Last updated August 20, 2024 – 2:18pm
The latest series of ERA on BBC Sounds is presented by Radio 2's Vernon Kay and features Sting.
This comes ahead of his headline performance at Radio 2 In The Park on Saturday September 7. ERAs: Sting is a five-part series celebrating storytellers, activists and superstar musicians.
Through rare BBC archive material, including interviews with Annie Nightingale, Lulu, Jo Whiley and Sarah Cox, as well as new interviews with friends, fans and collaborators including Jools Holland, Shaggy, Bob Harris, Jeremy Vine, Mark King, Shaun Keavey and Guy Garvey, the story of Sting's talents being brought to capacity audiences in stadiums around the world is told.
The first episode showcases the stories and music that shaped Sting's childhood, from Wallsend to punk-era London, and the phone call that changed his life forever.
Episode 2 follows The Police from their early days to their global heyday in a five-year span that saw them produce some of the most defining hits of a generation.
In the third episode, after the band broke up, Vernon follows the early stages of Sting's four-decade-long solo career.
In the final episode, Vernon finds Sting in a place where inspiration is everything: a lute album, a Broadway performance, traditional folk or reggae, Sting refuses to be tied down.
ERAs: Sting is available now on BBC Sounds.
