Stewart, Sting, Andy and Henry: The Police Autobiographies

Sting was the first member of The Police to release an autobiography in 2003 - the year in fact that The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, played a short set at the ceremony, and rumors swirled that the band might reunite.

Those rumors would not lead to anything serious for several more years. When I first read Broken Music upon its release, the book revealed a great deal to me why Sting and The Police were such an "odd fit" from the start and how it was only natural that eventually he would want to strike back out on his own path, pursuing other kinds of music which clearly were more dear to his heart.

Broken Music does not devote a great deal of time to Sting's years with The Police. The book actually ends just as the band has flown to New York City for their very first gig in America at the legendary CBGB's. Instead, the focus of Broken Music is on Sting's early years: his sometimes tumultuous childhood, discovering music and struggling to juggle daytime jobs to pay the bills while playing with various jazz/fusion bands like The Phoenix Jazzmen and The Newcastle Big Band, and finally taking the chance to move to London with his then-wife Frances Tomelty to seek success.

For those Police fans looking for the most detailed and personal take on the actual years of The Police's super-stardom, Andy Summers' One Train Later is the book you definitely don't want to miss. Andy frames his memoirs by setting the scene as the band gets ready to perform at Shea Stadium on August 18, 1983 - their biggest concert to date and yet also the moment when, at least to Andy, it seemed there was nowhere left for the band to go.

From that starting point, Andy takes us back in time to his childhood, his early years playing with such artists as Zoot Money, Eric Burdon, Kevin Ayers and others before ending up in The Police as an already well-established session guitarist - and nearly a decade older than his bandmates to boot.

Casual fans of The Police may not be well-versed in the full history and early days of the band, when it started as a somewhat different trio: Sting, Stewart and Corsican guitarist Henry Padovani. As detailed in both Sting and Andy's memoirs, Henry was perhaps the most "punk" of all members of the band, but Andy was the much more polished and practiced guitarist at the time he first crossed paths with The Police. Sting felt he could start writing more complex songs with Andy involved and for a very brief time they functioned as a four-piece band, but soon enough Henry was asked to leave and The Police became the world-famous trio we know today.

But what happened to Henry after that? He actually went on to have a successful career in the music industry himself, performing with other punk/new wave artists such as Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, forming his own band The Flying Padovanis, and then working for IRS Records International Division in the 1980s. Henry tells his story - from his early childhood days on through working with numerous international stars - in this autobiography, first published in French in 2006 and then in English in 2009.The English edition includes a new final section on reuniting with his former bandmates in The Police for an appearance during their 2007-2008 reunion tour.

Stewart Copeland had, for many years, delighted his fans by sharing numerous "Dinner Tales" on his website. From composing for Angelica Houston to being a judge for a BBC "reality show" competition, these stories gave fans insight into Stewart's post-Police life and adventures. They would also become some of the building blocks of his 2009 memoir Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies.

Strange Things Happen... skips almost entirely over The Police years of 1977 - 1983, which Stewart covered (to his own satisfaction, at least) in his film documentary Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out. This book instead focuses first briefly on his pre-Police years but much more on his many experiences after that such as filming The Rhythmatist in the Congo, composing his first opera, playing polo against Prince Charles and rocking out with the Foo Fighters.

I actually recommend the audiobook version of Strange Things Happen even moreso than the print version. Narrated by Stewart himself, he really brings these stories and humorous adventures to life. Stewart's own music adds atmosphere and background to many of the stories, making it a wonderful experience for the fan to enjoy.