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ERAS: STING - 5. SYNCHRONICITY SPECIAL (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 11th August 2024
In December 1982, The Police entered the studio to record their fifth album, 'Synchronicity'. Little did they know, it would be their last.
Taking its title from Carl Jung's theory of finding "meaning in coincidence", 'Synchronicity' found the band reunited after working on solo projects and acting careers. Stewart Copeland (drums), Andy Summers (guitar), and Gordon Sumner AKA Sting (bass and vocals) had only formed five short years before, and every album was bigger than the one before. The creative tensions at the core of the group - all incredible musicians with strong personalities - had often resulted in the best songs. But during 'Synchronicity', that internal conflict would all but destroy the band.
Creatively, they were at the top of their game, as Sting's compositions moved them further away from their Punk and Reggae roots, but as sessions progressed, so did the arguments. Two weeks in, an emergency meeting was called to see if the band could even carry on. They recorded their parts in separate rooms. Each designed their own section for the album cover so they didn't have to have a conversation about it.
Eventually, in June 1983, 'Synchronicity' was unleashed upon the world. It found Sting in a more introspective and sombre mood, uncertain of his place in the world. His songs of murder, paranoia, and his recent divorce occupied his headspace. The first track released was the sinister and seductive 'Every Breath You Take', which became one of the biggest songs in music history, and the most played song on the radio… ever. Typically, the band fought over its inclusion.
'Synchronicity' became The Police's biggest record, dethroning Michael Jackson's "Thriller" from the top spot in the U.S. and propelled the band to mega-stardom, now having sold 20 million copies worldwide. But just as their success had hit the summit, they found themselves with nowhere else to go, nothing left to achieve. Sting's mind was made up; the allure of a career without compromise was just too appealing. The Police were no more.
This is the story of an album made under a mountain of frustration, irritation, and compromise, an unrepeatable and remarkable feat that resulted in one of the finest albums ever produced.
A Cup and Nuzzle Production. Written and produced by Ashley Clivery.
ERAS: STING - 4. LEGACY (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 25th August 2024
When you've been in the game for as long as Sting has, it's tempting to just keep giving the people what they want. But that's just not him, is it?
In Episode Four, Vernon Kay finds Sting in a place in which inspiration is everything. Whether it's a lute album, a turn on Broadway, traditional folk or Reggae, Sting refuses to be pinned down.
That's the attitude that's won him millions of fans, the respect of his peers, and a musical legacy that only a handful of stars can match. And in his eighth decade, he's showing no signs of slowing down.
Through the BBC Archive and brand new interviews, you'll understand what makes Sting truly unique.
A Cup and Nuzzle Production. Written and produced by Joe Foley.
ERAS: STING - 3. CONSIDER ME GONE (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 25th August 2024
The Police are no more. But Sting never rests on his laurels.
In Episode Three, Vernon Kay follows the first stages in a solo career spanning four decades. Embracing his origins in Jazz, and his magpie instinct for melody, Sting joins the ranks of the great British soloists. At the same time, he'll help to forge the bond between pop music and philanthropy that still exists today.
Through the BBC archive and brand new interviews, you'll hear how Sting embraced the new, honed his craft, and fought for a better world.
A Cup and Nuzzle Production. Written and produced by Joe Foley.
ERAS: STING - 2. NEW YORK, NEWCASTLE (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 25th August 2024
When Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers formed the Police, none of them could have predicted the phenomenon that they would become.
In Episode Two, we follow the band from the start of that journey to their world-dominating peak. In 5 years, they'll go from grubby bars to the home of arena rock - Shea Stadium.
Along the way, they'll produce some of the defining hits of a generation. But as Sting asserts himself as a songwriter, tensions brew… and something has to give.
Featuring rare BBC archive, expert interviews and iconic tunes, this is your window into the blend of genius and hard work that propelled Sting and the Police to the top of the charts around the globe.
A Cup and Nuzzle Production. Written and produced by Joe Foley.
ERAS: STING - 1. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN FAMOUS (320kbs-m4a/65mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 2 broadcast: 24th August 2024
Storyteller. Activist. Superstar. This is the story of Sting.
Vernon Kay is your guide to one of British music's most individual artists.
In Episode One, you'll hear the stories, and the music, that shaped Sting's early life. From the terraces of Wallsend to Punk-era London, where a single phone call changed his destiny forever.
Told in Sting's own words through the BBC archive, and featuring brand new interviews with friends, fans and collaborators, you'll get to know the man behind the name.
A Cup and Nuzzle Production. Written and produced by Joe Foley.
THIS CULTURAL LIFE - 12. STING (320kbs-m4a/96mb/42mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 25th December 2021
As leader of rock band The Police, and as a multiple-Grammy winning solo artist, Sting has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide over his four decade career. In conversation with John Wilson, Sting explores some of the people and places that helped shape his creativity. He recalls his working class upbringing in the Tyneside shipbuilding communities, and how hearing The Beatles inspired his musical ambitions as a child. Sting explains why, at the height of their international success, he split The Police in the mid-eighties. He also reveals how Miles Davis and other jazz musicians, and classical composers including Bach and Prokofiev, inspired his new musical direction as a solo artist.
Producer: Edwina Pitman