Guitarist Andy Summers of The Police

Andy Summers was born "Andrew James Somers" on December 31, 1942 in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Summers grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset, England and started playing guitar primarily as a self-taught musician. He began playing jazz guitar in local clubs by the time he was a teenager. In 1964 he became the guitarist for Zoot Money's Big Roll Band and remained with the act as it was transformed into Dantalian's Chariot in 1967, in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of psychedelic rock. Although this act - in both configurations - was popular on the London club scene, they never received widespread success or acclaim.

With Dantalian's Chariot coming to a close, Summers briefly toured the United States with the jazz-fusion band Soft Machine in the summer of 1968. Later that year he joined Eric Burdon And The Animals and is featured on their album "Love Is". He then studied classical guitar at the California State University at Northridge for four years, through 1973. He spent most of the mid-seventies afterward as a sought-after session guitarist, performing with notable artists including Neil Sedaka, David Essex, Kevin Coyne, Kevin Ayers, Joan Armatrading, Tim Rose, Jon Lord, and others. It was when he was brought in for a session for Mike Howlett's project Strontium 90 that he first worked with Sting and Stewart Copeland, who were struggling to make a success of The Police with their current guitarist, Henry Padovani.

Summers wanted in on The Police, and his technical skill and musical abilities appealed to Sting - who was frustrated by Henry's limited guitarwork. The Police very briefly existed as a 4-piece band before Henry was let go, and the band was finally in the configuration which lead to its worldwide success.

After the final Police studio album Synchronicity and supporting tour, Andy Summers set out on a solo career and has released numerous albums from 1987 through today. These albums have ranged from 80s synth-pop (XYZ to New Age (Mysterious Barricades) to experimental fusion (Synaesthesia) to classic jazz (Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk). In 2006, Andy released his autobiography, One Train Later, which is currently in development for a theatrical release.

Andy is highly regarded for his photography and has had his work shown in numerous gallery exhibits and several published collections.

Andy Summers has been married twice. He married his first wife, Robin Lane, in 1968 and they divorced 2 years later. He married his second wife Kate in 1973 and they had her first child, daughter Layla Zoe Summers, in 1978. The stress and touring of The Police led them to divorce in 1981, yet they reunited and remarried in 1985. Their twin sons Maurice X and Anton Y were born in 1987. Summers currently live in the Los Angeles area with Kate wife and their family.

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