The band that gave Sting “permission” to follow his dream
Nobody is born as a fully-fledged artist, and it’s impossible, even for a talent like Sting, to learn the ropes without having case studies of success to follow.
The idea that he could achieve international acclaim through his songwriting, while also becoming richer than his wildest dreams in the process, seemed beyond far-fetched. However, upon seeing The Beatles break every boundary of the industry, the belief was instilled in him that anything was possible.
Traditionally, people who grew up in Wallsend and were born in 1951, like Sting, were expected to spend their lives working in the local shipyards. It was the traditional route, which allowed people to provide for their families, and was a steady job they could begin upon leaving school until retirement. However, Sting believed that his future was in the arts, even if nobody else did.
While Liverpool and Newcastle are separated by 175 miles, Sting could relate to The Beatles on a deeper level than any artist that came before them. Someone like Elvis Presley felt like they were from a different planet, but there was a relatability to the Fab Four that lit something inside of him, putting him on the path to following in their footsteps.
As much as he loved their songs, Sting was not only inspired by the music made by The Beatles, but he also felt a strong kinship because of their similar backgrounds, which was the necessary he boost that he needed.
He explained to Rick Beato in a 2021 interview, “They were from Liverpool, I was from Newcastle; both port towns in the north of England – working class. They had the same education as me, I went to grammar school; they were scholarship boys. Smart working-class kids.”
Elaborating on his point, Sting added: “They conquered the world with their own songs, and therefore gave permission to a younger generation, a decade younger, to try the same thing [and think] ‘Oh we’ll try that, I know those four chords – I could do that, probably.’ And we all tried. We owe a lot to the Beatles, they really were an amazing influence on all of our lives.”
When The Beatles were breaking through in the 1960s, Sting was of an impressionable age and followed their every move with immense intrigue. Eventually, when the time was right, he moved to London with the rest of The Police, which allowed them to announce themselves on a national stage, and soon enough, they took over the world.
In a strange turn of events, years later, Paul McCartney confessed that if he could have written any song by another artist, it would be ‘Fields of Gold’.
In response to McCartney’s gushing remark, Sting told Music Week about the life-changing impact that the Beatles legend has had on him.
Repaying the compliment, he shared, “I can’t tell you how many songs of Paul McCartney’s I wish I’d written. So that was a lovely thing for Paul to say. But again, he’s one of those people who inspired me to become a songwriter. He’s from Liverpool, a working-class guy who conquered the world with his songs, so he gave a whole generation of people behind him the permission to attempt to do the same. And we did.”
The Beatles’ astronomical rise proved it didn’t matter whether you grew up in a mansion or a council estate; as long as the songs were strong enough, anything was possible. In a roundabout way, while McCartney can’t take the credit for writing ‘Fields of Gold’, it would never have been born into the world if it weren’t for the Fab Four permitting Sting to create it.
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