Why did Omar Hakim leave Sting in 1986?

Probably one of Sting's best solo band drummer's, Omar Hakim left Sting's solo band in 1986 after the
"Dream of the Blue Turtles" tour, doing close to 150 shows around the world with Sting.

I remember reading it was over money and disputes with Sting's manager at the time, Miles Copeland.
Branford Marsalis and Kenny Kirkland stayed friendly with Sting and continued to work with him over the years, after the first tour.

It seemed like the exposure Omar was getting was far more important than any petty money complaint's he may have had.
But I never heard any official word from Omar as to what really happened that made him leave a dream gig like that.

There is a brief mention of this feud in the Sting movie "Bring on the Night", when Miles Copeland says, "It's Sting's table..man"
and goes on to say, if one of the musicians in the band canceled a gig, how many people in the audience would want a refund? vs. if
Sting didn't show up at a gig. That was how he rationalized that the "sidemen" should not complain about money.

This is "through the grapevine"
and take it with a grain of salt
but there are/were some gigs
and front-liners that did not
pay and the Stringer-ator
was/is one of them.

Regards,

PS: Vinnie is what he is but I
felt that Omar was top for him.

I don't know all the facts or ins and outs concerning this....
As a matter of fact, I don't know any of em.

What I do know is, you can't eat exposure and it sure
doesn't keep the lights on.

I am sure the money was more than good for the time, this wasn't guys traveling around in a sweaty van
and staying at cheap motels, this was first class travel and accommodations....
and I am sure Omar had no problem eating or paying for his living expenses at the time.

I don't know the whole story either, but there is a good lesson in there somewhere, if anyone ever finds themselves in
a similar professional situation like that.

Someone correct me if I am
wrong but didn't the Madonna
gig come up around then?

Listen to him speak:



He will always be one of my
very favorite drummers and he
is from my hometown, too!

Regards,

With Madonna:

http://prince.org/msg/8/398357

Her bottom was never so good!!

That was still Jonathan Moffett with Madonna in 1986.
Omar did the "Girlie Show" tour in 1993, HBO showed a concert from Australia at the time.

I think right after Sting, Omar did a lot of studio stuff and he was the house drummer on
the show lived TV show, "Night Music" from 1988-1989 with David Sanborn as co-host.

Check out Omar on drums from the TV show, playing with Jean Luc Ponty from 1989....

That was great stuff with Dave!

Thanks, Drumman.

Who knows? Omar might chime
in but is such the statesman that
I wonder if he'd share anything
that did not reflect well on the
experience.

Regards,

drumman,

Just because you make a lot of money doesn't mean
you don't need more of it.  Living expenses and being
able to eat are relative.   1st class plane tickets and
5 star hotels are a lot more expensive than sweaty
vans and cheap motels.

The other side of this coin is you may be very surprised
as to the living and travel conditions of the hired help.
It ain't always what you might think it's cracked up to be,
even for those who play with the likes of Sting.

Remember, Omar packed his bags.

Omar is a player I really enjoy watching.  His fluid movements
around the kit is like no one else.  Very circular and smooth.  It
doesn't matter if he's playing softly or really laying into the drums.

It's like watching a dance.

This feels so good!

Omar Hakim = passion, flair, style.

That was a gorgeous and hip piece of music there, Don. Thanks for posting it. The guitar work was delicious.

Yeah, Asaph,

Earl Klugh has a certain playing approach and style on
the acoustic guitar that set's him far apart from all others
that play the instrument.  I've been a huge fan of his
playing and musical creations for decades now.

Beautiful player.

I love this piece...  And throw Joe Sample in the mix
on piano......  pure bliss!

It has a bit of an elevator music sound to it, but not uncommon of late 80's contemporary Jazz.

A lot of breaks and stuff to catch, must have been a challenging piece of music to learn real fast for the show.

Yep, I remember this piece being the backdrop for more than
a few TV commercials and late all night movie hosting shows.

Don, do you have any suggestions for Earl Klugh recordings to listen to? I've heard his name but never knew a thing about his playing. I really like it.

Here are two of my favorites, Asaph:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Earl+Klugh+Finger+Paintings&filters=ufn%3a%22Earl+Klugh+Finger+Paintings%22+sid%3a%227e92d5ca-4700-69f0-ab17-a03376e75f56%22&FORM=SNAPST

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Earl+Klugh+Heart+String+Album&filters=ufn%3a%22Earl+Klugh+Heart+String+Album%22+sid%3a%223077a962-9960-0a05-ab89-cf09dac1bb3c%22&FORM=SNAPST

Word of note:  His material can be consistently mellow
But that's okay for me as there are times when I'm in
that mood.

Here's another album I have of his.