As usual, the assignment happened at short notice, and I would spend two days photographing a story with world famous musician Sting in his hometown of Newcastle.
Actually, that weekend had long before been bookmarked for a neighbour's party - but as the saying goes - life is what happens whilst you are busy making plans. So instead of partying on Susie's roof terrace, I had two very busy days in northern England.
We first visited Sting's birthplace, a run-down town called Wallsend (where the famous Hadrian's Wall ends), formerly known for shipbuilding and long past its prime. Later that day, we spent time at the Sage in Gateshead, photographing Sting & ensemble from the back of the auditorium, followed by a late night scouting trip to his hotel for the portrait shoot, then a quick drink at the bar, and finally I tried to catch some sleep in a soulless hotel room surrounded by noises of drunk lads on a stag do - life can be glamorous sometimes.
Anyway, back to Sting. Apart from being incredibly talented and down-to-earth, he was quite shy in front of the camera. We had a brief conversation during which I explained that I was far more insecure than Irving Penn (who famously photographed him with two clicks of the shutter), and thus that I had to shoot more. This made him laugh, however, his various minders had different ideas. As a result, I didn't get more than a few minutes to produce portraits and a cover shot for Le Parisien Magazine - see the results below, followed by a wider selection from the day.
