The talk turns to 'Mad About You', a brooding ballad on The Soul Cages. "That's another one in the lust-power jealousy genre; Sting says, smiling. "I think it's a fascinating genre." It's suggested that 'Every Breath You Take' is perhaps the classic of the idiom. "It's funny, I got a British Music Industry award last night for 2 million plays of that record, which, added up, is about seventeen years of continuous radio play!" Sting says incredulously. "It would be a pretty boring radio station, but the staggering idea is that this song, which is so ambiguous - it's seductive, but it's also quite pernicious... it works. This may sound highfalutin, but it's probably the song of the Reagan years - this idea that you'll be looked after by this patronising, figure. Like Star Wars: You'll be under surveillance but also... protected. That mixture of sex and power is very compelling."
The talk turns to 'Mad About You', a brooding ballad on The Soul Cages. "That's another one in the lust-power jealousy genre; Sting says, smiling. "I think it's a fascinating genre." It's suggested that 'Every Breath You Take' is perhaps the classic of the idiom. "It's funny, I got a British Music Industry award last night for 2 million plays of that record, which, added up, is about seventeen years of continuous radio play!" Sting says incredulously. "It would be a pretty boring radio station, but the staggering idea is that this song, which is so ambiguous - it's seductive, but it's also quite pernicious... it works. This may sound highfalutin, but it's probably the song of the Reagan years - this idea that you'll be looked after by this patronising, figure. Like Star Wars: You'll be under surveillance but also... protected. That mixture of sex and power is very compelling."