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Andy Summers (born '''Andrew James Somers''' 31 December 1942 ) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police . Summers's primary guitars are the Fender Telecaster when playing rock, and Gibson electric guitars when playing Jazz Fusion and Jazz . His playing has been influenced by years of jazz and Classical Music studies, as well as his work in New Age , Rock , and other musical genres. He was born in Poulton-le-Fylde , Lancashire , England . EDUCATION Although Andy Summers had been essentially self-taught when he began his professional musical career, he studied classical guitar at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) for four years until 1973. PERFORMING CAREER Though born in Lancashire, Summers grew up in Bournemouth , Dorset , where he started playing jazz guitar as a teenager in local clubs. Career prior to the Police He began his recording career in the 1960s as the guitarist for Zoot Money's Big Roll Band and its subsequent psychedelic-era incarnation, Dantalian's Chariot, both popular acts on the London club scene. Summers was a member for several months in early 1968 of the Canterbury Scene Jazz Fusion band Soft Machine , although he did not record with the group. He also recorded with Eric Burdon And The New Animals , and spent much of the mid-seventies 1970s doing session work for Neil Sedaka , Joan Armatrading , Kevin Ayers , Kevin Coyne , Tim Rose , and Jon Lord , and others. At one point, he was considered for Mick Taylor 's replacement as lead guitarist for The Rolling Stones ; the group eventually chose Ron Wood instead. In the mid-1970s, in order to avoid having to spell it out for people, he changed his surname from "Somers" to "Summers". The Police Summers achieved international prominence as the guitarist for ''. Eschewing fancy guitar pyrotechnics, Summers' style is notable for its depth of sound, characterized by tasteful use of compressor, chorus, and echo effects. He was an early adopter of Roland synthesizer technology. He is also known for Syncopative rhythm playing. Career subsequent to the Police Summers' diverse musical credits include Film Score s, most famously '' Down And Out In Beverly Hills '' and '' Weekend At Bernie's ''. He also dabbled in late night television as the band leader and composer for actor/comic Dennis Miller 's brief-lived first talk show. Summers guest-starred in an episode of TV's '' The Hitchhiker '' and had a bit part in the comedy '' Another You '', starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor . Summers also was briefly a member in 1987 of the group "Rush Hour", which became Animal Logic with ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland . Summers has released numerous recordings as a leader or in collaboration with other musicians, including John Etheridge , Vinnie Colaiuta , Robert Fripp , Herbie Hancock , Brian Auger , Eliane Elias , Tony Levin , Ginger Baker , Deborah Harry , Q-Tip , and Sting , among others. Summers also taped a two-part guitar instructional video for Hot Licks . The Police reunion In March 2003, Summers, Sting and Copeland reunited for the induction of The Police into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame . Later that year, Summers released his tenth solo album, ''Earth + Sky'', which consisted of instrumental music. His most recent release is an album called '' The X Tracks '', which is something of a retrospective of his musical efforts between 1997 and 2002. Recently, Summers has been performing at jazz clubs and other venues a few times each year. At the 2007 Grammy Awards , Summers, Stewart Copeland and Sting performed together again as The Police. This marked the band's first public performance since 1986 other than their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame . One day later, the band announced that in celebration of The Police's 30th anniversary, they would be embarking on worldwide The Police Reunion Tour on 23 May 2007 . By the final leg of the tour, Summers will be 65 years of age. WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHY CAREER In addition to being a musician, Summers is a published writer and photographer. His recent book with '', published by '' Chronicle Books '', contains various passages about different types of music, guitars, and personal stories. His autobiography, ''One Train Later: A Memoir'', (with a foreword by U2's The Edge ) was released in October 2006. Summers is well-known for frequently carrying a camera and taking pictures of his experiences. In August 2007, he will publish ''I'll Be Watching You'', a photographic journal of his years with The Police. He has continued his photography during The Police Reunion Tour from 2007-2008 and has switched to using Digital Camera s for the first time. An exhibit of some of the photographs from ''I'll Be Watching You'' has toured several cities in Canada. EQUIPMENT Summers possesses a notable collection of various guitars and has used many combinations of guitars, effects, and amplifiers over the years. 1977 – 1984 During Summers' career with The Police, he used a wide array of guitars. He used different guitars on each album, on tour, and even in Police music videos. His most notable guitar was a modified 1963 Fender Telecaster that is responsible for much of what fans consider the "classic" Police guitar sound. Summers used this guitar extensively while recording and touring with The Police and still uses it currently. In addition to his modified 1963 Telecaster, Andy also uses occasionally a Fiesta Red 1961 Fender Stratocaster as a backup guitar. He played many Gibson guitars during this time: a 1958 ", a Hamer Sunburst in some '' Zenyattà Mondatta '' tracks, and several custom Hamer guitars on many other songs. Summers played through a variety of effects pedals including several Echoplex units the band obtained around the time of '' Outlandos D'Amour ''. He played through the same effects both in the studio and on stage, allowing him to duplicate his tone for a particular song anywhere. Summers used Marshall half-stacks for amplification. 1985 – 1996 When The Police disbanded and Summers' solo career got underway, he began to experiment with different combinations of guitars and effects (including two Roland guitar synthesizers, a Strat-style GR-505 and a GR-707). While he still used many of his older guitars, especially the Telecaster, he made extensive use of Steve Klein Custom Guitars. As the 1990s progressed, he began using a Gibson ES-335 since he was dissatisfied with how the Klein sounded live for long periods of playing. The ES-335 was also more suited for jazz, a genre Summers pursued at the time. Summers also used several acoustic guitars while recording ''Invisible Threads'', such as a Gibson B-25 , a Martin D-28 , and a custom acoustic made by British Luthier Andrew Manson. 1997 – present Summers continues to make heavy use of the ES-335 which is especially suited to jazz music. He has also used Archtop Guitar s by noted luthier Robert Benedetto . For the 2007-2008 Police reunion tour, Summers is once again using the Telecaster and others older guitars that he used on Police albums. Summers strongly prefers analog effects pedals in both studio and live settings and continues to use widely ranging effects setups. PERSONAL Summers married his first wife Robin Lane (later of Robin Lane & the Chartbusters) in 1968. The couple divorced in 1970. In 1973, he married Kate, a psychology graduate, and they had a daughter, Layla Z Summers (born in 1978). Kate and Summers divorced in 1981 but remarried in 1985. During the period estranged from Kate, Summers fathered a son, Andrew, with another woman. Andrew was later legally adopted by Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash . In 1987, twin sons Maurice X and Anton Y Summers were born. The kids were given a letter (i.e., X, Y) for a middle name in conjunction with his first solo album, ''XYZ''. DISCOGRAPHY Studio
Compilation
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