Henri Padovani
| Henry Padovani | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Henri Padovani |
| Born |
13 October 1952 Bastia, Santo-Pietro-di-Venaco, Corsica, France |
| Genres | Rock, post-punk, new wave, reggae, instrumental rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Associated acts | The Police, U.K. Subs, Johnny Thunders, Zucchero Fornaciari |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson ES-335 | |
Henri Padovani (born 13 October 1952, Bastia, Santo-Pietro-di-Venaco, Corsica, France) commonly known as Henry Padovani, is a musician from the Mediterranean French isle of Corsica, noted for being the original guitarist with The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to August 1977 and was replaced by Andy Summers, who had originally been part of the band as a second guitarist.
Henri Padovani grew up between Algeria and Corsica from Santo-Pietro-di-Venaco. While studying Economics at Aix-en-Provence, he began listening to Jimi Hendrix and was inspired to form his own band, Lupus, made up of various school friends. He moved to London in December 1976, where a friend took him to one of Curved Air's last gigs. Though unimpressed by the performance, afterward he ended up talking with American expatriate drummer Stewart Copeland, who showed him some songs he'd been writing and introduced him to the rising punk scene. After a show at the Roxy Club, Padovani decided he wanted to join a punk band and shaved off his waist-length hair and beard. He then auditioned for the band London and was offered the job.
However, when he told Copeland of his success, Copeland petitioned him to join his own band, The Police. Copeland was already under the impression that he had convinced singer and bassist Sting to join, but despite heavy use of word-of-mouth and advertisements in musical publications, Padovani was the only guitarist he could find who was interested in punk and had actual playing ability. Copeland later recalled of Henry Padovani:
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