NAME: Sting
BORN: 02/10/1951
BIRTH PLACE: Wallsend, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
BIOGRAPHY
Gordon Sumner - nicknamed ‘Sting’ for the black and yellow striped sweater he would wear while performing - was born and raised in Newcastle. His mother was a classically trained pianist who’s teaching resulted in his being offered an advanced piano scholarship. He too trained as a teacher, but jazz and guitar were Sting’s real loves, resulting in his ditching his career and moving to London to play professionally. American drummer Stewart Copeland caught his act and persuaded him to try rock. Joined by guitarist Andy Summers, the trio formed the Police in 1977.
Their rock-reggae sound broke through with ‘Roxanne’, a song about a prostitute later banned by the BBC, which assured its hit status. The single proved so successful that their record company, A&M, rushed to release their first album, ‘Outlandos D’Amour’. In quick succession, the band’s next albums, ‘Regatta De Blanc’, ‘Zenyatta Mondatta’, and ‘Ghost in the Machine’ were released, with at least one hit single emerging from each. The release, in 1983, of ‘Synchronicity’ and its monster single, ‘Every Breath You Take’, secured their place in pop history. After a triumphant world tour, Sting decided he had achieved all he could with the Police, and the band dissolved at the height of its popularity.
Sting’s solo career has proven equally successful. His first album, the jazz-influenced ‘Dream of the Blue Turtles’, went platinum. 1991’s ‘Soul Cages’, dealing with the loss of his parents (who both died of cancer within a few months of each other), and 1993’s ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’, revealed a maturity in his song writing not previously seen, and both albums won Grammy Awards. 1996’s ‘Mercury Falling’ continued in a meditative vein, as the forty-five-year-old artist ruminated on aging and his own mortality. A political activist, Sting has lent outspoken support to both Amnesty International, as well as helping to save Brazilian rainforests. His film career has showed mixed success, but his performances in such films as ‘Brimstone and Treacle’ and ‘Quadrophenia’ have been well received. He and his wife, Trudie Styler, live a relatively quiet life on their estate outside London, with their children and dogs.