Sting promotes The Last Ship, warns on climate and defends political speech

Sting is bringing his musical The Last Ship to London's West End, using the show to tell the story of the Tyneside shipbuilding community that shaped him. The production is inspired by his childhood in Wallsend and North Tyneside, where he was born next to a shipyard. He has said the view from the end of his street was often a giant ship that blocked out the sun, and he watched thousands of men and women walk to work every morning. He described the yard as a dark, dangerous and unhealthy place with a poor safety record, and said he did everything he could to escape, winning a grammar school scholarship and becoming a musician. The musical, he said, is a way of saying thank you to the community that raised him and gave him a sense of identity and a work ethic.

On stage, the show recreates the scaffolds, scale, smoke and noise of the shipyards. Sting said it also evokes concern about the future, technological change and a way of life disappearing. He drew a parallel with the 1980s, when generations of skill in his town were, in his words, thrown on the scrap heap for macroeconomic reasons, with no explanation and nothing put in its place. He warned that AI could destroy the labour economy, and pointed to a line in the play, 'are we all to be expendable now?' as a fear many people share. He said AI can produce serviceable pop music, but argued it has no soul because it has never had its heart broken and has no story of its own. Audiences, he added, still want live performances from vulnerable humans who can make mistakes. Sting also said he never intended to act in the musical, but producers needed a famous name to sell tickets. He said he loves the role and remains in touch with some of his former pupils, now in their 50s.

Sting also addressed the debate over political speech at concerts, stepping into the row surrounding Ed Sheeran. Asked about venues cancelling shows and artists pulling out, he said there is an obvious distinction between hate speech, which everyone should reject, and legitimate political criticism. The latter, he said, is a right in a democracy, and a functioning democracy must be able to take political criticism in a public forum. He added that no one tells him what to do, and noted that he has never shied away from politics and has stopped concerts in the past.

His climate change warning was blunt. He recalled meeting a man in the Amazon 30 years ago who told him that his village and forest were burning and that one day Sting's country would burn too. Sting said that warning proved prophetic, pointing to fields burning, parks turning brown and trees dying. He said he wished he had been wrong, and that while he tries to be optimistic as a strategy for life, the window for optimism is getting narrower. He argued that political will is needed to change things. Asked about celebrity activism, he said he defines himself as a citizen first and a celebrity maybe third or fourth, and that as a citizen he has a duty to speak up. He rejected the idea that famous people should be cancelled out of the debate.

On his music, Sting said he still wonders at the endurance of Every Breath You Take. He called it ambiguous, with some hearing a love song and others hearing a song about stalking or surveillance, and said he would not explain its meaning because that would be like explaining a joke. He noted it had been re-versioned and sampled, including by Puff Daddy. He also discussed his wider legacy: 17 Grammys, more than 100 million records sold and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Politically, Sting said it was short-sighted for an island nation that trades through shipping to buy ships from elsewhere. He welcomed the idea of a northern prime minister and said he was optimistic about Andy Burnham, praising his approach and saying he wants him to succeed, though he accepted it is a difficult ship to turn around. He said The Last Ship has been one of the most fulfilling adventures of his creative life, and that while he would love to do it again, he will not give up being a rock star. He also said influential directors have expressed interest in adapting the show, but declined to name them. Sting, who turns 75, said he planned to be on stage on his birthday on 2 October. His favourite moment in the musical is the end, when a giant ship is launched on stage and the audience rises for a standing ovation.