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Andy Summers
Andy Summers
	; Andy Summers
Background information
Birth name	Andrew James Somers
Born	31 December 1942 (age 66); Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England
Genres	Rock, jazz, post-punk, New Wave, reggae
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, Photographer, producer
Instruments	Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Years active	1959(gigging) 1964(recording) - present
Associated acts	The Police, The Animals, Soft Machine, Robert Fripp, Kevin Ayers, John Etheridge
Website	andysummers.com
Notable instruments
	Fender Telecaster; Fender Stratocaster

Andy Summers (born Andrew James Somers 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police and Eric Burdon & The Animals.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Andrew James Summers was born on 31 December 1942 in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England^[1] to his parents, Maurice and Jean Somers. When he was a young child, he moved to Bournemouth, Dorset,^[1] upon which he took up the guitar at age 14.^{[citation needed]} By 17, he was playing in local clubs.^[1] While a teen he worked in a Bournemouth music store frequented by a young Robert Fripp.^[2] Although Summers had been essentially self-taught when he began his professional musical career he studied classical guitar at California State University at Northridge^[3]^[4] for four years until 1973.

[edit] Pre-Police career

Summers began his recording career in the 1960s as the guitarist for the R&B group Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, and its subsequent psychedelic-era incarnation, Dantalian's Chariot.^[1]^[3] In 1968, Summers was a member (for a couple of months, from May to July^{[citation needed]}) of the Canterbury scene jazz fusion band Soft Machine,^[3]^[5] although he did not record with the group^{[citation needed]} He also recorded with Eric Burdon and The Animals^[1] (The Animals),^[3] and spent much of the mid-seventies doing session work for Kevin Ayers, Kevin Coyne, and others.^[1] He was also a member of the band Strontium 90 along with Sting, Stewart Copeland and Mike Howlett.^[6]

When he moved back to London, he changed his surname from Somers to Summers.^[1]

[edit] The Police (1977–1983; 2007-2008)

Summers achieved international prominence as the guitarist for The Police (which he first had contact with in 1977, and of which he was the oldest member by almost a decade), most notably on popular hits such as "Message in a Bottle", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and "Every Breath You Take". Summers also wrote songs for the Police, such as "Omegaman"^[7] and "Mother"^[8], and his instrumental "Behind My Camel" (which Sting refused to play on)^[2] won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 1980. Although Sting was the primary lead vocalist, Summers sang lead vocals on several songs, including "Sally" and "Mother." ^[9]

[edit] Equipment

[edit] The Police Years 1977-1984

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Love Is - 1968 (with Eric Burdon & The Animals)
Matching Head and Feet - 1975 (with Kevin Coyne)
Sarabande - 1976 (with Jon Lord)
Outlandos d'Amour - 1978 (with The Police)
Reggatta de Blanc - 1979 (with The Police)
Zenyatta Mondatta - 1980 (with The Police)
Ghost in the Machine - 1981 (with The Police)
I Advance Masked - 1982 (with Robert Fripp)
Synchronicity - 1983 (with The Police)
Bewitched - 1984 (with Robert Fripp)
XYZ - 1987
Mysterious Barricades - 1988
The Golden Wire - 1989
Charming Snakes - 1990
World Gone Strange - 1991
Invisible Threads - 1993 (with John Etheridge)
Synaesthesia - 1996
The Last Dance of Mr. X - 1997
Strings of Desire - 1998 (with Victor Biglione)
Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk - 1999
Peggy's Blue Skylight - 2000 (with vocals by Deborah Harry on the track "Weird Nightmare")
Earth + Sky - 2004
Splendid Brasil - 2005 (with Victor Biglione)
First You Build a Cloud - 2007 (with Ben Verdery)

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of the Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. xii. ISBN 9780711953024. "Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942. in Poulton-le-Fylde. Lancashire."
^ Summers, Andy (2006), One Train Later: A Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Pete Prown and HP Newquist (1997). Legends of rock guitar : the essential reference of rock's greatest guitarists. Milwaukee, WI: Leonard. p. 176. ISBN 9780793540426.
^ "Ghosts In The Machine". Guitar World (Future US) (Vol. 28, Num. 10): 47. October 2007. ISSN 1045-6295.
^ Soft machinelast=Bennett. London: SAF. 2005. p. 141. ISBN 9780946719846.
^ Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. xi. ISBN 9780711953024. "Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942. in Poulton-le-Fylde. Lancashire."
^ Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780711953024.
^ Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780711953024.
^ Frank W. Hoffmann, Howard Ferstle (2005). Encyclopedia of recorded sound. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 845. ISBN 9780415938358.
^ http://web.tiscali.it/andatta/

[edit] External links

[shortbio-0] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of the Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. xii. ISBN 9780711953024. "Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942. in Poulton-le-Fylde. Lancashire."

[1] Summers, Andy (2006), One Train Later: A Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne

[legends-2] Pete Prown and HP Newquist (1997). Legends of rock guitar : the essential reference of rock's greatest guitarists. Milwaukee, WI: Leonard. p. 176. ISBN 9780793540426.

[3] "Ghosts In The Machine". Guitar World (Future US) (Vol. 28, Num. 10): 47. October 2007. ISSN 1045-6295.

[4] Soft machinelast=Bennett. London: SAF. 2005. p. 141. ISBN 9780946719846.

[5] Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. xi. ISBN 9780711953024. "Andy Summers was born Andrew James Somers on December 31, 1942. in Poulton-le-Fylde. Lancashire."

[6] Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780711953024.

[7] Chris Welch (1996). The complete guide to the music of The Police and Sting. London: Omnibus Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780711953024.

[8] Frank W. Hoffmann, Howard Ferstle (2005). Encyclopedia of recorded sound. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 845. ISBN 9780415938358.

[9] ttp://web.tiscali.it/andatta/

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