As the Police’s biggest hit album Synchronicity is reissued, their drummer answers your questions on punk, his CIA dad and Sting’s ‘magnificent’ pecs
Why is [the Police’s 1983 album] Synchronicity being reissued [as an expanded box set] now? Dmitry-S
The Police had an epiphany courtesy of the Beatles’ documentary, Get Back. Each of us learned, in our separate ivory towers, that the final master isn’t in any way diminished by showing the sketches or demos along the way. Ghost in the Machine [the previous album] had taken us into stadiums and then Synchronicity made us even bigger, but the recording sessions were very dark. We beat the crap out of each other. We’ve laughed about it since, but going back into that black hole isn’t something we tended towards. But it was such fun listening to the demos and songs that didn’t make it, so there will be more reissues. We’re starting at the end and working backwards, like Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
What was your relationship like with Sting and Andy [Summers, guitarist] during the height of your success? Do you still have regular contact? eternal-sceptic
We had a great bond, which wasn’t strong enough to make recording together very easy. We tore each other’s throats out in the studio but those two motherfuckers came up with incredible stuff and we got on really well on stage, in the van, on the plane. To this day we still send each other dumb Instagram clips. It’s a myth that Sting and I fought all the time. I broke his rib once, but we were play-fighting.
