Autobiographies bridge the gap between their well-known writers and mere mortals such as us. So, when a well-known singer/song writer decided to share his memoirs with the world, it became reason enough for me to go hunt for it.
Broken Music is Sting’s autobiography, that spans the singer/songwriter’s gradual transition from obscurity to unbelievable popularity. If you’ve been curious about his influences as a child, and his first songs, this is just the book for you.
I first heard excerpts from the book, at an interview. Sting AKA Gordon Sumner while explaining the influence of his mother in his life wrote:
As a child I could spend all day gazing at the fire. I still can, lost in visions of crumbling towers, ancient glowing kingdoms, and cavernous cathedrals, indeed whole continents of imagining in its embers. My mother taught me this magic and it is still with me. She also taught me how to iron a shirt, fry an egg, vacuum the floor, and all in the spirit of ritual and good order, but it was music and fires that retained an air of secret and arcane knowledge, which bound me to her like a sorcerer’s apprentice. My mother was the first mistress of my imagination.
Sting’s early influences in music came from his grandmother (she labeled his initial attempts at the piano as ’’Broken Music’’) and mother. Born in the industrial part of England, Sting’s life was mundane yet comfortable, and surrounded by music. His mother was a dreamer, with a penchant for romance and music. Unfortunately, she wasn’t understood, and her needs were seldom met by her more practical husband.
Sting’s father was a realist, who worked towards keeping his growing family safe and comfortable. The family had their own milk business, with which Sting helped as a young boy. His childhood would have been pretty much secure, if not for a growing divide between his parents.
In his book, Sting mentions walking in on his mother and her lover. His sensitive description is followed by: I have seen nothing, but I run, and behind me I hear the front door slam. My mother doesn’t find me when she comes up to my room. I am hidden, deep in my cave under the stairs, entrusted with a secret I don’t understand.
Though angry and disillusioned about his mother’s betrayal as a child, he is more objective in his judgement as an adult writer. As a 50-year-old, he perhaps understands his twenty-something-year-old mother better. In the book, Sting is surprisingly honest. We get a peek at his sexual secrets, his relationships, his first marriage to actor Frances, and his extra marital affair for future second wife, Trudie. Determined to carve a better life for himself, the young Sting went on to study at Grammar school. Then, he visited Newcastle’s Club a Go-Go to watch performances by his own influences such as John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Jimi Hendrix.
After his education, he began working as a teacher. But not forgetting his passion, he joined the Phoenix Jazzmen as a jazz player. He earned his nickname, when he was part of the Phoenix Jazzmen, as his outfit resembled that of a wasp. He then moved to a band called Last Exit, that played in colleges and pubs. Eventually, we also see the birth of Police (a name that Sting wasn’t very keen on). But then it gets better. We also see the birth of certain Police hits. Would you like to know the true story behind Roxanne? Despite everything the book promised, I was hugely disappointed. The language that Sting has used in his book is rather archaic, though beautiful.
Much of it reads like a poem. But as a reader, a lot of the similies and metaphors feel forced. The writing isn’t free-flowing, and easy on the reader. Sting also goes back and forth repeatedly. It begins in the present, with Sting and Trudie trying out a drug in Brazil for healing. Then he drags you to the past. This happens repeatedly, and it is unsettling for the reader. Sting also focuses much time on certain segments of his life, and then rushes through other areas. So towards the end, you feel a little disatisfied.
However, I’d still recommend it anyway. As Sting fans, the book is a definite ’’must-have’’! The books humanizes Sting, who has over the years, attained the status of demi-Gods. You also understand the man behind the songs, and his inspiration. So get your copy immediately.