Inviting 200 fans to his farmhouse in Tuscany for the recording of his new live disc...All This Time, Sting was ready to jam. "But that day was Sept. 11," he says. "I didn't feel like singing. I asked for a minute of silence, then said I would shut down the show. During the moment of silence, some band members started crying. After that, I asked the audience, 'What do you want?' " They encouraged him to go ahead. "The music had a healing effect," he says. "So we kept the tapes rolling. But this wasn't the easiest gig of my life."

It isn't always easy for an ex-punk rocker to turn 50, either, but Sting took his Oct. 2 birthday in stride. "I have six wonderful children, a wonderful wife and most of my sanity," says the former Police chief, who these days listens more to Bach than rock. "I'm pretty happy to be 70, oops, I mean 50." The kids—four with movie-producer wife Trudie Styler, two with ex-wife Frances Tomelty—have him wrapped around their fingers. "I'm a dad, you know?" says Sting, although he still has to work on his paternal repertoire. "I don't know those Barney songs yet." Ericka Sóuter