Roxane, Every breath you take, Message in a bottle… Everyone once hummed a Sting hit. Omnipresent for forty years in the media or on musical radios, the British singer seems to be a personality without mystery.
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Begun at the end of the 70s, his career was built on the ashes of the punk era. Then the pop, electric and nervous songs of his group The Police have, little by little, given way to very mainstream variety songs that leave rock fans hungry for more.
When singer Sting reveals his tattoo of the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral
Is Sting smooth and free from rough edges? This is what he can sometimes reveal in his interviews, which are very effective exercises in self-promotion. Nothing wrong with that, all artists do it, to varying degrees.
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But sometimes, when the mood strikes him, he sometimes lets out some fragments of his intimate life. These fragile moments when he lets his guard down are, for journalists as well as for the public, more interesting than his more calibrated and consensual remarks.
“I visited Chartres about twenty years ago. And since then I have had a labyrinth built in the garden of my property in England.”
Sting (Singer)
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This is what happened one day in autumn 2016. In a Parisian palace (and yes, he’s a star, he would be wrong to deprive himself), the singer continues interviews with journalists for defend his new album, the very estimable 57th & 9th.
Sting: “I let myself be guided by my curiosity”
After an interview in which he turns out to be charming and focused, Sting suddenly realizes that his interlocutor lives in Chartres and works for The Republican Echo. “Wait, I have to show you something,” he said with an unheard of sparkle in his eyes.
Sting, the singer who has Chartres in the skin, does not want “to be 24 years old forever”
And here, without warning, Sting pulls up his t-shirt and shows… a tattoo of the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral, planted between his two shoulder blades. A surreal and totally unexpected scene.
“I have Chartres on my back! “
The English millionaire, who seemed so serious a few minutes before, is jubilant like a kid who just made a schoolboy joke. It’s as if a breath of fresh air has just knocked over everything in this luxurious and slightly intimidating hotel room. Then he adds, almost euphoric: “I have Chartres on my back! “.
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Obviously, when the moment is immortalized with a photo, Sting changes his attitude and whistles the end of recess. The pro takes over. No big deal, because for a few minutes, the singer seems to have given a little of himself, without anyone really asking. The enchanted parenthesis closes …
A sincere but evasive answer
After this moment of magic, we must resume the interview. But what does the perfectly reproduced pattern of the labyrinth on his back do? His answer is sincere, but a little evasive: “When I have a problem to solve, I get started. It’s very useful “.
What is he looking for then? Eternal youth? The interested party denies it. “I don’t want to be 24 forever. I’m happy at 60 (Editor’s note: rather 69 years old) ».
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Whatever his motivations, this crush is not recent, as it explains. “I visited Chartres about twenty years ago. And since then, I’ve had a maze built in the garden of my property in England, but in a giant version, ”he said at the time. This is to say if it is important …
Each corner of the brain is represented by the different directions of the labyrinth. It is a beautiful metaphor for life.
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In another interview, given to The Republican Echo in the spring of 2018, he clarified his thoughts: “Every corner of the brain is represented by the different directions of the labyrinth. It is a beautiful metaphor for life ”.
Medieval and mystical atmospheres
The theme of walking was also crucial in the creation of the album. 57th & 9th. This somewhat enigmatic title refers to the crossing of two New York streets that Sting crossed every day to get to the studio. Walk. It was on the journey that the singer wrote his songs.
In any case, this enigmatic labyrinth feeds the most secret part of the English musician. This bewitching pattern inspired one of his most unique albums, Songs from the labyrinth, released in 2006. A record filled with medieval, meditative and mystical atmospheres.
He fascinates politicians and people
Because it’s a place that asks a lot of questions and offers few answers. When you enter the cathedral every Friday between Lent and All Saints’ Day, the visitor can see a good number of faithful walking along the course of the labyrinth, in a kind of interior pilgrimage which can give rise to all interpretations, even the most eccentric.
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For the Church, these new-age drifts have no place. The labyrinth represents a symbolic path where man goes to meet God. Designed since the construction of the cathedral at the start of the 13th century, the labyrinth, a link between the ancient world and modernity, continues to fascinate politicians and people.
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In 1979, 1981 and 1989, François Mitterrand, who believed “in the forces of the spirit”, visited the cathedral at length and asked many questions about the history of the building. “We never go enough to Chartres Cathedral,” he liked to repeat. Without – to our knowledge – going so far as to get a tattoo to express your passion.
A memorable visit from Bono to the 90s
In a different register, the singer of U2, Bono, also came to recharge his batteries at the cathedral during a memorable visit in the 90s. More recently, the singer Laurent Voulzy, linked by strong family ties to the Eure- et-Loir, remains fascinated by the cathedral, which he visits regularly. “I love coming here to burn a candle,” he told us.
Laurent Voulzy in concert at Chartres Cathedral: “It’s very moving for me to be here”
Alain Souchon’s accomplice gave several very intimate concerts at the cathedral in November 2019. He even had for the occasion composed a new song.
“I was introduced to the first poem dedicated to Notre-Dame de Chartres. Being passionate about the Middle Ages, I wrote music on it. I had to listen to it again on my cell phone to remember it, ”he exclaimed enthusiastically.
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If we can find one thing in common between Sting and Laurent Voulzy, it is their great spirituality. Neither one defines themselves as religious. Questioned, the Briton prefers not to give a name to his spiritual practice.
A concert at the cathedral?
As for the interpreter of Rockcollection, he expresses his doubts: “I’m looking, I would like to have the absolute answer. But I suspect there is something ”.
Will there be a Sting concert one day at Chartres Cathedral? It never happened, and the venue might be too small for an artist of this stature. But the invitation is out …
Remi Bonnet
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