No regrets, insists ex-Police member who walked out on Sting and Co

It was 1977, and rock musician Henry Padovani was at the crossroads of his career. He took the wrong turn. The 25-year-old guitarist decided to leave his current band and join a group named the Electric Chairs, backing an American transvestite named Wayne County.

Scroll down for more...

Superstars in waiting: Padovani, right, with Sting and Copeland before Summers arrived

The three musicians he left behind were the Police, who went on to make vast fortunes and become arguably the biggest band of the 1980s. As Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland began their 100million reunion tour in Vancouver, Padovani was at home on the outskirts of Paris reflecting on what might have been. "Technically I left to join a bigger band, but with hindsight it's certain that the Police went on to better things," said the divorced father of two, now 54.

"I feel a bit like a young father who has gone through a painful divorce and left the baby behind." Padovani was a founder member of the Police alongside Sting and drummer Copeland. They were initially a punk group but after Summers joined they evolved their more melodic reggae-influenced sound.

At that point Padovani threw in his lot with Wayne County, who recorded three unsuccessful albums before retiring to Berlin and relaunching his career as a woman, Jayne County. In the meantime the Police had gone to No 2 in the UK charts with their single Can't Stand Losing You, after which Roxanne, which had flopped first time round, was rereleased and reached No 12. A string of No 1 hits would follow, including Message In A Bottle, Walking On The Moon, Don't Stand So Close To Me and Every Breath You Take.

Four consecutive albums topped the charts - Reggatta de Blanc, Zenyatta Mondatta, Ghost In The Machine and Synchronicity. The band broke up in 1985 and Sting went on to become a solo artist. As for Padovani, he launched his own moderately-acclaimed instrumental band, The Flying Padovanis, was vice-president of IRS Records between 1984 and 1994, and then managed the Italian rock star Zucchero for five years.

He will always be known, however, for the success he didn't achieve - in the same way as the fifth Beatle Pete Best and Syd Barrett, the tortured genius who quit Pink Floyd before they made their millions. Of the Police, Padovani said: "He's still my child, and I still love him, but I just wish I'd spent a bit more time with him." But he insisted: "I've seen every end of the business since my time with the band and wouldn't change a single moment.

"It's great to watch the Police doing so well from afar, and I'm immensely proud of having been there at the beginning. "I would not say that I'm hugely rich or world famous, but I'm certainly very happy." It was the first time the original Police members had produced music together in almost 30 years.

"It was like nothing had changed," he said. "We had such good times together, and have always kept in touch. The guys are some of my best friends.

"
It is a much-remarked oddity of Kate since her break-up with Prince William: she has never looked happier. And as Kate re-emerges, her younger sister Pippa is suddenly taking a leading role on the social scene. Are the Middleton girls to be rebranded the Wisteria Sisters?

It's a classic tale of what might have been. Henry Padovani, one of the founder members of The Police, quit the band just months before they became the biggest act in Britain
She thought the other mothers didn't know - until they tipped off the police. How teenage binge drinking began a 20-year addiction that nearly cost this middle-class woman her children
It was one-nil to Kylie Minogue when she bumped into a former love rival Michelle Rodriguez in Antibes.

Keywords: On To, Henry Padovani, Wayne County, On Sting

Post comments

Name
Place
3 + 1 =
Comments

Search