Sting

As the focal point of the enormously popular British rock trio the Police, Sting (b. Gordon Sumner, Oct. 2, 1951, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England) became one of the most famous faces of the ’80s. Aside from writing a memorable string of hit singles and albums between 1979-83, highlighted by the No. 1 song “Every Breath You Take” from 1983’s hugely successful Synchronicity, the one-time schoolteacher turned pop star regularly appeared in such films such as Quadrophenia (1979), Brimstone And Treacle (1982), Dune (1984), The Bride and Plenty (both 1985). It surprised few then when, as the band’s primary singer-songwriter, he finally opted to record his own solo album, 1985’s platinum-selling The Dream Of The Blue Turtles; it surprised even fewer when, after a one-off appearance at a 1986 Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope concert in Atlanta, the Police unofficially disbanded, and the former Gordon Sumner began an equally successful solo career.

Nicknamed Sting due to a black and yellow shirt he favored in the early ’70s, the blond singer was part of a Newcastle, England fusion-jazz quartet called Last Exit prior to joining with drummer Stewart Copeland to form the Police in early 1977. Following the release of a debut single featuring early guitarist Henri Padovani–whom Sting and Copeland replaced with renowned session guitarist Andy Summers–the Police began a lengthy relationship with A&M Records via the 1978 single “Roxanne,” a colorful, reggae-tinged song about a prostitute written by Sting. Within a year, the song had cracked the top 40 and began a streak of nine top 40 hits for the Police between 1979-84, six of which made the top 10, including “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” the eight-week No. 1 single “Every Breath You Take,” “King Of Pain,” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger.”

The band did not play by pop’s traditional business rules of the time: They toured the U.S. before they’d released an album, and they signed a deal for a minimal advance that then guaranteed them high royalties. As a result, they acquired a very loyal early audience and became extremely wealthy: All six of their albums were certified gold, five going platinum or multi-platinum. Synchronicity, the trio’s 1983 bestseller, was No. 1 for 17 weeks and certified quadruple platinum; it would have been the year’s top album had it not been for Michael Jackson’s phenomenal Thriller.

Sting’s progression as a songwriter was a fascinating step-by-step evolution from writing lightweight, wry songs about prostitutes and the seeming baby-babble of “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” to weightier political topics influenced by philosopher Arthur Koestler (on Ghost In The Machine) and Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (Synchronicity). In 1983, the singer explained how his world view was playing an expanding role in the songs he was writing. “I’m pretty angry at the world,” he said. “And I think it’s my duty to be angry. Because a lot of people are asleep, you know? They don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know the place is being wrecked by fools. Fools we call politicians. I am angry, and I am sour about the political state of the world. I think it sucks. But that doesn’t mean to say that I’m crying in my beer.” Sting’s political involvement showed itself through his alignment with such causes as Amnesty International, for whom he appeared in concert in 1986 and 1988, as well as a celebrated solo appearance in 1985 at Live Aid.

The latter performance coincided with the release of Dream Of the Blue Turtles–which held the No. 2 slot for six weeks, included the top 10 singles “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” and “Fortress Around Your Heart,” and boasted a top-line backing band including jazz stars Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, and Omar Hakim. Sting’s incorporation of such players indicated how the former fusioneer had come to feel hemmed in the Police’s guitar/bass/drums trio format; while most of the band’s later albums were marvelously textured, the Blue Turtles line-up was able to provide an even more varied musical context for Sting’s increasingly sophisticated compositions. Furthermore, Bring On The Night, a 1986 double-live album documenting the singer’s Blue Turtles tour, which went unreleased in the U.S., ably demonstrated how the group was more than capable of playing Police songs such as “Bring On The Night,” “Driven To Tears” and “Tea In The Sahara” as good as if not better than the original trio.

The new band, plus guests Eric Clapton, jazz arranger Gil Evans and even Police guitarist Summers accompanied Sting for his double platinum 1987 album …Nothing Like The Sun. With three top 20 hits, including the No. 7 single “We’ll Be Together,” the record was actually his first since the Police’s break-up, and it showed the singer had made the transition to solo artist seamlessly. A successful world tour followed, and his status as an international superstar was further cemented by the 1988 release of Nada Como El Sol, a Spanish and Portuguese version of …Nothing Like The Sun. He returned in 1991 with The Soul Cages, a dark album written after the death of his father and largely reflecting the emotional ramifications of his loss throughout. Unusually–but to be expected, considering its overall downbeat theme–the album contained only one hit, the top 5 “All This Time.”

In 1993, Sting rebounded with Ten Summoner’s Tales–an album which even in its pun-filled title (summoner = Sumner) revealed an upbeat contrast to the dour The Soul Cages. “Being on the rebound from that very dark record,” the singer explained upon its release, “this time I wanted to make one for the fun of it, the craft of it–to engage the band musically. There’s a clash of styles and motifs that’s quite deliberate.” The album launched a series of popular singles–including “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” “Fields Of Gold,” and “Nothing ‘Bout Me”–and eventually reached the triple-platinum sales mark. Following the release of Fields Of Gold: The Best Of Sting 1984-1994, the inevitable compilation, Sting returned to the marketplace with Mercury Falling in 1996 and Brand New Day in 1999.

In 2002, Sting reunited with Police mates Copeland and Summers to celebrate the band’s induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but the reunion was only a one-night stand. Sting continued to explore his solo vision with Sacred Love, released in the fall of 2003.