Customer Reviews

Sting: Demolition Man

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Although Sting did not co-operate or contribute to the biography Sandford's book is really very good, and the author has clearly done a great deal of research. It helps that Sandford is a good writer. The stunning analogy he draws in the first few paragraphs of the book between 60's supergroup Cream and the Police was one of the best introductions to a book we can remember. Very few people - understandably - get really close to Sting, so Sandford has sought out old friends, colleagues (and enemies) to help fill out Sting's life. Sting of course has lived the second half of his life in a media glare so bright it would have blinded and broken lesser men. Forever in the news and always available for a media friendly news-bite or always 'arms-length' interview, all of the attributable quotes in this book are recognisable to fans. It is in his examination of career-defining points, that Sandford digs up anecdotes and stories that have you glued to the page. Whether t! hese are details of Sting's legal case with Virgin which resulted in the return of ownership in his songs (and later guaranteed royalty income of millions of pounds), the decision to go solo in 1985, the visit to the Brazilian Rainforest, or his well publicised "missing millions" legal case in the mid 90's, the stories are told objectively and not in the tabloid friendly sensationalist manner of Wensley Clarkson's poor biography from 1996. There are of course errors which keen fans will see - The Police for example played no concerts in 1985, the show referred to was on the Blue Turtles tour (we were there at the Newcastle show he describes) and this story appears to be cribbed from Clarkson's book which makes the same error. There are one or two other factual errors - at one point Sting is described as past 50, when he won't hit that landmark until 2001! On the whole though, the book is well researched and it is clear that Newcastle Library has been graced by a visit or! two as the Newcastle Journal archives have been extensivel! y trawled. For example, "On the morning Gordon Sumner was born the weather broke in a shawl of rain." Sting comes out of the book with great credit, and as something of a conundrum - the shy man for example, who thinks nothing of performing in front of 200,000 people but quakes at the thought of playing to a few hundred. A perfectionist who toils late into the night mixing tracks or choregraphing shows, but who shows his accountant a picture in Country Life whilst walking on the beach and says "I want this house". Sandford also recognises that Sting, despite being is a star of huge proportions - selling out concerts from Croatia to Hong Kong - is also a journeyman, happily dueting with rapper Puff Daddy, trading licks with his peers at the Montserrat benefit, playing guitar for crooner Julio Inglesias, or donning a bootlace tie and adopting "Maverick" mode to play at the Country Music Awards. In short, the book is bang up to date, and is without questio! n, the best biography written to date on Sting.

Upon completion of this book, I put it down, and made a silent, futile wish that the time I wasted reading it might somehow be returned to me. It was informative in some respects, such as shedding a little light on Sting's background and the rise of the Police. But I found myself slogging through all too many paragraphs which were full of editorial comment about Sting's psyche. And let me say, there were more than enough of these paragraphs to skip over time and time again, until the book became an amazingly fast read. Granted, I am interested in learning more about Sting, the individual, which was why I bought the book. But I could really do without the author's consistently negative opinions of his chosen subject. This book contains 25% fact, 25% interviews from people who may or may not even know Sting, and 50% editorial comment and snidely worded jabs from the author. So even though it SAYS "Biography," it's more like 352 pages of unadulterated cr*p. I should have listened to the man himself, when he said "Go over everything in my C.V. - you'll still know nothing 'bout me." Then I wouldn't have squandered my money - and my time! - on this most unsatisfactory book.

Let me put it this way: If you thought THE SOUL CAGES was a bad album lyrically and musically, why oh why would you take the time to write a biography of the man who wrote the album? DEMOLITION MAN is useful in many respects, but the one thing I couldn't escape was that Christopher Sanford cannot praise Sting without adding in a criticism, and usually a pin-headed criticism at that. The above is a perfect example; CAGES was the most heartfelt, autobiographical album Sting has ever done, and Sandford TOTALLY slags it off. I'm sorry, but if you didn't like CAGES, you'll probably have trouble with Sting, and Sandford has a lot of trouble with Sting. He constantly criticizes him for being pretentious (musically and politically), writing bad songs and generally being a cad-- and yet, sometimes on the same page, he praises Sting unabshedly. Sometimes, when talking about politics, the praise and condemnation is on the exact same topic! I don't mean to say that only fans should write biographies; this book is good in many ways. It's a virtual how-to guide to being a wealthy pop star, and the business stories are really fascinating. The facts are also solid, and it's a good story. But you can't help noticing that Sandford really hates about half of Sting's music. It's one thing to be an independent observer, and quite another thing to take shots at someone for sport. Sting fans should buy this book, but they will be irritated by it. Oh, and also, the prose style is utterly insufferable.

After reading this book, I feel that I have gained additional insight into Sting's life and, in that respect, don't consider the effort spent with this book a waste of my time. However, I feel that any additional time invested in reading it a second time WOULD be a waste.

Mr Sandford spends too much time editorializing on his thoughts and beliefs about the man and not enough telling the story. He has his own perceptions of Sting and, instead of those perceptions merely coloring his prose, they completely overshadow the story being told.

One factual error - Mr Sandford states that Sting was the culprit behind Henri Padovani's departure from The Police once Andy Summers had been tapped for guitarist duties. Message In A Box (even Sandford states that Sting had no part of this box set release) contains an essay written by Mr. Summers himself where he specifically states that HE, Andy, was the one that laid down the ultimatum that he was the guitarist-of-record for the Police and that Henri had to go. The Police played ONE gig as a quartet and Andy told Sting and Stewart that there would not be a second with Henri. Sting and his 'overwhelming self-important ego' were NOT the reason Henri left The Police.

That error alone makes me discount many other statements made by Mr. Sandford. Demolition Man is worth one (and ONLY one) read, but remember to bring a grain of salt with you when you do because, in this case, you definitely can't believe everything you read.

The book is heavy. It's about 400 pages and tells you everything about him, you almost think you'll learn what his favorite food is. Most of the complaints about the writer are angry concerning how he puts Sting down or critiques his music. They are not about the quality of the writing. I think rather than a fan write a glory book that makes him God, this approach is better; it's neutral. When Sting has accomplished good he is praised by the author and when he's in a slump the author hits him hard as though "he could have done much better". I loved the book because it tells you how he rises from the slums to the mansions the way it happened. I wished I had a dictionary at times as the writer uses very descriptive upper English, but you realize it couldn't be done any other way since Sting is also a former English teacher and intensely literate. What I got out of it was a look at how Sting came to be what he is and how he has continued it beyond The Police.

When I first purchased this book I was really excited because Ihad never read a Sting biography before. As I ventured into the lifeof Sting through the words of Christopher Sanford, I began to wanna vomit with disappointment. For six years, I have been a devoted Sting fan and Mr. Sanford's words felt to me as if he was bashing Sting throughout the book. I do not recommend this book if you love Sting. Mr. Sanford makes Sting out to be an egomaniac catastrophe that has turned the rock and roll generation into a bottomless pit of narcissism. I was very dissspointed and could not even finish the book. I was sick to my stomach! The end.

Sting can truly be called a 20th Century Rennaisance Man which this thorough and well-researched book points out several times. Full of facts and anecdotes about a fascinating and multi-talented man. It is a book, not just about Sting, but about the music and entertainment business in the 70s, 80s and 90s. It is a book well worth returning to again and again.

I could barely finish the introduction without putting it down completely. There was no way I would read such verbose writing - the writer is in love with his own text, making the book almost unreadable. I decided to skim through the book reading a few bits here and there, but I don't think I'll get far (I just started it and felt so strongly I had to write this immediately).

I have not purchased this worthless piece of trash, but I have read it. First of all, it is unauthorized, which usually mean that certain sources will not be available to the auther, such as the person they are writing about! Secondly, the writing is dismal, and rather like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. I gave it one star because there was no lower rating.

If you are a Sting fan, or curious, I would highly recommend "Broken Music," Sting's autobiography. It is beautifully written, and painfully honest.

First, a confession--I'm a Sting fan for several years, and a die-hard one at that. As much as I love his work with the Police and his solo material, I also know he isn't infallable--there are several instances where a different path might have reaped larger artistic dividends.

Still, this is a hard read. It's interesting from a factual standpoint, as I learned a number of things about Sting that twenty years of fandom had failed to impress upon me. But the way Sanford writes is just so darn annoying that it approaches worthlessness at times. At times he's insightful, and you're pleased at how much sense his views make. Other times, you're amazed at just how hard he's trying to be hip, to be cool and dispassionate. At best it's annoying, at worst grating.

You'll not find a better book on Sting on the market today...and that's the problem.