For its two-year life span, Last Exit enjoyed a limited and localized success--mostly on the strength of Sting's ever-burgeoning charisma. However, by most accounts (including his own mother's), Sting's voice wasn't quite up to snuff--was, in fact, flat (a criticism that, in some circles, follows him to this day). One journalist--with the intent of making a positive comment--labeled it "high and hoarse." This was especially evident on the band's 1975 single, "Whispering Voices." (Sting himself later more or less concurred with this assessment, saying that at the time he had not developed "a full range.") However, Sting was unfazed by this criticism. In fact, an earlier incident (which he related in a 1996 AOL chat) had buttressed his confidence in his unconventional vocal style: "I used to work on a ship as a musician and one night the ship's purser came and told me to stop singing because I was upsetting some of the lady passengers. At this point I knew I was on to something. I jumped ship in Turkey and hitched home."
And there were others who heard something in Sting. While Last Exit's demo did not make much of a splash, it did catch the attention of aspiring entrepreneur Richard Branson, who in October 1976 tendered and had accepted by Sting a songwriting contract. In fact, the two became rather friendly; and while that relationship would turn acrimonious in later years, at the time it gave Sting some much-needed money and yet more confidence that his decision to throw himself wholly into a career as a musician was the right choice. "It was really weird that someone from outside Newcastle, someone alien, should hear the band and like us and care about us," he said at the time. "I never thought it would happen."
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