Sting’s favourite reggae songs of all time
For a moment in the early 1980s, The Police were the biggest band in the world. Leading the fore in the ‘Second British Invasion’ that dominated the States pop charts and singer Sting‘s mug all over MTV, the trio’s accessible blend of reggae and jazzy flourish following new wave’s aftermath won an army of fans who otherwise found punk a little too spicy, conquering America with monster albums Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine.
Disbanding after the massive success of their number one album Synchronicity—propelled by the timeless hit ‘Every Breath You Take’—Sting embarked on a celebrated solo career. He shifted toward a sleeker, ‘sophistipop’ sound, beginning with 1985’s The Dream of the Blue Turtles. While adored by many for his artistry and innovation, Sting has also managed to attract a loyal following of detractors along the way.
The Police imploded after he and members Stuart Copeland and Andy Summers could barely play in a room together. Public Image Ltd’s John Lydon referred to The Police’s 2007 reunion tour as “soggy old dead carcasses”, and DC punk legend turned public speaker Henry Rollins pulled no punches, stating, “When someone hands you The Best of Sting, you realize that you are dead”.
Choosing his ten favourite tracks of all time on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks Of My Years in 2021, Sting presented a fairly eclectic albeit no-frills selection of songs. Otis Redding, Procul Harum, and Gerry Rafferty got a mention, and a penchant for British synthpop is revealed with Pet Shop Boys’ ‘West End Girls’, but with The Police’s hijacking of dub bass fed through a white man’s pop filter, Sting selects two reggae cuts in his collection, one a standard of the genre and the other charitable with the genre’s definition.
Selecting the famous live version of ‘No Woman, No Cry’ is hard to argue with. Originally appearing on the Natty Dread LP and produced with a greater sonic emphasis on keyboards and drum machines, Bob Marley‘s eternal anthem was credited to Vincent Ford, a manager of a soup kitchen in Kingston’s Trenchtown public housing project, awarding him all royalties which funded his community efforts.
It’s the version recorded in 1975 at London’s Lyceum Theatre, popularised with its addition to the 18x Platinum seller Legend, that’s become the definitive version.
For his second ‘reggae’ selection, Sting shamelessly opts for Shaggy and RikRok’s ‘It Wasn’t Me’, the lead single from 2000’s Hot Shot. Having become pals and collaborators in their joint 44/876 LP, Sting had kind words to say about the Jamaican-American Gulf War veteran: “Sometimes you meet somebody, and they might be very different from you, very different backgrounds, but you recognise a kindred spirit. Shaggy and I, we genuinely love each other. We laugh at the same jokes, I find him an intensively interesting artist.”
Sting’s unabashed fancy for reggae at its most diluted reflects his tepid wallow in insipid ‘worldbeat’ snores and new-agey faux-spirituality. While The Police have some undeniable bangers, (and drummer Copeland is just one of music’s cool guys), Sting’s maudling reggae picks reflect his uninspired musical nose, begging for just a little bit of edge.
