Date: Fri 26-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A12

Quick Words:

Clancy-Sting-concert-Meadows

Full Text:

(John Clancy meets & sings with musician Sting, 7/26/96)

So Happy He Can't Stop Smiling

(with photos)

By Shannon Hicks

John Clancy admits that at age 22, he is too young to have fulfilled a

lifelong dream, but when the recent Hartt School of Music graduate found

himself on a stage two weeks ago with the internationally-known music

superstar Sting, singing in front of 15,000 people, he had to admit it was

close to being his dream come true.

John, who plans a career in music, has been influenced by Sting ever since he

first heard "Every Breath You Take," one of the final singles released by

Sting while still a member of The Police, back in 1983. Since then - ask

anyone who knows John - he has idolized the English talent.

"If I could pick one person to play with, in my whole life, it would be him,"

John said. "That's the ironic thing.

"When you sing on the same mike, you have to be so close... and I was right

there !" he continued.

The recent college grad could never have imagined to ask for a better

graduation present: It was thanks to some quick thinking, creativity, a little

perseverance and a terrific letter by Claudia Clancy, John's mother, that John

was hand-picked by Sting to join the singer-songwriter/all-around-entertainer

on stage at the performer's Saturday, July 13 concert at Great Woods Music

Pavilion in Mansfield, MA.

"I never really thought it would happen," Claudia said. "But when it did, we

just went berserk!" Claudia, along with one of her friends, her son Rob, John

and his girlfriend, and a few other friends, were all at the concert that

Saturday night.

"If it wasn't for my mother, I mean... my mother's nuts," John laughed. He

meant it affectionately, of course; no one else would have done such a thing

for him. "She's an artist. She's a true definition of the word `artist' and

she was convinced that speaking artist-to-artist, her words would get across."

The words certainly did get across, as did the seven-foot banner that said

"PICK JOHN" and the fact that every member of the party John was with was

jumping up and down, waving their arms and yelling when it came time for Sting

to select someone from the audience to join him on stage.

Here's what happened: At each stop on his current concert tour in support of

Mercury Falling , Sting has selected a member of the audience to join him in

singing one of his new songs, called "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying." Most

of the time, the audience member is someone who isn't necessarily very

musically-inclined, but is a fan of Sting who at least knows the words to the

song.

In John's case, however, it was not only a matter of choosing a lifelong fan

who not only knew every word - and could sing in tune - but probably could

have played the song as well.

(Sting was equally lucky when Rocky Hill resident Anthony Cusano jumped on the

stage for the show in Hartford; Cusano is a drummer with a band called Funk

Food.)

A singer-songwriter (and drummer) himself, John graduated in May from Hartt

with a degree in composition. John has always been musically inclined, and has

spent the past three years playing Hartford gigs with a band (it disbanded a

few months ago). He says he'll be moving soon to Boston or New York, where the

music scene is.

It was The Police's final album, Synchronicity , specifically the single

"Every Breath You Take," that first turned John onto the sound of Sting's

voice and his continuing reverence for the guy's versatility and immense

talents. Sting has released six solo albums and countless before that with The

Police. He has also recorded with jazz musicians, acted in a number of films

and has appeared on Broadway.

When the date was announced for a Sting concert at the Meadows Music Theatre

in Hartford a few months back, John was one of the first in line for tickets.

His original intention was only to attend the Hartford show. The Great Woods

opportunities came up later.

John had tickets for the Hartford (July 10) show, then decided after

Wednesday's concert he had to get tickets for Friday (July 12) at Great Woods.

While talking about how much he enjoyed the Hartford show, John told his

mother about an audience member who had been selected to join Sting on stage.

After the Friday night show - the first one at Great Woods - Claudia Clancy

knew she would try getting John up on the stage ("She was on a mission," John

laughs), so a group of Sting fans was assembled to make a return trip to Great

Woods the following night - with just-purchased tickets in the twelfth row.

In her letter, Claudia explained how much John enjoyed Sting's music, how he

has been listening to and studying his music since John was in fourth grade,

and how much Sting has influenced John's own life. She told him all of this,

without ever letting on John was her son.

Claudia closed the letter with a drawing of a seven-foot long banner she had

made that said, simply, "Pick John." John saw a copy of the letter after his

adventure came to fruition.

When Sting played "You Still Touch Me," John and his friends all knew the

moment they were waiting for was about to come up. "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop

Crying" was the next song on the set list.

The banner went up, with John's girlfriend and Claudia each holding up an end

of the banner. John stood up on his chair and started screaming, with the rest

of the group joining in.

Sting started looking down in the front few rows, then looked up, read the

sign out loud, and said "Alright, come on up."

At this point, John's storytelling becomes even more animated. It is

impossible not to start smiling along with him, imagining the scene. No one

stands on their chairs at Sting concerts, he points out; it's not a Metallica

show after all, where a lot of jumping and wild antics go on. Sting is a

fairly mellow concert.

"I jumped off my seat. It was like my family won the lottery! Everybody was

freaking, crying, I just bolted to the stage," John said. "I had one mission.

And I made it up there."

Sting told John to sing the first chorus with him, then Sting sang the second

verse and once he realized John had a singing talent, he gave John an open

mike for the second chorus. All the while, John was dancing around, "doing

[my] thing," and having a wonderful time with his idol.

The audience response, John says, after he sang his first line alone, "was

like a roar... it was like what you hear at a baseball game! It was crazy. I

almost passed out right there."

John sang another chorus with Sting, then the two sang the last double-verse

in unison.

"That was probably my favorite thing, because it was long and it was like I

knew he was trusting me because I knew the words through the whole thing," he

continued. Sting grabbed John's hand and the two took a bow together once the

song ended. Then John had to drag himself off the stage, but once he hit the

floor he was mobbed by groups of people offering high-fives and

congratulations all around.

No stranger to performing to crowds, John knows how to capture a memory as it

is happening. Shows with his band have been before two to three thousand

people, and when something big happens, he has taught himself to not just live

a moment, but to remember it, as well.

"It was surreal. You're living it, you're thinking about it while it's

happening," he said. "I make a point to think about what's happening while it

is happening because otherwise you start losing what's going on, you don't

have a memory.

"So I was thinking about it."

This was not the first time John saw Sting in concert - he made the trip to

Great Woods three years ago for the Ten Summoner's Tales tour, which did not

venture into Connecticut, and he had seen him a few times before that - but

this was certainly his most intense encounter.

While relating last week what has become The Sting Story, John was leafing

through photographs of Sting's Hartford concert. When he got to photos of

Sting with his bass player, he prophetized on the future for that musician.

"This guy is in his 20s, probably, and he is set , you know what I mean?,"

John said. "He and his friend, they must be [so psyched], playing up there!

"Can you imagine??!! No way!"

But then he corrected himself, "Well, now I can."