Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...
. He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...
as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated with other musicians, composed film scores, and exhibited his photography in galleries.
Early life
Andrew James Summers was born in
Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
, England, on 31 December 1942.
During his childhood, his family moved to
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
, which was then in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. After several years of piano lessons, he took up the guitar.
At an early age, he played jazz guitar. In his teens, he saw a concert by
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
and
Dizzy Gillespie in London that left a lasting impression.
By 16, he was playing in local clubs, and by 19, he had moved to London with his friend
Zoot Money
George Bruno Money (born 17 July 1942) is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn ...
to form
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band is a British rhythm and blues and soul group, also influenced by jazz, formed in England by Zoot Money, in the early autumn of 1961. The band has had a number of personnel changes over the years and was still perform ...
.
Musical career
Pre-Police career
Summers's professional career began in the mid-1960s in London as guitarist for the
British rhythm and blues
British rhythm and blues (or R&B) was a musical movement that developed in the United Kingdom between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, and reached a peak in the mid-1960s. It overlapped with, but was distinct from, the broader British beat a ...
band Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, which eventually came under the influence of the
psychedelic scene and evolved into the
acid rock
Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, di ...
group
Dantalian's Chariot
Dantalian's Chariot was a British psychedelic rock band formed in 1967,
led by keyboardist and bandleader Zoot Money, and also featuring Andy Summers (later of The Police). They are best remembered for their single "Madman Running Through the Fi ...
. In September 1966, Summers was the first guitarist encountered by
Jimi Hendrix after landing in the UK. The young Summers is portrayed in fiction as one of the "two main love interests" in Jenny Fabian and
Johnny Byrne's 1969 book ''Groupie'', in which he is given the pseudonym "Davey".
After the demise of Dantalian's Chariot, Summers joined
Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...
for three months and toured the United States. For a brief time in 1968, he was a member of
the Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound an ...
, then known as
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, po ...
and the Animals, with whom he recorded one album, ''
Love Is''. The album features a recording of
Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...
's "Coloured Rain", which includes a 4minute and 15 second guitar solo by Summers. The LP also included a reworked version of Dantalian's Chariot's sole single "Madman Running Through the Fields".
After five years in Los Angeles, mostly spent studying
classical guitar and composition in the music programme at
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...
, from which he graduated in 1972, he returned to London with his American girlfriend, Kate Lunken.
In London, Summers recorded and toured with acts including
Kevin Coyne
Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The "anti-star" was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, and died in his adopted home of Nurember ...
,
Jon Lord
John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band De ...
,
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She receive ...
,
David Essex
David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Since the 1970s, he has attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most ...
,
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
and
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely ass ...
. In October 1975 he participated in an orchestral rendition of
Mike Oldfield
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
's ''
Tubular Bells
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells wit ...
''.
In 1977, Summers was invited by ex-
Gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
bassist
Mike Howlett
Michael John Gilmour Howlett (born 27 April 1950) is a record producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Career
In the late 1960s, Howlett was the bassist in Sydney pop band the Affair, which included vocalist Kerrie Bidd ...
to join his band
Strontium 90
Strontium-90 () is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.8 years. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-90, with a decay energy of 0.546 MeV. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine and i ...
, but was soon coaxed away by future Police bandmates
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-ear ...
and
Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
.
The Police

Summers achieved international fame as the guitarist for the Police, which he joined in 1977, eventually replacing original guitarist
Henry Padovani
Henry (or Henri) Padovani (born 13 October 1952) is a French musician (from the Mediterranean French isle of Corsica), noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to Augus ...
. Emerging from London's punk scene, the Police gained international renown with many hit songs, including "
Message in a Bottle
A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water).
Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...
", "
Roxanne", "
Don't Stand So Close to Me
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third album ''Zenyatta Mondatta''. It concerns a teacher who has a sexual relationship with a student, which in tu ...
", "
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album '' Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for e ...
", and "
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by British rock group the Police from their fourth album, '' Ghost in the Machine''. The song, notable for featuring a pianist (uncommon in Police songs), dates back to a demo recorded in the house ...
". During his time with the band, Summers twice won a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, first in 1979 for "
Reggatta de Blanc
''Reggatta de Blanc'' is the second studio album by British rock band the Police, released on 2 October 1979 by A&M Records. It was the band's first release to top the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: " Mess ...
" (written with Copeland and Sting) and in 1980 for "
Behind My Camel
"Behind My Camel" is the eighth track from the 1980 album ''Zenyatta Mondatta'' by the British rock band The Police. The song was written by guitarist Andy Summers and was the first one to be composed solely by him during his career in The Polic ...
".
Although Sting was the lead singer of the band, Summers occasionally contributed lead vocals, as in "Be My Girl/Sally" (1978), "Friends" (1980), "Mother" (1983), and "Someone to Talk To" (1983). Other notable Summers compositions from this period are "Omegaman" (which would have been released as the debut single from the 1981 ''
Ghost in the Machine
The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the notion of the mind existing alongside and separate to the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part of ...
'' album had Sting not objected), "Shambelle" (1981), "Once Upon a Daydream," and "Murder by Numbers" both co-written with Sting (both 1983). In early 1984, after seven years together and record sales around 80 million, the Police disbanded.
Summers wrote the guitar riff for "Every Breath You Take", though was not given a songwriting credit. It was recorded in one take with his 1961
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuous ...
during the ''Synchronicity'' sessions. The song was number one for eight weeks. Sting won the 1983 Grammy Award for Song of the Year, and the Police won Best Pop Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocal for this song. Summers provides an account of the session in his memoir, ''One Train Later''.
As a member of the Police, Summers created a trademark guitar sound, which relied heavily on a chorus effect. He explained in 2017 how the sound came about:
"I created it sort of out of necessity; my mission was 'We're going to play for two hours each night as a trio,' so I wanted to have this fantastic, coloured guitar sound that was different for every song. So, I used the Echoplex
The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of th ...
, then a chorus, and a few other pedals…envelope filters. As we went on, I acquired more stuff and got a Pete Cornish
Pete Cornish is a British designer of electric guitar effects and other electronic musical instruments. He is mainly noted for his elaborate fully custom guitar pedalboard systems. He has worked for Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Th ...
board, but what was driving it was to invade and push the edge of what the guitar was supposed to sound like, and make it really interesting over a show. So, it wasn't just one straight sound all the time. I could move it around. And it was appreciated by many millions of people (laughs). Of course, it's very tired and a bit 'retro' now; I'm not very keen on it anymore. But in those days it was new, fresh, and exciting."
Post-Police

Summers's solo career has included recording, touring, composing for films (including ''
Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' and ''
Weekend at Bernie's
''Weekend at Bernie's'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff and written by Robert Klane, loosely based on the 1959 novella ''The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell'' by Jorge Amado. The film stars Andrew McCarthy and ...
''), and exhibiting his photography in art galleries around the world.
He recorded the duet albums ''
I Advance Masked'' (1982) and ''Bewitched'' (1984) with guitarist
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
of King Crimson, as well as duet albums with Victor Biglione,
John Etheridge
John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known fo ...
, and
Benjamin Verdery
Benjamin Verdery (born 1955) is an American classical guitarist, composer and teacher.Summerfield, Maurice J ''The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution and Its Players Since 1800'' Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK: Ashley Mark Publishing, 1991. Retrieved Nove ...
. His solo debut album, ''
XYZ'', was released in 1987 and is the only noninstrumental album in his solo catalogue. Although it included pop material, such as the single "Love is the Strangest Way", it failed to dent the charts. In 1987, Sting invited Summers to perform on his second album ''
...Nothing Like the Sun'', a favour the singer returned by playing bass on ''
Charming Snakes
''Charming Snakes'' is an album by the English musician Andy Summers. It was released in 1990. Summers supported the album by opening the 1991 Montreal International Jazz Festival; he also played shows with John McLaughlin.
Production
The album ...
'' (1990) and later contributing vocals to "
'Round Midnight" on Summers' tribute album to
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
, ''Green Chimneys'', in 1999. In the mid-1990s Summers briefly returned to a more rock-oriented sound with ''Synesthesia'' (1995) and ''The Last Dance of Mr X'' (1997) before recording a string of jazz albums. He also participated in the formation of
Animal Logic
Animal Logic is an Australian animation and visual effects digital studio based at Disney Studios in Sydney, New South Wales in Australia, Vancouver in Canada, and Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1991, Animal Logic ...
. In 1992, he led the house band (credited as musical director) for ''
The Dennis Miller Show''.
The Police reunion
During the
2007 Grammy Awards
The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending September 30, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at the Staples Ce ...
show, the Police played "Roxanne" and subsequently announced that they would be going on tour.
The Police Reunion Tour
The Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third (now sixteenth) highest-grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching o ...
began in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
, Canada, on 28 May 2007 and continued until August 2008, becoming the third-highest-grossing tour of all time.
Circa Zero
In August 2013, Summers announced he had formed the band Circa Zero with Rob Giles from
the Rescues
The Rescues are an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2008. Their music can be classified as indie pop/rock, and is notable for its use of three and four-part vocal harmonies.
History
"The Rescues" were formed in 2008 ...
. Originally, drummer Emmanuelle Caplette was also a member of the band. Their debut show was 25 July 2013 at the
El Rey Theatre
The El Rey Theatre is a live music venue in the Miracle Mile area of the Mid-Wilshire region in Los Angeles, California.
This art deco building was designed by Clifford A. Balch (who designed over twenty classic art deco movie theatres around ...
in Los Angeles. The band's debut album, ''
Circus Hero'', was released 25 March 2014. It is titled after a
malapropism
A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...
of the band's name made by a radio disc jockey during an interview of Summers.
Call the Police
In March 2017, Summers announced he had formed Call the Police, a Police tribute band, with two Brazilian musicians, Rodrigo Santos (
Barão Vermelho
Barão Vermelho () is a Brazilian rock band. Formed in 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, it was originally led by songwriting duo Cazuza (singer) and Roberto Frejat (guitarist), who assumed the vocals after Cazuza's departure in 1985. Frejat left the ba ...
or Red Baron) on bass guitar and vocals and
Joao Barone (
Os Paralamas do Sucesso
Os Paralamas do Sucesso (also known simply as Paralamas) is a Brazilian rock band, formed in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, in the late 1970s. Its members since 1982 are Herbert Vianna (guitar and lead vocals), Bi Ribeiro (bass), and João Bar ...
) on drums.
Material loss
In 2019, ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
'' listed Summers among hundreds of musicians whose material was destroyed in the
2008 Universal fire
On June 1, 2008, a fire broke out on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood, an American film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. The fire began when a worker used a blowtorch to warm asph ...
.
Awards and honours
* Grammy Award, Best Rock Instrumental, "Reggatta de Blanc", 1979
* Grammy Award, Best Rock Instrumental, "Behind My Camel", 1980
* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with the Police, 2003
* Chevalier of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system ...
, with the Police, 2007
* Honorary doctorate,
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s.
The universi ...
, 2008
* Hall of Fame, ''Guitar Player'' magazine
* Vote number one pop guitarist, five years, ''Guitar Player'' magazine
* Guiding Light Award, Progressive Music Awards, 2016
* 85th guitarist of all time, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine
* Lifetime Achievement Award, Gibson Guitar Awards, 2000
* Lifetime Achievement Award, Roland and
BOSS, 2017
* ''One Train Later'' (2006) was voted music book of the year by ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
'' and was turned into the 2012 documentary ''
Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police''. The documentary was released on DVD in July 2015.
Personal life
Summers was married to American singer
Robin Lane between 1969 and 1970. He married his second wife, Kate, in 1973 and they had one daughter in 1978, Layla Zoe Summers. Summers' years with The Police took its toll on their marriage, however, leading them to divorce in 1981, although they remarried in 1985. In 1987, Kate and Andy's twin sons Maurice X and Anton Y were born. As of 2022, Summers resides in Santa Monica, California, with his wife and family.
Discography
Solo albums
* ''
XYZ'' (
MCA
MCA may refer to:
Astronomy
* Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars
Aviation
* Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways
* Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gene ...
, 1987)
* ''Mysterious Barricades'' (
Private Music
Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his forme ...
, 1988)
* ''The Golden Wire'' (Private, 1989)
* ''
Charming Snakes
''Charming Snakes'' is an album by the English musician Andy Summers. It was released in 1990. Summers supported the album by opening the 1991 Montreal International Jazz Festival; he also played shows with John McLaughlin.
Production
The album ...
'' (Private, 1990)
* ''
World Gone Strange'' (Private, 1991)
* ''Synaesthesia'' (CMP, 1995)
* ''The Last Dance of Mr. X'' (BMG/
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...
, 1997)
* ''A Windham Hill Retrospective'' (Windham Hill Records, 1998) (compilation)
* ''Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk'' (BMG Classics/RCA Victor, 1999)
* ''Peggy's Blue Skylight'' (BMG Classics/RCA Victor, 2000)
* ''Earth + Sky'' (Golden Wire, 2003)
* ''The X Tracks'' (Golden Wire, 2004) (compilation)
* ''Metal Dog'' (Flickering Shadow, 2015)
* ''Triboluminescence'' (Flickering Shadow, 2017)
* ''Harmonics of the Night'' (Flickering Shadow, 2021)
Collaborations
* ''
I Advance Masked'' with
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
(
A&M, 1982)
* ''Bewitched'' with Robert Fripp (A&M, 1984)
* ''Invisible Threads'' with
John Etheridge
John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known fo ...
(Mesa, 1993)
* ''Strings of Desire'' with Victor Biglione (R.A.R.E., 1998)
* ''Splendid Brazil'' with Victor Biglione (R.A.R.E., 2005)
* ''
First You Build a Cloud
''First You Build a Cloud'' is an album by guitarists Andy Summers and Ben Verdery on the Rare Recordings label. The album consists of twelve guitar duets, with Verdery on acoustic and Summers on electric.
Origin
Summers and Verdery originally ...
'' with Ben Verdery (R.A.R.E., 2007)
* ''Fundamental'' with
Fernanda Takai
Fernanda Barbosa Takai (; born 25 August 1971) is a Brazilian singer, better known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Pato Fu. She has also been working on a solo career since 2007.
In 2011, she collaborated with Atom™, ...
(2012)
* ''
Circus Hero'' with Rob Giles as Circa Zero (
429 Records
429 Records was an American record label. It was a subsidiary label of Savoy Label Group/Nippon Columbia focusing on indie rock and adult album alternative performers. In addition to releasing new material from musicians such as Dr. John, Little ...
, 2014)
Film soundtracks
* ''The Wild Life'' (MCA, 1984)
* ''
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
'' (A&M, 1984) (contributor)
* ''Band of the Hand'' (1985)
* ''
Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (MCA, 1986)
* ''Weekend at Bernie's'' (Arista, 1989)
* ''The Craft'' (Columbia, 1996)
Singles
* "Parade"/"Train" with
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
(1984)
* "
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
"/"To Hal and Back" (1984)
* "Love is the Strangest Way"/"Nowhere" (1987)
* "Bring on the Night" (Police cover) with 40 Fingers (2022)
As band member
With The Police
* ''
Outlandos d'Amour
''Outlandos d'Amour'' is the debut studio album by English rock band the Police, released on 2 November 1978 by A&M Records. Elevated by the success of its lead single, " Roxanne", ''Outlandos d'Amour'' peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart ...
'' (1978)
* ''
Reggatta de Blanc
''Reggatta de Blanc'' is the second studio album by British rock band the Police, released on 2 October 1979 by A&M Records. It was the band's first release to top the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: " Mess ...
'' (1979)
* ''
Zenyatta Mondatta
''Zenyatta Mondatta'' (stylised as ''Zenyattà Mondatta'' on the album cover artwork) is the third studio album by English rock band the Police, released on 3 October 1980 by A&M Records. It was co-produced by the band and Nigel Gray.
''Zeny ...
'' (1980)
* ''
Ghost in the Machine
The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the notion of the mind existing alongside and separate to the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part of ...
'' (1981)
* ''
Brimstone and Treacle
''Brimstone and Treacle'' is a 1976 BBC television play by Dennis Potter. Originally intended for broadcast as an episode of the series ''Play for Today'', it remained untransmitted until 1987. The play was made into a film version (released i ...
'' (1982)
* ''
Synchronicity
Synchronicity (german: Synchronizität) is a concept first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl G. Jung "to describe circumstances that appear meaningfully related yet lack a causal connection." In contemporary research, synchronicity ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Every Breath You Take: The Singles'' (1986)
* ''
Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings'' (1993)
* ''
Live!'' (1995)
* ''
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...
'' (2007)
* ''
Certifiable: Live in Buenos Aires'' (2008)
* ''Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings'' (2019)
With
Eric Burdon and the Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound an ...
* ''
Love Is'' (1968)
With
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely ass ...
* ''First Show in the Appearance Business'' (1996)
* ''Too Old to Die Young'' (1998)
* ''Yes We Have No Mananas, So Get Your Mananas Today'' (EMI/Harvest, 2009)
With
Kevin Coyne
Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The "anti-star" was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, and died in his adopted home of Nurember ...
* ''
Matching Head and Feet
''Matching Head and Feet'' is a studio album by musician Kevin Coyne, released in 1975 on the Virgin label.
Awarding the album a B+, Robert Christgau wrote:
Coyne is the kind of minor artist whose faults-mainly an undeniable narrowness of emot ...
'' (Virgin, 1975)
* ''Heartburn'' (Virgin, 1976)
* ''In Living Black and White'' (Virgin, 1976)
* ''Sign of the Times'' (Virgin, 1994)
* ''On Air'' (Tradition & Moderne, 2008)
With
Dantalian's Chariot
Dantalian's Chariot was a British psychedelic rock band formed in 1967,
led by keyboardist and bandleader Zoot Money, and also featuring Andy Summers (later of The Police). They are best remembered for their single "Madman Running Through the Fi ...
* ''Chariot Rising'' (Wooden Hill, 1996)
With
Eberhard Schoener
Eberhard Schoener (born May 13, 1938, Stuttgart) is a German musician, composer, conductor, and arranger. His activities combine many styles and formats. Originally a classical violinist and conductor of chamber music and opera, he was one of th ...
* ''The Book'' (Ariola 1977)
* ''Trance-Formation'' (Harvest/EMI Electrola 1977)
* ''Video-Flashback'' (Harvest, 1979)
* ''Video Magic'' (Harvest, 1978)
With
Strontium 90
Strontium-90 () is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.8 years. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-90, with a decay energy of 0.546 MeV. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine and i ...
* ''Police Academy'' (Pangaea, 1997)
With
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band is a British rhythm and blues and soul group, also influenced by jazz, formed in England by Zoot Money, in the early autumn of 1961. The band has had a number of personnel changes over the years and was still perform ...
* ''It Should Have Been Me'' (1965)
* ''Zoot!'' (Columbia, 1966)
* ''Transition'' (1968)
* ''Were You There?'' (Indigo, 1999)
* ''Fully Clothed & Naked'' (Indigo, 2000)
As guest
*
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She receive ...
, ''
Back to the Night'' (A&M, 1975)
*
Manuel Barrueco
Manuel Barrueco (born December 16, 1952) is a Cuban classical guitarist. During three decades of concert performances he has performed and recorded across the United States and has been involved in many successful collaborations. In addition, he ...
, ''Nylon & Steel'' (Angel, 2001)
*
David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painte ...
, ''The Odyssey'' (Virgin, 1976)
*
Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...
, ''Gregg Bissonette'' (Mascot, 1998)
*
Toni Childs
Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-Australian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), " I've Got to Go Now", a Top 5 hit in Australia in 1 ...
, ''
House of Hope'' (A&M, 1991)
*
Deeyah Khan
Deeyah Khan ( ur, , , born 7 August 1977) is a Norwegian documentary film director and human rights activist of Punjabi/Pashtun descent. Deeyah is a two-time Emmy Award winner, two time Peabody Award winner, a BAFTA winner and has received the ...
, ''Ataraxis'' (Heilo, 2007)
*
Jo Jo Laine
Jo Jo Laine (born Joanne LaPatrie, Danvers, Massachusetts, July 13, 1952 – London, October 29, 2006) , ''Dancin' Man'' (Polydor, 1980)
*
Jon Lord
John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band De ...
, ''
Sarabande
The sarabande (from es, zarabanda) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance.
History
The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance ca ...
'', (Purple, 1976)
*
Juicy Lucy, ''Blue Thunder'' (Outer Music, 1996)
*
Roberto Menescal
Roberto Menescal (born October 25, 1937) is a Brazilian composer, record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and pioneer of bossa nova. In many of his songs there are references to the sea, including his best-known composition "O Barquinho" ("Little Bo ...
, ''Bossa Nova Meets the Beatles'' (Deck/Jingle Bells 2017)
*
Anthony Moore
Anthony Moore (also known as Anthony More) (born 13 August 1948) is a British experimental music composer, performer and producer. He was a founding member of the band Slapp Happy, worked with Henry Cow and has made a number of solo albums, inc ...
, ''Out'' (Virgin, 1976)
*
Paolo Rustichelli, ''Capri/Mystic Jazz'' (Verve Forecast, 1991)
*
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
, ''Live at the Royal Festival Hall'' (Polydor, 1974)
*
Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve (born July 6, 1949) is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second you ...
, ''Stiletto'' (Novus/RCA/BMG, 1989)
*
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thi ...
, ''
Hello Big Man
''Hello Big Man'' is the 11th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Warner Bros. Records, on August 31, 1983.
The album was Simon's last for Warner Bros. (and for what became the Warner Music Group, having also sp ...
'' (Warner Bros., 1983)
*
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-ear ...
, ''
...Nothing Like the Sun'' (A&M, 1987)
*
Andrew York, ''Centerpeace'' (2010)
Books
* ''Throb'' (William Morrow, 1983)
* ''Light Strings'' (Chronicle, 2005)
* ''One Train Later'' (St Martins, 2006)
* ''I'll Be Watching You'' (
Taschen
Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen.
History
The company began as Taschen Comic ...
, 2007)
* ''Desirer Walks the Streets'' (
Nazraeli Press
Nazraeli Press is a publisher of books of photography. It was founded in 1989, in Munich, Germany, by Chris Pichler and has been based in the USA since 1996.
Nazraeli publishes roughly 30 new titles each year and has published over 400 with work ...
, 2008)
* ''The Bones of Chuang Tzu'' (
Steidl
Steidl is a German-language publisher, an international publisher of photobooks, and a printing company, based in Göttingen, Germany. It was started in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl and is still run by him.
Overview
The company was started by Gerh ...
, 2018)
* ''A Certain Strangeness'' (
University of Texas Press
The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...
, 2019)
* ''Fretted and Moaning'' (Rocket88, 2021)
References
External links
*
The Police official siteCirca Zero official websiteInterview: "Andy Summers: The Blessing and The Curse" - Rockerzine.com 2015BBC interview with Andy Summers including audioBook Review of Andy Summers' One Train LaterPolice Guitarist Andy Summers to Release Short Story Debut, 'Fretted and Moaning'*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Andy
1942 births
Living people
People from Poulton-le-Fylde
People from Chipping Barnet
British rhythm and blues boom musicians
California State University, Northridge alumni
Canterbury scene
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
English jazz guitarists
English male guitarists
English new wave musicians
English rock guitarists
Jazz fusion guitarists
Lead guitarists
British male jazz musicians
A&M Records artists
Private Music artists
Progressive rock guitarists
The Animals members
The Police members
Soft Machine members
Strontium 90 (band) members
Spooky Tooth members