Although I am currently in the midst of loads of marking – when the dust settles I will be spending some time during the summer finishing off the initial draft of my Sting book – currently called ‘Magnetic North: Sting, Place and Identity. Although I am disclosing no specific details at this point, what I can say is that the book will be the first to deal in detail with Sting’s background in Newcastle – and will include a number of exclusive interviews. The book will also, for the first time feature a detailed analysis of many Last Exit songs – including many that went on to success with The Police and his solo career. The section that I am most proud of are the chapters that deal with his personae and Geordie Identity. What was interesting about the latter in particular is that I found that it was therapeutic for myself – when dealing with my own identity. There are also chapters on his time in London and his protest song – which was essentially trans-national. If anyone is interested in updates – please like this Facebook Page.