My wife and I first visited Jamaica
in 1980. We fell in love with the lush tropical island, the beautiful Caribbean Sea
and the warm and friendly Jamaican people.
We have returned to Jamaica
time and time again over the years. The island feels like a second home to us.
Perhaps it was on the second
or three visit to Jamaica in the early 1980's that my wife overheard me asking a Jamaican where Oracabessa
was, as I was much interested in visiting Goldeneye, the former vacation home
of the late, great British thriller writer, Ian Fleming.
I read about Goldeneye in a biography of Fleming and in several magazine and newspaper pieces. Fleming spent two months a
year at Goldeneye in Oracabessa and he wrote all of the James Bond novels at
this cliff -top villa that overlooks the Caribbean Sea. Fleming had steps
carved out of the cliff, which lead down to a private beach and a small cave.
I was weaned on Fleming’s
novels and I loved the early Bond films with Sean Connery as Bond, as my wife
well knew. Unbeknown to me, when we returned home to Philadelphia my wife
contacted a real estate agent in New York and booked a week’s stay at Goldeneye
for us the following year.
When she told me we would be
staying at Ian Fleming’s Goldeneye, I was delighted. Like Fleming, I went free
diving in the cove and I worked at Fleming’s original Jamaican Blue Mahoe
writing desk (Fleming is seen in the below photo at this desk).
Just prior to taking off for Jamaica
and Goldeneye, my wife and I were watching a TV show and Sting was being
interviewed. We liked Sting’s music, so we watched the interviewed, but we were
taken aback as Sting noted that he had stayed at Goldeneye, where he said he
wrote some of his best music at this “magical place.”
Sting recently mentioned Goldeneye and
Jamaica again in an interview with the Daily Mail Australia.
Sting, real name Gordon
Sumner, has revealed the unlikely place he wrote some of his biggest
chart-toppers on Thursday's Project.
The former Police frontman
was on the Network Ten show to promote his latest collaboration with Jamaican
born singer Shaggy when he revealed that he wrote some of his most recognized
songs at the desk of James Bond author Ian Fleming.
The admission came when Sting
and Shaggy were talking about their latest duet, Don't Make Me Wait.
'The song is about your
mutual love of Jamaica,' host Peter Helliar said. 'Shaggy, you were born in
Jamaica, but Sting, what makes you love Jamaica so much? Where does that come
from?
'I spent a lot of time in
Jamaica in the '80s. I used to stay at Ian Fleming's house where he wrote all
the James Bond books, and I used to sit at his desk ' Sting admitted.
Promoting his latest
collaboration with Jamaican-born singer Shaggy, Sting revealed: 'I spent a lot
of time in Jamaica in the '80s. I used to stay at Ian Fleming's house where he
wrote all the James Bond books, and I used to sit at his desk '
He continued: 'I wrote a
couple of my biggest songs of my career sitting at that desk. So it was my
chance to make some sort of repayment of my emotional debt to the island. I
love it.'
Pressing the issue, Peter
asked the star what songs he composed at the famous desk to which he replied:
'Every Breath You Take, King Of Pain, Wrapped Around Your Finger....'
You can read the rest of the
piece and watch a video clip via the below link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5477201/Sting-reveals-unlikely-location-wrote-hits.html
You can also watch the new Sting
and Shaggy musical video via the below link:
Note: The above photo is of
me at Goldeneye.
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