Background

Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting, was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on October 2, 1951, and was the eldest of four sons of Audrey and Ernest Matthew Sumner. His father was an engineer who later opened a dairy shop and his mother was a hairdresser.

From an early age, Sting displayed an aptitude and love for music, in particular, the bass guitar.

Education

Young Sting attended St Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He then graduated from Northumbria University and soon after college, he started working as a teacher at Cramlington, England's St. Paul's School and taught there for two years before turning into a full-time musician.

Career

While in school Sting performed in local clubs, mostly with jazz bands such as Phoenix Jazzmen and Last Exit. He received the nickname "Sting" from one of his Phoenix Jazzmen bandmates because of the black-and-yellow striped sweater he often wore while performing. After graduating in 1974, Sting taught at St. Paul’s First School in Cramlington for two years.

Sting played with several groups before forming The Police with drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Henri Padovani in 1977. Padovani was later replaced by guitarist Andy Summers. The new trio released the single "Roxanne" in the spring of 1978, which went nowhere at first. Later that year, Sting, Copeland, and Summers traveled around the United States in a van playing small clubs, such as CBGB's, a punk rock haven in New York City. Interest in their first album Outlandos d'Amour (1978) began to grow and it eventually made it onto the British and then the American charts. A re-released "Roxanne" as well as "So Lonely" and "Can't Stand Losing You" became popular singles. Sting wrote most of the songs on the album, as he would for most of the group's recordings. Also during this time, he made his first film appearance in the musical drama Quadrophenia (1978).

While often identified as part of the punk and new wave musical scenes, The Police had a sound that was hard to pin down, filled with many influences from jazz to progressive rock. With its unique sound, the group continued to attract new fans with its second album Reggatta de Blanc (1979). While Sting wrote the two biggest singles on the album - "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon" - it was the instrumental composition "Reggatta de Blanc," created by all of the group members, that won The Police their first Grammy Award (Best Rock Instrumental Performance) in 1980.

Their next album helped cement The Police's position as a leading rock act. Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) featured such hits as "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da." The group toured extensively around this time but still managed to release another album the following year. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" from Ghost in the Machine (1981) reached the top of the charts.

Also during this time, Sting tackled his first leading role in the 1982 film Brimstone and Treacle. He even contributed to the score and wrote a song, "Spread a Little Happiness," for the soundtrack, which became a solo hit for him. The Police regrouped for one more studio album, 1983's Synchronicity. "Every Breath You Take" climbed to the top of the American and British charts. While many have viewed the song as romantic, it is actually a tale of obsessive love. After the tour to support this album ended in 1984, Sting decided that the group should take a break.

For his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985), Sting switched from bass to guitar. The album was a big success and had the standout singles "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" and "Fortress Around Your Heart." The album included collaborations with jazz musician Branford Marsalis and continued to show the musical versatility that Sting had introduced with the Police. Sting’s next album, …Nothing like the Sun (1987), included collaborations with Eric Clapton and with former bandmate Summers and hits such as "Fragile," "We’ll Be Together," "Englishman in New York," and "Be Still My Beating Heart."

Along with his musical exploration and experimentation, Sting found time for acting. Beginning in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Sting acted in numerous films, including Quadrophenia (1979), Dune (1984), and Julia and Julia (1987). He worked on soundtracks for such films as The Mighty (1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) and The Emperor's New Groove (2000).

In 1999, Sting released his most popular solo album to date, Brand New Day. The optimistic title track struck a chord with listeners around the world and won Sting a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2000. Later albums include All This Time (2001), Sacred Love (2003) and Songs from the Labyrinth (2006), which is a recording of English music from the 1600s.

In 2007, Sting surprised and delighted fans of The Police when the group performed together on the Grammy Awards television broadcast. The band also announced it would tour for the first time in over two decades. He also continued with his solo career, releasing the holiday album If On a Winter's Night... in 2009. Later he released an ambitious album of orchestral arrangements of his old songs, Symphonicities (2010). For the latter he toured with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the summer of 2014 The Last Ship, a musical written by Sting and inspired by his childhood in the shipbuilding town of Wallsend, had its off-Broadway debut in Chicago and was praised by critics. It debuted on Broadway that fall, but, as it began to founder, Sting joined the cast in the lead role; the production closed in 2015. An album of the same name (released 2013) was the first recording of new music Sting had released in about a decade. He returned to his rock roots for 57th & 9th (2016), and two years later he collaborated with reggae star Shaggy for his first duets album, 44/876 (2018). For My Songs (2019), Sting reinterpreted a number of his classics, including some originally recorded with the Police.

Achievements

• 

  Sting was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
  
  Sting was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Police) on 10 March 2003.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Plenty

    (Meryl Streep delivers one of her greatest performances in...)

    1985
  • Stormy Monday

    (Melanie Griffith oozes sensuality while Oscar-winner Tomm...)

    1988
  • Bruno

    (Sacha Baron Cohen plays a gay, Austrian TV reporter who w...)

    2009
  • Dune

    (A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic e...)

    1984
  • Zoolander 2

    (When the world's most beautiful people are in danger, for...)

    2016
  • Still Bill

    (Still Bill presents the story of an artist who has writte...)

    2009
  • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

    (Four Jack-the-lads find themselves heavily - seriously he...)

    1998
  • Quadrophenia

    (This 1979 British drama about a rebellious gang youth is ...)

    1979
  • Bee Movie

    (Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of ...)

    2007
  • The Bride

    (Dr. Frankenstein builds the perfect woman - and lives to ...)

    1985
  • Synchronicity 1983

• music

  • The Dream Of The Blue Turtles 1985
  • ...Nothing Like The Sun 1987
  • The Soul Cages 1991
  • Ten Summoner's Tales 1993
  • Mercury Falling 1996
  • Brand New Day 1999
  • Sacred Love 2003
  • Songs from the Labyrinth 2006
  • If On A Winter's Night... 2009
  • Symphonicities 2010
  • The Last Ship 2013
  • 57th & 9th 2016
  • My Songs 2019
  • Reggatta de Blanc 1979
  • Zenyatta Mondatta 1980
  • Ghost In The Machine 1981
  • 44/876

Religion

Sting was raised a Catholic but has since rejected his childhood faith. He once said: "I'm essentially agnostic. I don't have a problem with God. I have a problem with religion." He also once stated: "I've chosen to live my life without the certainties of religious faith. I think they're dangerous."

Politics

Sting publicly opposed Brexit and supported remaining in the European Union.

Views

During the 1980s Sting also became recognized for his interest in social causes. He performed at Live Aid, a benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia, in 1985, and in 1986 and 1988 he performed at the Amnesty International concerts for human rights. In 1987 he and his future wife, Trudie Styler, co-founded the Rainforest Foundation, an organization to protect the rainforest and its indigenous peoples. He continued to be a vocal advocate for human rights and environmental causes throughout his career.

Quotations: "Music is something that gives my life value and spiritual solace."

"There are no clues in my environment that you leave that environment and fare well and be successful. My parents didn't really understand what my dreams were. They just thought I was crazy because I had just given up a job with a pension and the security, in their eyes. My dad didn't understand until the end of his days what the hell I was doing. He thought I should have had a proper job. Maybe he was right. I wanted to take a risk and be a star."

"I'm bored with music between 1955 and 1980. I'm completely bored. I can't listen to a rock and roll record. I can't do it. I would rather listen to hogs screwing."

Personality

Sting wrote his most popular song "Every Breath You Take" after waking up in the middle of the night from a dream.

He received his name Sting from a black and gold striped rugby sweater he used to often wear when performing in a Dixieland jazz band, in which people said he looked like a bee.

Interests

• chess, yoga

• Sport & Clubs

  football, Newcastle United

• Music & Bands

  Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel

Connections

Sting got married to actress Frances Tomelty on May 1, 1976. They have a son named Joseph (b. November 23, 1976) and a daughter named Fuchsia Katherine (born April 17, 1982) together. The couple was married for almost 8 years before getting divorced in 1984. Sting then married actress Trudie Styler on August 20, 1992. They have 4 children together – 2 sons named Jake (born May 24, 1985) and Giacomo Luke (born December 17, 1995), and daughters Brigitte Michael (born January 19, 1984) and Eliot Pauline (born July 30, 1990).

Father:

Ernest Matthew Sumner

Mother:

Audrey Sumner

Sting's 1987 album "Nothing Like the Sun" is dedicated to his mother, Audrey.

Spouse:

Trudie Styler

ex-wife:

Frances Tomelty

Son:

Joseph Sumner

Daughter:

Fuchsia Catherine Sumner

Son:

Jake Sumner

Daughter:

Eliot Pauline

Son:

Giacomo Luke Sumner

Daughter:

Mickey Sumner

colleague:

Stevie Wonder

colleague:

Paul Simon

Sting is a big fan of the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon and toured the world with him between 2014 and 2015.

Friend:

Guy Ritchie

Friend:

Madonna Ciccone

Sting is the godfather of Madonna's son, Rocco Ritchie.

References

• Sting Official Site