When Sting says he grew up in the shadow of a shipyard, he means it literally. At the end of his street in Wallsend, northern England, the Swan Hunter factory dominated the skyline. Each day thousands of workers filed past his house to labour on ships so big they obscured the sun. A royal visit sparked a childhood epiphany: watching the Queen Mother drive past in a black Rolls-Royce, Sting decided he didn’t want a life in the belly of a metal beast. He wanted something bigger, and he would find it: first as the magnetic frontman of the Police, then as a solo artist.
Now 74, with 17 Grammys to his name, the superstar is back in the shipyard – this time in Australia, in a renewed version of his musical The Last Ship. Sting takes on a leading role as foreman Jackie White, who is navigating the threat of the shipyard’s closure as he grapples with his failing health. Sting is joined on stage by none other than Reggae icon Shaggy, who brings warmth to the stage as the Wallsend Ferryman, who watches over Jackie.
