Sting’s new album is inspired by David Bowie.
The 64-year-old musician says the "immortal" ‘Space Oddity’ hitmaker – who tragically died in January at the age of 69 from cancer – had a big impact on his LP, ’57th and 9th’.
And the ‘Shape of My Heart’ hitmaker has also cited the deaths of other stars such as Prince and Alan Rickman as inspirations.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the former ‘Police’ frontman said: "David Bowie went first, and then Lemmy [Kilmister], and then my friend Alan Rickman died, and then Prince. It all seemed to topple on top of each other. It was a strange time because you think that these people are immortal, but then suddenly they’re like the rest of us, they die.
"It intrigues me that great success is this brilliant light, but also every brilliant light creates a dark shadow. I think wisdom only comes when you can navigate both. I’m getting philosophical."
The ‘Englishman in New York’ singer – whose real name is Gordon Sumner – also said that he found inspiration for his new album through living and working in New York City.
The title from his album comes from the name of the intersection he passed every day on his way to and from his recording studio in the city.
Speaking of New York, he said: "I do a lot of my thinking on the move and it’s an inspiring city to be in. Pedestrians, the traffic, the noise, the architecture — the scale of New York is very stimulating for the mind. The walk is very much a part of the process."
But the ‘Roxanne’ hitmaker doesn’t just stop there when it comes to getting inspired to write an album.
He revealed he is "concerned" about the world, and that the "anxiety" he feels drives him to think about what he can do.
He said: "I read a lot, I go to movies. I read the papers, I’m kind of concerned about the world. If you sit at home, you get anxious, but that anxiety is a sort of engine for you. It makes you think, ‘Okay, what am I going to do?’ The first single [‘I Can’t Stop Thinking About You’] is about looking at a blank, white sheet of paper and seeing what looks like a field of snow with no clues as to what’s underneath."
Sting says ‘immortal’ David Bowie is inspired his LP
