Sting and Religion: The Catholic-Shaped Imagination of a Rock Icon

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On the back cover of one of his most groundbreaking solo albums, … Nothing like the Sun of 1987, Sting (Gordon Matthew Sumner, b. 1951 in Wallsend, UK) somberly stands close to a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The album was released a few months after his own mother, Audrey, died. The picture was taken on the island of Montserrat, where he was recording the album, apparently on the day of her death.
I said goodbye to my mother, as I had a recording date in Montserrat, and she died a week later.
When asked by the author if his mother was particularly connected to Mary, and if this was why he chose this image, he replied
No, but I did.
This evocative photograph and Sting’s quick answer encapsulate the two pillars of this book: a microhistory of a specific British Catholic parish in the 1950s-60s, and the impact that growing up there had on Sting’s artistic output. And beyond that, this book opens a window onto the influence of Catholic education and imagination on millions of less famous people who had similar upbringings.