Customer Reviews

Broken Music: A Memoir

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When Sting announced that he was writing a memoir, like most people we thought that the book would focus on the life of Sting the rock star and of Sting the celebrity. After all, he has sold close to 100 million albums around the world, fronted the most successful band of the early '80s, subsequently pursued a solo career that has outstripped the success of his Police days in album sales, has been a long-time supporter of good causes raising some $18 million for the Rainforest Foundation, and is generally recognised as one of the most famous people on the planet. It was a no-brainer.

Except that Sting is a self confessed risk taker.

So perhaps we should not be too surprised that his memoir, 'Broken Music', is a product of that risk taking. Instead of opting for the easy route and focusing on the years of fame and success that would have guaranteed wide publicity and huge sales, Sting decided to tell us a much more interesting story. 'Broken Music' is the story of a boy growing to adulthood in an industrial city in northern England; of his relationship with his parents; of first love, lost love, his love of music and where these experiences eventually took him.

As with most individuals, certain events from his childhood are not happy memories for Sting. The separation from his friends as a result of passing the "11-plus" exam that sent him to grammar school and the regular canings at school for trivial offences for example are still resented to this day. Like many families at that time, open displays of affection were uncommon in the Sumner household, and Sting is very open and honest in describing both the relationship between his parents and his relationships with each of them.

Sting had discovered music at an early age through the family's piano and his parent's record collection and later with a battered old guitar donated by an emigrating uncle. His mid-teens saw him learning guitar licks from records, playing music with his friends at the local YMCA and attending Newcastle's Club a Go-Go, where he witnessed influential appearances by the likes of the Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Jimi Hendrix.

'Broken Music' tells a fascinating tale about Sting's involvement with his early bands, Earthrise, The Phoenix Jazzmen, The Newcastle Big Band and Last Exit and of his time on a cruise ship with the Ronnie Pearson Trio. Relatively little has been known about this period, and to read it in Sting's own words is a real pleasure. The trials and tribulations of Last Exit - including their Spinal Tap propensity for losing guitar players in bizarre circumstances (to local pantomimes) - make fascinating reading, and fans of The Police will love the unique insight into the chance meetings that led to the formation of the band, and of the pivotal moments in the band's early days.

'Broken Music' (the title actually comes from a phrase his grandmother used to describe his early attempts at playing the piano) is a wonderful written memoir. In turns it is sad, wry, often very funny and always interesting. In retrospect it is no great surprise to find that someone with the ability to write lyrics as beautifully as Sting should be able to write so eloquently and descriptively in a longer form such as this. We found our attention gripped throughout its 300 plus pages and are firmly of the view that the risk of telling the story of Sting 'the man' rather than Sting 'the celebrity' was certainly one that paid off. It is a book that provides a genuinely insightful look at the events that shaped the person we hear on the radio and see performing for us on stage. If this is what Sting intended then 'Broken Music' is a complete success.

Having never been much of a fan of Sting's various bands(except for a few tunes from "Police"), I wasn't quite sure why I picked up this book to read, except that I had read a few reviews which made it clear it was NOT about his superstar exploits, which hold no interest for me. But if you want to learn about Sting, the boy, the man, the singer, AND the writer...it is an absolutely incredible piece of work. He takes you so intimately into his life growing up in a small town in Northern England and gives you an incredible portrait of someone who clearly remembers where he came from, and how that affected who he became...AWESOME reading! I'm going out today to buy one of his CD's too!

It seems to be human nature to bring down those we perceive as successful people. In Australia we have a term for this habit - The Tall Poppy Syndrome. If the plant is seen to be towering over the rest of the crop, our first inclination is to cut its head off, bringing it down to an acceptable level along with the rest of us. The subject and author of this excellent biography is one of the most successful artists in the last twenty years. And its no surprise that the man has experienced some heavy criticism over this time, and the fiercest attempted decapitations have come from Sting's home ground, the British tabloids. Sting is an accomplished and award winning musician, lyricist, songwriter, poet, actor and a sincere environmental activist. He has more money than he knows what to do with, (somewhere in the vicinity of $ 200 million) and now at the crest of a new album, (Sacred Love) he publishes an autobiography, a memoir, about his childhood and musical journey to international stardom. Considering this man's incredible success, I went into the reading with a hint of trepidation, my tall poppy scythe firm in hand - would this memoir be a gloating exercise, another `success story' with the usual tired anecdotes and prosaic self-deprecating questions - "Why me? I'm just a regular guy like the rest of you." Let me just say that this biography was an enormous surprise and one exceptional read.

The narrative begins with Sting's controversial experience in South America, where he ingested an ancient medicine, used predominately by a Christian syncretic group, known as Ayahuasca. He describes this experience in atmospheric detail and the various visions he witnessed during the religious ceremony. Sting's prose is quite accomplished throughout the book. For example, the actual scene from his religious experience:

"The entire room seems to be gripped in this visceral struggle. Some writhe in their seats, others have clearly capitulated, open-mouthed and corpselike, while others seem calm and transfixed as if by beatific visions. Then, as a bizarre counterpoint to the call of the thunder, the retching begins." (P.9)

This incredible experience irrevocably changed the man, and by his own account, he really hasn't viewed the world in the same way since. From this religious experience in the jungles of Brazil, he invites us to take part in a reflective journey about his childhood and his discovery of music. There is an irrefutable honesty in this book. His feelings about his friends, colleagues, lovers, parents and his response to the various deaths of loved ones, was at once moving and acutely sensitive without a hint of sentimentality.

This is a book that all Sting and Police fans should read, as it reveals insights into the man and the artist in an honest, elegant and entertaining manner. A first-rate memoir.

Incredible as it seems, maybe this could be a first in rock: A memoir that is closer to Paul Auster or Roddy Doyle than to a book about a celebrity.
The prose is exquisite (some may say that too high brow), like the lirics of his songs; the emotion genuine and touching; the cadence, well, it reads like a family saga; respectful to all the persons involved, seldom seen in the pop world, showing integrity above all, not cheap gossip or yellow pages here.

Fascinating.

FELICIDADES STING, TUS PRIMERAS ACTUACIONES FUERON EN ESPAÑA! UN HONOR.

I hold Sting in the highest regard, having owned every Police album, every Sting solo effort (minus the most recent and most bland one). Therefore, it was with great anticipation that I dove into his memoirs, hoping to learn more about what makes him tick and where he draws inspiration from. All I learned was that he overcame both his difficult childhood, and apparently his editor.

"Broken Music" focuses largely on Sting's relationship with his parents and first wife, and how they were shaped and overshadowed by his ambition and ego. Unfortunately, the entire style of the book is overshadowed by his ambition and ego as well. The grand poetic metaphors, literary namedropping, and oddball adjectives (who uses the word 'obsidian'?) that make Sting's songs so unique are, frankly, out of place in a heartfelt autobiography. They lend an amatuerish tinge to the book - a feeling that the author has something to prove about his knowledge of history, English, and the world in general. His continual repetition of his favorite words, and his seasick-like wobbling from past to present tense, gets in the way of what might have otherwise been a decent story. Furthermore, the level of astonishing detail he provides about events that happened to him several decades ago leads the reader to wonder how much has been embellished beyond reality.

The story itself, when you can dig it out from under the overbearing wordiness of the author, has as many merits as it has gaping holes. Sting seems to be a fan of foreshadowing, telling us that Stewart Copeland is going to be a major force in his life, or that his marriage with Frances is doomed, or that his highschool sweetheart Deborah is going to die. But then he never connects with the punch. Stewart is introduced as a side character in the last few chapters (Andy Summers is practically a non-entity), the marriage to Frances is just fine at the end of one chapter and then it has magically dissolved and he's suddenly married to Trudie at the start of the next chapter, and Deborah's death is neither explained nor expounded on for any importance.

Overall, I'd have to say that, while not so bad that I couldn't finish it, this book is not likely to be of interest to anyone but Sting's fans. It simply doesn't stand on its own as a work of literature or a good piece of storytelling, and leaves the reader alternately wanting more, or totally confused. Sting, you're a philanthropist, an actor, a songwriter, a musician, a cultural icon... but you are no writer.

I am a Sting fan, so I take no delight in saying, "Ohmigosh. What a lousy book this is." The way it flows (or doesn't), the point of view (super megalomaniacal), and the very language it uses, just put me off. The writing is pretentious. The stories don't come together as a book. And I found his point of view, three pages describing a gig 30 years ago, two sentences about the birth of his first child, kind of shocking. It would have been more apt if he called this a book about his journey in being a musician, not a memoir. Because unless you're completely OBSESSED with music, as he is, you feel that the "life" part of this autobiography is eerily missing. I take no joy in writing a negative review, but I admire him less after reading this. Borrow it from the library if you must read it, but don't waste your money.

This book is a must have for any Sting fan! He writes of his early years with such colorful detail that you feel as if you are there when he was growing up along the shipyards, delivering milk in the early mornings with his father and later onto his way to fame. Sting never ceases to amaze me with his intelligence and wit.Truly a giftedman.

I love the music of Sting and was looking forward to hearing about the man who created it and how the music was created. Unfortunately, the readers get some interesting information, but they do not get the whole story.

The book begins with Sting and his wife, Trudie, in Brazil taking part of a religious ceremony where some kind of psychedelic plant has been taken. In taking this plant, Sting is taking back into his memories, which leads the reader into Sting's past. As a literary tool, this is interesting.

We learn about Sting's troubled childhood as well as his journeyman years as a musician. This was very enlightening and really gave me an idea of who the musician is. However, as a fan since the 80s, I would like to have read more about his time with The Police. This part doesn't come until the last pages of the book and is not particularly enlightening. This part reads as the climax of his career, although I know his career doesn't end there.

Although the book talks of Sting's first marriage and the first meeting with Trudie, the book does not go into the end of the first or the beginning of the second. As this fits with the time of The Police, maybe we will get this in another book down the line.

Still, I would recommend this book for people who want to understand the man behind the musician and the musician behind the man.

I was a rabid Police fan starting back in 1980 and have admired Sting ever since. I knew when I bought this book that it would discuss his life before the Police, and that was fine. I was interested to learn more about Last Exit and Frances and his childhood, so I have no complaints with the content.

But his writing style stands in the way of the story. It is pompous and egotistical with pretentious metaphors and a really annoying habit of switching between past and present tense. I could just picture him sitting there with a thesaurus trying to find the most intellectual-sounding way to say each thing he wanted to say.

The foreshadowing "teasers" started getting to me, too: "Little did I know then that this person [or moment or event] would change my life forever." Over and over and over. Ugh.

He really needed somebody to reign him in on this one.

If you are a Sting and/or Police fan, then I'm sure you've already read this book. If not, this is a rare glimpse into some of the underpinnings that make up Sting. From a man who is accused of being a bit ego-centric (perhaps rightly so sometimes), Sting gives a surprisingly humble and honest account of a few areas of his life that have plagued, or continue to plague the aging (but still potent) rock star.

I've read another Sting biography before this (by Christopher Sandford) which was good, but full of the usual tidbits about squabbles in the Police followed by Stings struggles and success as a solo artist. Broken Music, however, breaks the usual bio/autobio mold. He dwells mostly on a select few moments in his life that had the most impact on him personally (as opposed to musically). He spends a lot of time on his childhood up through the initial formation of the Police, and then only gives the success of that band a few pages. Don't let this disappoint you if you were looking for the inside scoop to his fame and fortune. Instead, what Sting bravely does is address a few of his fears and failures that have taken their toll in various ways on his life. He talks about his estranged relationship with his father that was only partially resolved on his deathbed, along with his admiration and momentary shame he felt towards his mother. Sting also covers the beauty and later conflict of his first marriage and the birth of his first son.

The only downfall of this book, is that when things are just getting "juicy" Sting cuts things short in true "Sting the Englishman who never shows his deepest feelings" fashion. He tends to gloss over the deeper emotions he may or may not feel towards some of his loved ones in efforts to reveal just enough.........but not too much. But I forgive this sometimes lack of emotional diving in light of Sting's admitted struggle to show the deepest depths of his soul. He really makes an effort, and the reader gets the sense that none of this is for show, and that this is an honest attempt to come to terms with some of his lifelong hauntings. There's also a strange twist at the end that makes for an interesting semi-pseudo wrap-up to the book that leaves the reader wanting much more. It seems as though he didn't feel a long journey ahead of him.