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Walking on the Moon: The Untold Story of the Police and the Rise of Rise of New Wave Rock
Near Fine/Very Good. First Edition Hardcover. No marks or inscriptions. No creasing to covers or to spine. A very clean very tight copy with bright unmarked boards and no bumping to corners. Dust jacket not price clipped or marked or torn with very minor creasing/rubbing to upper and lower edges. 312pp. An unflinching look at the rise, fall and return of one of the most famous bands in rock history - The Police - with Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. ISBN 184513575X
312 pages, Hardcover
First published November 23, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 12, 2012
An unremittingly negative book. Campion didn't have to lionize Sting, Copeland or Summers, but I swear I didn't read a SINGLE positive thing in the book -- about a song, a person, anything. The closest he comes to saying something kind is when he mentions, in passing, a few nice things Sting's first wife did for him. But that's hardly a reason to read the book.
If you're interested in the band, try Wikipedia or the All Music Guide. Just don't waste your time on this.
If you're interested in the band, try Wikipedia or the All Music Guide. Just don't waste your time on this.
April 2, 2017
I'm not a huge Police or Sting fan but was it just me or could the author hate Sting and Miles Copeland anymore than he seems to? Extremely biased in my opinion which made the book much less enjoyable
August 7, 2020
Like many people, I have enjoyed the music of the Police as well as Sting's solo career [1]. This is by no means rare, as for a brief period from the late 1970's to the middle of the 1980's, the Police were an immensely popular act, and this book captures at least some of the complexity of the trio and how it is that they remained popular but at the same time were unable to effectively work together once Sting became so large as far as a creator within the group was concerned. Many groups require a delicate balancing act and when that balance is disrupted, the creative energies of the group and the willingness of everyone to work together dissipate as well. It is a rare artist who can remain hugely popular as a solo artist and at the same time be able to blend in with a functioning and prolific band. Ultimately the Police were unable to keep it together, but after Sting's solo career was no longer as massively popular they were able to work together again on the legacy tour circuit, which makes a fitting ending for the book.
This book is between 250 and 300 pages long and is divided into sixteen chapters. The author begins his study with a look at the family background of the members of the Police (1) and the way that they were carpetbaggers, and were seen as such, by the punk community at the time (2). The author then discusses the struggles that the group had to craft popular music in England (3, 4, 5), before finding success in America through Roxanne (6), which led to a successful US tour (7), and eventually the building of an organization (8) that led to worldwide success (9). But the success would not last, as the delicate balance of the Police sound became tilted towards Sting, who grew increasingly unwilling to see his songs edited by the other two to fit their own taste and approach. The end result was increasingly troubled recording sessions and frosty relations between the members until they were simply unwilling to perform with each other any longer, even failing to unite after a charity appearance, until enough time had passed that allowed them to get along with each other with a sense of friendship and respect once again as aging rockers.
In reading this book, I was struck by the fact that the Police could have been considered a plant and likely suffered at least some hit to their credibility at the time because others thought so as well. It is not really Sting's fault for this--he was a talented and creative person who earned his popularity and developed plenty of talent in multiple areas along with having a rather dark charisma that balanced well with his life experience and general dark personality. Nor is it Andy Summer's fault, as he had been a longtime background musician who had genuine talent but had always been in the shadows. Really, it is Stewart Copeland, whose brother Miles was the svengali-like producer for the group responsible for their early gigs and the attention they received before they delivered the musical goods, and the background that the Copelands had as CIA royalty, that accounts for the nature of the group as being somewhat shady in the eyes of the punks at the time. Nowadays, of course, it is no big deal to be a plant, but even nowadays being a CIA plant might raise a few eyebrows. On this ground alone the band has a great deal of interest as a case of success and a struggle to cope with it that makes a suitable cautionary tale.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
This book is between 250 and 300 pages long and is divided into sixteen chapters. The author begins his study with a look at the family background of the members of the Police (1) and the way that they were carpetbaggers, and were seen as such, by the punk community at the time (2). The author then discusses the struggles that the group had to craft popular music in England (3, 4, 5), before finding success in America through Roxanne (6), which led to a successful US tour (7), and eventually the building of an organization (8) that led to worldwide success (9). But the success would not last, as the delicate balance of the Police sound became tilted towards Sting, who grew increasingly unwilling to see his songs edited by the other two to fit their own taste and approach. The end result was increasingly troubled recording sessions and frosty relations between the members until they were simply unwilling to perform with each other any longer, even failing to unite after a charity appearance, until enough time had passed that allowed them to get along with each other with a sense of friendship and respect once again as aging rockers.
In reading this book, I was struck by the fact that the Police could have been considered a plant and likely suffered at least some hit to their credibility at the time because others thought so as well. It is not really Sting's fault for this--he was a talented and creative person who earned his popularity and developed plenty of talent in multiple areas along with having a rather dark charisma that balanced well with his life experience and general dark personality. Nor is it Andy Summer's fault, as he had been a longtime background musician who had genuine talent but had always been in the shadows. Really, it is Stewart Copeland, whose brother Miles was the svengali-like producer for the group responsible for their early gigs and the attention they received before they delivered the musical goods, and the background that the Copelands had as CIA royalty, that accounts for the nature of the group as being somewhat shady in the eyes of the punks at the time. Nowadays, of course, it is no big deal to be a plant, but even nowadays being a CIA plant might raise a few eyebrows. On this ground alone the band has a great deal of interest as a case of success and a struggle to cope with it that makes a suitable cautionary tale.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
March 4, 2018
Funny to read a biography type book where the author clearly hates his subject so clearly.
August 19, 2018
Kagak jelas narasinya.
February 20, 2019
I have mixed feelings about the book. Almost everybody is very unlikable. However, the details about the music industry (for instance, how Miles promoted the band) were fascinating.
January 24, 2020
Great, from the point of view that it’s refreshing to read a biography of a band by an author who is in no way enamoured with any of its members.
January 14, 2024
Told from a paparazzi point of view. Prefer more documentary rather than speculations put together
May 10, 2022
I liked it. It's certainly an accurate account.
June 17, 2012
Prior to reading this book, I possesed a fair working knowledge of The Police in that I was aware of the creative dominance of Sting, and the open-warfare between the Band members. However, I was totally ignorant of the contextual backdrop that gave rise to The Police and The Police "sound". This is where the book's strength lies, as it actively demystifies some of the legend and Folklore that surrounds the rise and fall of this critically important band. The book has a tendency to go beyond the remit of a strict account of The Police by focusing upon the relative successes and failures of the Solo careers of the band members once The Police imploded, and an entertaining chapter on "Charity Rock", which accurately depicts initiatives such as Live Aid as being a blend of the wish to "do something good for someone" built upon a premise of self-interest for the Artist in question, underpinned by political and economic immaturity.
The recurrent thread throughout the book appears to amount to the fact that the demise of The Police was almost inevitable given the creative strength of Sting, and the relative weakness of Summers and Copeland in terms of their ability to compete with work of such quality, and / or withstand the conflict that the trio generated when in the same room. Indeed, the narrative appears to indicate that, had it not been for the Producers; Managers, the personal turmoil that each band member was experiencing at one point or another, and ultimately, the career failings of the band members both pre and post Police, the band would almost certainly never have come into fruition and been reborn in 2007. This book will now act as a foundation for further readings into The Police as I feel that both Copeland and Summers were sidelined in this account as being little more than passive participants, and I am assuming that, they would probably have something to say about that.
The recurrent thread throughout the book appears to amount to the fact that the demise of The Police was almost inevitable given the creative strength of Sting, and the relative weakness of Summers and Copeland in terms of their ability to compete with work of such quality, and / or withstand the conflict that the trio generated when in the same room. Indeed, the narrative appears to indicate that, had it not been for the Producers; Managers, the personal turmoil that each band member was experiencing at one point or another, and ultimately, the career failings of the band members both pre and post Police, the band would almost certainly never have come into fruition and been reborn in 2007. This book will now act as a foundation for further readings into The Police as I feel that both Copeland and Summers were sidelined in this account as being little more than passive participants, and I am assuming that, they would probably have something to say about that.
September 7, 2013
A long overdue bio of one of my favorite bands. Not a lot of surprises here, unless discovering that Sting, Summers and Copeland disliked each other from Day One and that it's amazing that this band stayed together for four whole albums.
Chris Campion paints Sting as an ever-growing narcissist, Summers as an arrogant prima donna, and Copeland as the loudmouth American who battled constantly with Sting over control of the band. Who knew the drummer from the states had so much control over the band? Seriously.
Chris Campion paints Sting as an ever-growing narcissist, Summers as an arrogant prima donna, and Copeland as the loudmouth American who battled constantly with Sting over control of the band. Who knew the drummer from the states had so much control over the band? Seriously.
February 9, 2014
horrible book... negative and spiteful. why did the author even bother to tackle a subject he obviously disliked. ... and the promise of a birth of new wave approach is not present. this book SUCKS.
August 1, 2011
It wrecks The Police, but I guess I would prefer that over self-indungent promotion when reading a Bio. Very well researched and funny
February 1, 2017
Holy crap, these dudes were even bigger turds than suggested over the years. Even the author sounds miserable writing about them! There were lots of stories about these ding-dongs, interspersed with very interesting looks on the commodity of punk rock and music. This was a really good read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews