Sting is an unusual man

Question: If you played a concert on 911 in Italy for a pre-planned album/film and needed to shoot an album cover for it, what would you do?

Answer (if you’re Sting): You jet off to a historic prison in Philadelphia and shoot a close-up that shows nothing of the site and could have been done pretty much anywhere. Say a random paint-peeling doorway in Italy.

Here’s his 2001 ‘…All the Time’ album cover.

Here’s a shot of the photo session (not the winner — evident in taped-up background/jacket).

I visited Eastern State Penitentiary recently. It’s fascinating. Here are some photos.