Legendary rock group The Police were one of the biggest groups on the planet in the early 1980s with now classic songs such as Message in a Bottle and Every Breath You Take, and the group’s influential and innovative guitarist Andy Summers is ranked as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Since the group’s demise, Summers has carved out a prolific solo career, alongside collaborations and film soundtrack work, as well as a celebrated photographic career.
This month Summers embarks on his ‘An Evening With Andy Summers’ tour of Australia, which sees the guitarist performing a unique multimedia show.
“It’s got a lot of visuals and different styles and is all completely improvised,” Summers told me.
“I talk quite a lot, too, so the show’s up to two hours long now!
“The guy that works with me at the side of the stage has got three laptops and takes care of the film passages, single-shot photographs and all sorts of stuff.
“We’ve kind of choreographed it, and it goes down an absolute storm.”
Summers is looking forward to returning to Melbourne, as it holds special significance for the guitarist. It was in Melbourne where The Police performed their last show in 1984 before splitting, before reuniting briefly for The Police Reunion tour in 2007-08.
“I remember it with great sadness, actually,” he says.
“I found it to be incredibly depressing.
“It’s a long time ago now, but when we did that, we knew that was the last show.
“And when I got up the next morning, I was not in the band anymore.
“I’ve got to tell you, that was a stark moment.”
While some musicians of his age may have retired, Summers’ love for the guitar and music is as strong as ever.
“I just enjoy doing it, and I try to do it better all the time,” he says.
“I don’t go, ‘Oh, well, I’ve kind of done it, so I’m finished’.
“I don’t feel like particularly slowing down.
“I’ve already done a lot this year, and I really want to go back in the studio and make some new records.”
With such a lengthy career, dating back to the 1960s, Summers is grateful to have lived a life in music, which has brought him much reward.
“I was very lucky, as I was always in bands,” he says.
“I was always playing and completely involved in music.
“That’s the life I lived, and I had a great time with it.
“And I’m still doing.”
And does Summers stay in touch with his ex-Police band members?
“Well, we’re all involved, though not on a day-to-day basis,” he says.
“The Police are now what they call a brand.
“We’ve just had a new reissue of [1984 album] Synchronicity come out recently, which is amazing.
“And Every Breath You Take has clocked up more than two and a half billion streams on Spotify, so I’m not complaining.”
Andy Summers performs at Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday, September 24.
For more on Andy, go to: https://andysummers.com/
Music news
November 15 sees the release of a brand-new album, From Zero, from nu-metal group Linkin Park. The group recently brought a new singer, Emily Armstrong, into their ranks. She replaces the group’s former lead singer, Chester Bennington, who sadly passed away in 2017.
Australian rockers Jet are making a comeback with the release of a brand new single, Hurry Hurry, their new first single in 15 years. The song is just a taster of what is to come from the group, who are currently working on a new album to be released in 2025.
American pop star and actor Selena Gomez recently reached billionaire status at the young age of 32, and it’s not from her music, but rather from the earnings from her line of make-up called Rare Beauty.
American rock group The Killers head down under for shows in November and December to celebrate 20 years since their debut album, Hot Fuss, was released. The group were last here in 2022.
News of the Oasis reunion has seen a 408 per cent increase in streams and sales of their music, particularly the band’s debut album, Definitely Maybe, which was originally released in 1994 but has returned to top the UK albums chart this week. And while on the subject of Oasis, in a social media post, Liam Gallagher alluded to the group also having a new studio album “already finished”.
The view from here
So, the biggest news of recent weeks is the reunion of 1990s Brit-pop legends Oasis. After having been estranged from each other for 15 years, the Gallagher brothers have now kissed and made up, though the reportedly $A100 million the band are expected to pocket for the reunion was a nice incentive to get back. And Noel Gallagher’s recent costly divorce would have been another incentive to top up the coffers.
There are already plans in the works that the reunion tour, which currently is only for the UK and Ireland, will expand into other parts of the world, with Australia part of the itinerary. Whatever, one thing can be assured: the tour will be an event like no other. And while Taylor Swift has dominated the media for the past year, expect Oasis to be the main talking point for the next 12 months.
With the shows not happening until next year, and with the history of the volatile behaviour of the brothers, critics of the group are wondering whether, by the time of the tour’s commencement, the brothers will still be on speaking terms. And if the 2009 incident occurs again — where the brothers got into an argument backstage at a festival near Paris, leading to Noel quitting the band there and then and the group imploding — what will become of the tour? It’s anybody’s guess.
This week’s global music singles charts
Australia: ARIA Top 50 Singles: Taste — Sabrina Carpenter
US: Billboard Hot 100: A Bar Song (Tipsy) – Shaboozey
UK: Official Top 50 Chart: Taste — Sabrina Carpenter
Fun fact
Actor Christopher Lee, famed for his film role as Count Dracula in numerous Dracula-themed movies from the 1960s and 1970s, was the oldest musician at 91 in 2013 to score a Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with the Christmas song Jingle Hell, a heavy metal take on Jingle Bells.