Andy Summers Talks Photography, Music Films and the End of The Police

I’d been warned that Andy Summers doesn’t suffer fools during interviews. And at 80 years of age – along with having to deal with Sting all those years – it’s not exactly unexpected that he’d be a crotchety old man these days. Thankfully, the ex-Police guitarist and I got along like bank robbers when I sat down with him to talk about his multimedia ‘The Cracked Lens + A Missing String Tour’ which kicks off tonight in Beverly, MA.

The occasion of our chat was for a Vanyaland 617 Q&A, where an excited Summers revealed that the number “617” had followed him around for his entire life. We delved into his photography, the final days of The Police, talked some shit about Paul McCartney and got into his favorite music-related films.

Like most interviews, talk eventually turned to the pandemic and what Summers was doing during lockdown. His response was cut for length from the interview, but I think it was worth putting in here.

“It’s so odd, you know, I go, ‘What did I do?'” Summers said. “Three years seemed to have passed in the dream. I go, ‘What the fuck did I do for three years? Was I just in the house watching TV?’ No, I mean, it’s not me ‘cause I’m very active. I play all the time, you know? I must’ve been doing something. I think I was probably putting a book together. And I was trying to write a screenplay that I did for a long time. I just pulled that out again. I’m not someone who sits around doing nothing. There’s always a ‘thing,’ you know?”

Another one of the items that didn’t make the final piece was us discussing his contribution to the soundtrack to the somewhat forgotten ’80s film The Wild Life. The song “Human Shout” was one of his first solo endeavors, while he was technically still on The Police. Below is the song, which I’ve always loved, and you’ll hear in it just how integral Summers was to his soon-to-be former band’s sound.