Today would have been the birthday of Eva Cassidy, who left us way too soon in 1996. Here she sings Fields of Gold written by Sting (aka Gordon Sumner).
Another of Sting's best, sung by himself: Fragile
I was sorry, but not surprised, when Sting's new stage show, The Last Ship , didn't do well on Broadway. It's a musical based on a story of North-East England's famous shipbuilding area on the River Tyne, and its decline. People in the USA will be mostly unaware of such calamities, though there are probably US equivalents. The flavour of England's Tyneside is unique though, and understood best by those who call that area home. Most of Britain is aware of its story and holds the region in affection, even though the local Geordie accent often confuses us.
When The Last Ship opened, Jimmy Nail played the leading role; I understand that Sting took over the lead later, in order to boost ticket sales, and provide name recognition.
Jimmy Nail has long been a favourite of mine. He wrote a song in 1995 on a similar theme to The Last Ship's story. I have always loved his song, Big River, and his own rendition of it. I'm not a Tynesider, I was born some 150 miles straight south of the River Tyne, in a city on the Humber estuary. Even so, this song never fails to bring a lump to my throat.
