# In 1981, Sting heard the worst “pile of shit” The Police ever made. He buried it so no one could hear it

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1981-sting-heard-the-worst-pile-of-shit-the-police-ever-made-he-buried-it-so-no-one-could-hear-it/
- Published: 2026-10-27T14:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T06:05:29+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/in-1981-sting-heard-the-worst-pile-of-shit-the-police-ever-made-he-buried-it-so-no-one-could-hear-it/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Sting tried to bury the tape for “Behind My Camel”.
- The instrumental was written by Andy Summers.
- The disagreement reflected tensions within The Police.

## Summary

Sting reportedly disliked “Behind My Camel”, an instrumental by guitarist Andy Summers, so much that he buried its studio tape in the garden to stop it appearing on a Police record. The episode reflects tensions over songwriting and arrangements in the trio, even as the band was producing some of its best-known work.

The song was included on the 1980 album *Zenyatta Mondatta* and won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The article says producer Nigel Gray shared Sting’s low opinion of it, while Summers continued to pursue more unconventional material; the band later recorded “Mother” for *Synchronicity*.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.