Andy Summers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Andy Summers | |
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 Andy Summers
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Andrew James Somers |
| Born | 31 December 1942 Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England |
| Genre(s) | Rock, jazz, post-punk, New Wave, reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals |
| Years active | 1959(gigging) 1964(recording) - present |
| Associated acts | The Police, The Animals, Soft Machine, Robert Fripp, Kevin Ayers, John Etheridge |
| Website | andysummers.com |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Fender Telecaster Fender Stratocaster |
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Andy Summers (born Andrew James Somers December 31, 1942) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police and Eric Burdon & The Animals.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Andrew James Somers was born on December 31, 1942 in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England[1] to his Maurice and Jean Summers. When he was a young child, he moved to Bournemouth, Dorset,[1] upon taking up the guitar at age 14.[citation needed] By 17, he was playing in local clubs.[1] While a teen he worked in a Bournemouth music store frequented by a young Robert Fripp.[citation needed] Although Summers had been essentially self-taught when he began his professional musical career,[citation needed] he studied classical guitar at California State University at Northridge[2][3] for four years until 1973.
[edit] Pre-Police career
Summers began his recording career in the 1960s as the guitarist for the R&B group Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, and its subsequent psychedelic-era incarnation, Dantalian's Chariot.[1][2] In 1968, Summers was a member (for a couple of months, from May to July[citation needed]) of the Canterbury scene jazz fusion band Soft Machine,[2][4] although he did not record with the group[citation needed] He also recorded with Eric Burdon and The Animals[1] (The Animals),[2] and spent much of the mid-seventies doing session work for Kevin Ayers, Kevin Coyne, and others.[1] He was also a member of the band Strontium 90 along with Sting, Stewart Copeland and Mike Howlett.[5]
When he moved back to London, he changed his surname from Somers to Summers.[1]
[edit] The Police (1977–1983; 2007-2008)
Summers achieved international prominence as the guitarist for The Police (which he first had contact with in 1997, and of which he was the oldest member by almost a decade[citation needed]), most notably on popular hits such as "Message in a Bottle", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and "Every Breath You Take". Summers also wrote songs for the Police, such as "Omegaman"[6] and "Mother"[7], and his instrumental "Behind My Camel" (which Sting refused to play on)[citation needed] won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 1980.[8]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio
- Love Is - 1968 (with Eric Burdon & The Animals)
- Matching Head and Feet - 1975 (with Kevin Coyne)
- Outlandos d'Amour - 1978 (with The Police)
- Reggatta de Blanc - 1979 (with The Police)
- Zenyatta Mondatta - 1980 (with The Police)
- Ghost in the Machine - 1981 (with The Police)
- I Advance Masked - 1982 (with Robert Fripp)
- Synchronicity - 1983 (with The Police)
- Bewitched - 1984 (with Robert Fripp)
- XYZ - 1987
- Mysterious Barricades - 1988
- The Golden Wire - 1989
- Charming Snakes - 1990
- World Gone Strange - 1991
- Invisible Threads - 1993 (with John Etheridge)
- Synaesthesia - 1996
- The Last Dance of Mr. X - 1997
- Strings of Desire - 1998 (with Victor Biglione)
- Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk - 1999
- Peggy's Blue Skylight - 2000 (with vocals by Deborah Harry on the track "Weird Nightmare")
- Earth + Sky - 2004
- Splendid Brasil - 2005 (with Victor Biglione)
- First You Build a Cloud - 2007 (with Ben Verdery)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of the Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. xii. ISBN 9780711953024. "Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942. in Poulton-le-Fylde. Lancashire."
- ^ a b c d Pete Prown and HP Newquist (1997). Legends of rock guitar : the essential reference of rock's greatest guitarists. Milwaukee, WI: Leonard. p. 176. ISBN 9780793540426.
- ^ "Ghosts In The Machine". Guitar World (Future US) (Vol. 28, Num. 10): 47. October 2007. ISSN 1045-6295.
- ^ Soft machinelast=Bennett. London: SAF. 2005. p. 141. ISBN 9780946719846.
- ^ Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. xi. ISBN 9780711953024. "Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942. in Poulton-le-Fylde. Lancashire."
- ^ Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780711953024.
- ^ Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780711953024.
- ^ Frank W. Hoffmann, Howard Ferstle (2005). Encyclopedia of recorded sound. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 845. ISBN 9780415938358.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Andy Summers Fender tribute Telecaster homepage
- BBC interview with Andy Summers including audio
- Andy Summers in Fender News
- Book Review of Andy Summers' One Train Later
- Contemporary interview with Andy Summers
- Andy Summers Detailed Discography, Timeline and Equipment List
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