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In 1981, Sting heard the worst “pile of shit” The Police ever made. He buried it so no one could hear it
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*.
In short
- Sting tried to bury the tape for “Behind My Camel”.
- The instrumental was written by Andy Summers.
- The disagreement reflected tensions within The Police.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Sting’s reported reaction can be understood as a judgement about the song’s fit and quality: a band member may reasonably object when an arrangement feels weak or distracts from a record’s overall coherence. His attempt to keep it off the album, if accurately reported, could reflect strong artistic standards and frustration over decisions made under pressure.
The case against
Summers was entitled to bring an unconventional instrumental to the band and to see its unusual sound as a creative strength rather than a flaw. The song’s release and Grammy win suggest that listeners and industry peers found merit in it, while burying the tape would have been an extreme way to resolve a disagreement that should have been settled through discussion.
Explained simply
The Police were a British rock trio made up of singer and bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland. They became known for songs that mixed rock with reggae and for the different musical ideas each member brought to the group.
The band’s records were shaped by disagreements over who wrote the songs and how they should sound. Summers sometimes brought in unusual instrumental pieces, while Sting and producer Nigel Gray had their own views about which material belonged on an album. These tensions offer context for the story about “Behind My Camel”, which appeared on the 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta and won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.