’It was too complex of an issue to reduce to yes or no’: Sting talks to Tubridy about Brexit and his Irish roots

By Greg Murphy

Sting sat down with Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning and talked about a wide array of topics.

He was in Dublin for the opening of his new show, The Last Ship, in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

The musician spoke to Tubridy about his Irish heritage, having recently discovered that one of his ancestors, Mary Murphy, died in a ’poor house’ in Co Monaghan.

"I visited the place and was shocked and very emotional," he said.

"The idea that people were punished for being poor, as if it were some sort of judgement from God - the rich

were rich because they deserved to be and the poor were poor because they deserved to be - that really horrified me.

Tubridy asked the artist to describe the workhouse he visited.

"It looked like a concentration camp - the men and women were separated, the children were separated.

"There was a mass burial ground behind the place; it was grim. But it was part of our history, and we all have to accept responsibility for that."

The topic turned to Brexit and Sting described how Brexit annoys him greatly.

"I voted to remain. I feel that I’m a European," he said.

"I wish the referendum hadn’t happened, I think it was ill-advised - it was really trying to shore up the lunatic elements of the Tory party.

"I wish we could just reverse the whole process. I’ve yet to hear a coherent argument why it’s a good idea.

"Nigel Farage saying ’let’s get our blue passports back’. Really? Is that it?"

Thrilled to welcome @officialsting to our studio this morning to talk about @LastShipOnStage running at @BGETheatre next June! pic.twitter.com/remC7gUhmW

— Oliver Callan (@OliverCallanRTE) December 5, 2017

Tubridy asked him about the possibility of a second referendum to ask the British people "are you sure you want a Brexit?".

Sting responded by saying it was too complex an issue to say yes or no.

"If you have a parliamentary democracy, you don’t need referendums," he said.

"Referendums were the way dictators in the 30s used to get their way; Hitler and Mussolini used to use referendums.

"It was too complex of an issue to reduce to yes or no."

On Boris Johnson, Sting said what was printed on the side of the Brexit bus was lies.

"Don’t start me, absolutely they were lies.

"All that stuff about putting money into the NHS and now there’s a £50bn divorce bill, for which we will get nothing."

Listen to the full interview below.