to evolve. You have to obey rules and the gestalt of the band. As much as I love The Rolling Stones and AC/DC, it’s hard to see growth in their music. For me, the band was merely a vehicle for the songs and not the other way ’round.”
Asked about launching his solo career while still in The Police, he says, “I recruited a band from the jazz world, and I was lucky it was a hit. I have no idea what would have happened if it hadn’t been a hit. Would I have gone back to the band and eaten humble pie? I hope not.”
Sting launched his solo career after The Police went on a break in 1984. They reconvened in 1986 for three charity shows and a failed attempt at a new album before breaking up and reuniting until 2007 for a tour.
REUTERS PHOTO
