There were no stars in Katche’s eyes as the drummer hooked up with the Police legend for ping-pong, nights out in Montserrat and an organic recording experience that spawned some stone-cold classics.
Manu Katche says:
“I’d been touring and done a lot of sessions by then so I was a professional, not some little boy sat listening to Sting talking about touring the world. I knew that if he was calling me there was something he was interested in.”
“Nothing Like The Sun was easy. We recorded it in Montserrat, and had a great time. We had a swimming pool, I’d play ping-pong with Sting and we’d go out to restaurants.”
“The whole band was playing in one room, with Sting making proposals and asking questions. I think those guys know what they want to hear, but they don’t put you in that position, like, ‘OK, I’m going to test you, do this, I’m waiting’. No – we took our time. I was playing Englishman In New York and felt a reggae beat so I played it that way, and Sting loved it so we built the song up around it.”