Sting
Encyclopedia
Sting CBE
, is an English musician, singer-songwriter
, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist
of the rock band The Police
.
Sting has varied his musical style throughout his career, incorporating distinct elements of jazz
, reggae
, classical
, new age
, and worldbeat
into his music. As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy
for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
in 1981, three Brit Awards
—winning Best British Male in 1994, and several Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and the Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
, Newcastle upon Tyne
, England, the eldest of four children born to Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer. His siblings were Philip, Angela and Anita. Young Gordon would often assist his father with the early-morning milk-delivery rounds and his "best friend" was an old Spanish guitar with five rusty strings which had been left behind by an uncle who had emigrated to Canada.
He attended St. Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He would often sneak into nightclubs like the Club-A-Go-Go, where he would watch acts such as Cream
and Jimi Hendrix
, artists who would later influence his own music. After jobs as a bus conductor, a construction labourer, and a tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education, (which later became part of Northumbria University
) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher. He then worked as a schoolteacher at St. Paul's First School in Cramlington
for two years.
Sting performed in jazz bands on evenings, weekends, and during breaks from college and from teaching. He played with local jazz
bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit
. He gained his nickname after he performed wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes while onstage with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought that the sweater made him look like a bee, which prompted the nickname "Sting".
and Henry Padovani
(who was soon replaced by Andy Summers
) to form the New Wave
band The Police
. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five chart-topping albums
and won six Grammy Award
s. Although their initial sound was punk inspired, The Police soon switched to reggae
-tinged rock and minimalist pop
. Their last album, Synchronicity, which included their most successful song, "Every Breath You Take
", was released in 1983. According to Sting, who appeared in the documentary Last Play at Shea
, he decided to leave The Police while onstage during the 18 August 1983 concert at Shea Stadium
because he felt that playing that venue was "Everest". While never formally breaking up, after Synchronicity the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, particularly Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming. In 2007, however, the band reformed and undertook a world tour
.
benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis. He performed solo versions of "Roxanne
" and "Message in a Bottle
". He also led an all-star band (dubbed "The Secret Police") on his own arrangement of Bob Dylan
's "I Shall Be Released
". The band and chorus included Eric Clapton
, Jeff Beck
, Phil Collins
, Bob Geldof
and Midge Ure
, all of whom except Beck later worked together on Live Aid
. His performances were featured prominently in the album and movie of the show and drew critical attention to his work. Sting's participation in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
was the beginning of his growing involvement in raising money and consciousness for political and social causes. In 1982 he released a solo single, "Spread a Little Happiness
" from the film version of the Dennis Potter
television play Brimstone and Treacle
. The song was a re-interpretation of a song from the 1920s musical Mr. Cinders
by Vivian Ellis
, and was a surprise Top 20 hit in the UK.
, featured a cast of jazz musicians, including Kenny Kirkland
, Darryl Jones
, Omar Hakim
, and Branford Marsalis
. It included the hit singles "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
", "Fortress Around Your Heart
", "Love Is the Seventh Wave", and "Russians", the last of which was based on a theme from the Lieutenant Kijé
Suite. Within a year, the album reached Triple Platinum. This album would garner Sting a Grammy
nomination for Album of the Year. The film Bring on the Night
, directed by Michael Apted
, documented the formation of the band and its first concert in France.
Also in 1985, he sang the introduction and chorus to "Money for Nothing
" by Dire Straits
(he was given co-writer status because he reused his melody from The Police hit "Don't Stand So Close to Me" for his vocal parts). He performed this song with Dire Straits at the Live Aid
Concert at Wembley Stadium. He also provided a short guest vocal performance on the Miles Davis
album You're Under Arrest. He also sang backing vocals on Arcadia's
single "The Promise
", and on two songs from Phil Collins
' album No Jacket Required
. He also contributed a version of "Mack the Knife
" to the Hal Willner
-produced tribute album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
. In 1984 he performed "Do They Know It's Christmas?
", with Band Aid for the relief of poverty in Africa.
Sting released ...Nothing Like the Sun
in 1987, including the hit songs "We'll Be Together
", "Fragile
", "Englishman in New York
", and "Be Still My Beating Heart
", dedicated to his mother, who had recently died. It eventually went Double Platinum. The song "The Secret Marriage" from this album was adapted from a melody by German composer Hanns Eisler
, and "Englishman In New York" was about the eccentric writer Quentin Crisp
. The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130
.
Soon thereafter, in February 1988, he released Nada como el sol
, a selection of five songs from Sun sung (by Sting himself) in Spanish and Portuguese. He was also involved in two other recordings in the late 1980s, the first in 1987 with jazz arranger Gil Evans
, who placed Sting in a big band setting for a live album of Sting's songs (the CD was not released in the U.S.), and the second on Frank Zappa
's 1988 Broadway the Hard Way
album, where Sting performs an unusual arrangement of "Murder By Numbers", set to the tune "Stolen Moments
" by jazz composer Oliver Nelson
, and "dedicated" to fundamentalist evangelist Jimmy Swaggart
. October 1988 saw the release of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale with the London Sinfonietta conducted by Kent Nagano
. It featured Vanessa Redgrave
, Sir Ian McKellen
and Sting in the role of the soldier.
was dedicated to his recently deceased father and included the Top 10 song "All This Time
", which reached #5 on the U.S. Pop chart, and the Grammy-winning "The Soul Cages". The album eventually went Platinum. The following year, he married Trudie Styler
and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in music from Northumbria University
. In 1991, Sting appeared onTwo Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
, an album dedicated to the singer/songwriter duo. Sting performed "Come Down in Time", for the album which also features other popular artists and their renditions of John/Taupin Songs. The album was released on 22 October 1991 by Polydor. Also in 1991, a recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf
was made by Deutsche Grammophon, narrated by Sting, and played by Claudio Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This was also used as the soundtrack to the television special Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy. In 1993, he released the album Ten Summoner's Tales
, which went Triple Platinum in just over a year. Ten Summoner's Tales was nominated for the Mercury Prize
in 1993 and nominated for the Grammy Award
for Album of the Year in 1994. The title is a wordplay on his surname, Sumner, and The Summoner's Tale, one of The Canterbury Tales
. The single "Fields of Gold" had moderate success on radio airways. Concurrent video albums were released to support Soul Cages (a live concert) and Ten Summoner's Tales (recorded during the recording sessions for the album).
In May 1993, he released a cover of his own Police song from the Ghost in the Machine album, "Demolition Man", for the Demolition Man
film. Together with Bryan Adams
and Rod Stewart
, Sting performed the chart-topping song "All for Love
" for the film The Three Musketeers
. The song stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for five weeks and went Platinum; it is to date Sting's only song from his post-Police career to top the U.S. charts. In February, he won two more Grammy Awards and was nominated for three more. The Berklee College of Music
gave him his second honorary doctorate of music degree in May. In November, he released a greatest hits compilation called Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting, which eventually was certified Double Platinum. That same year, he was featured in a duet with Vanessa Williams
on the song "Sister Moon," which appeared on her album The Sweetest Days
. At the 1994 Brit Awards
, Sting won the award for Best British Male.
His 1996 album, Mercury Falling
debuted strongly with the single "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot", but it dropped quickly on the charts. He reached the Top 40 with two singles the same year with "You Still Touch Me" (June) and "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying
" (December) (which became a country music hit the next year in a version recorded with American country singer Toby Keith
). During this period, Sting was also recording music for the upcoming Disney film Kingdom of the Sun, which went on to be reworked into The Emperor's New Groove
. The film went through drastic overhauls and plot changes, many of which were documented by Sting's wife, Trudie Styler
. She captured the moment he was called by Disney who then informed him that his songs would not be used in the final film. The story was put into a final product: The Sweatbox, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Disney currently holds the rights to the film and will not grant its release. That same year Sting also released a little-known CD-ROM called All This Time, which provided music, commentary and custom computer features describing Sting and his music from his perspective.
Also in 1996, he provided some vocals for the Tina Turner
single "On Silent Wings
" as a part of her Wildest Dreams
album. In the same year, his performance with the Brazilian composer/artist Tom Jobim in the song "How Insensitive" was featured in the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio
produced by the Red Hot Organization
. Sting has also cooperated with Greek
popular singer George Dalaras
, giving a common concert in Athens
. "Moonlight", a rare jazz performance by Sting for the 1995 remake of Sabrina
, written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and John Williams, was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
In 1997, Sting performed "I'll Be Missing You" with Puff Daddy at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards
in tribute of the late Notorious B.I.G..
soundtrack was released with complete songs from the previous version of the film, which included Rascal Flatts
and Shawn Colvin
. The final single used to promote the film was "My Funny Friend and Me". Sting's September 1999 album Brand New Day included the Top 40 hits "Brand New Day" and "Desert Rose
". The album went Triple Platinum by January 2001. In 2000, he won Grammy Awards for Brand New Day and the song of the same name. At the awards ceremony, he performed "Desert Rose" with his collaborator on the album version, Cheb Mami
. For his performance, the Arab-American Institute Foundation gave him the Khalil Gibran
Spirit of Humanity Award. However, Sting was criticized for appearing in a Jaguar
advertisement using "Desert Rose" as its backing track, particularly as he was a notable environmentalist
.
In February 2001 he won another Grammy Award for his rendition of "She Walks This Earth (Soberana Rosa)" on A Love Affair: The Music Of Ivan Lins. His song "After The Rain Has Fallen" made it into the Top 40. His next project was to record a live album at his Tuscan
villa, which was to be released as a CD and DVD, as well as being simulcast in its entirety on the internet. The CD and DVD were to be entitled On such a night and was intended to feature re-workings of Sting favourites such as "Roxanne" and "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free." The concert, scheduled for 11 September 2001, was altered in various ways due to the terrorist attacks in America that day. The webcast was shut down after one song (a reworked version of "Fragile
"), after which Sting let it be up to the audience whether or not to continue with the show. Eventually they decided to go through with the concert, and the resultant album and DVD was released in November under a different title, ...All This Time. Both are dedicated "to all those who lost their lives on that day". He performed a special arrangement of "Fragile
" with Yo-Yo Ma
and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 2002 he won a Golden Globe Award
for the song "Until...
" from the film Kate and Leopold. Written and performed by him, "Until..." was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Song. At the 2002 Brit Awards
in February, Sting received the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In June he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
. In the summer, Sting was awarded the British honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE). In 2003 he released Sacred Love
, a studio album featuring collaborations with hip-hop
artist Mary J. Blige
and sitar
performer Anoushka Shankar
. He and Blige won a Grammy for their duet, "Whenever I Say Your Name". The song is based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Praeambulum 1 C-Major (BWV 924) from the Klavierbuechlein fuer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach though Sting gave little comment on this adaptation. The album did not have the hit singles like his previous releases. The first single, "Send Your Love" reached only #30 and reviews were mixed. However, the album did reach platinum status by January 2004.
His autobiography Broken Music was published in October. He embarked on a Sacred Love tour in 2004 with performances by Annie Lennox
. Sting went on the Broken Music tour, touring smaller venues, with a four piece band starting in Los Angeles on 28 March 2005 and ending this "College Tour" on 14 May 2005. Sting appears as a guest on the 2005 Monkey Business
CD by American hip-hop
group The Black Eyed Peas
, adding vocals to the track "Union" which makes heavy use of samples from his Englishman in New York
. Continuing with his involvement in Live Aid
, he appeared at Live 8
in July 2005. During 2006, Sting collaborated with Roberto Livi in producing a Spanish language version of his cult classic "Fragile
" entitled "Fragilidad" on the album Rhythms Del Mundo by Latino recording legends "The Buena Vista Sound" (previously known as the Buena Vista Social Club) available via www.apeuk.org.
In October 2006, he released an album, to mixed reviews, entitled Songs from the Labyrinth
featuring the music of John Dowland
(an Elizabethan-era composer) and accompaniment from Bosnian
lute
player Edin Karamazov
. Sting’s musical interpretation of this English Renaissance
composer and his cooperation with Edin Karamazov brought him significant recognition in classical music
circles. As a part of the promotion of this album, he appeared on the fifth episode of Studio 60
during which he performed a segment of Dowland's "Come Again
" as well as his own "Fields of Gold
" in the arrangement for voice and two archlute
s. Reports surfaced in early 2007 that Sting would reunite with his former Police band mates for a 30th anniversary tour. These rumours were confirmed by posts on the popular fanzine Stingus and on various other news websites such as De Standaard
, Yahoo!
etc. In May 2007, Deutsche Grammophon released the opera Welcome to the Voice
(composer Steve Nieve), with Sting portraying Dyonisos.
On 11 February 2007, he reunited with the other members of the Police as the introductory act for the 2007 Grammy Awards, singing "Roxanne
", and subsequently announced The Police Reunion Tour
, the first concert of which was held in Vancouver on 28 May 2007 for 22,000 fans at one of two nearly sold-out concerts. The Police toured for more than a year, beginning with North America and eventually crossing over to Europe, South America, Australia & New Zealand and Japan. The last concert was at Madison Square Garden on 7 August 2008, during which his three daughters appeared with him onstage. He also works with his sound engineer Ian Newton, and Newton's daughter, Jenny Newton, a singer. Toronto documentary producer Vanessa Dylyn, who was producing a film called The Musical Brain, featuring neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, approached Sting about participating in the film. Sting was interested in the experience of having his brain scanned by fMRI while different types of music were played to him. The film was financed by CTV in Canada and National Geographic International (broadcast internationally as My Music Brain). Sting was also featured in Levitin's second book, The World in Six Songs, where several of his songs (including "Russians
") are discussed.
He is featured as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
.
"Brand New Day" was the final song of the night for the Neighborhood Ball, one of ten inaugural balls honouring President Barack Obama
on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2009. Sting was joined by Stevie Wonder
on harmonica.
According to an article posted on his official website, Sting entered the studio in early February 2009 to begin work on a new album If on a Winter's Night..., released on October 2009. Initial reviews by fans that had access to early promotional copies were mixed, and some questioned Sting's artistic direction with this album.
In October 2009, Sting played a concert in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, for an arts and cultural festival. Despite claiming he thought the concert was sponsored by UNICEF, he faced criticism in the press for receiving a payment of between one and two million pounds from Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, for the performance. Karimov is accused by the UN and Amnesty of human rights abuses and UNICEF stated they had no connection with the event. In addition to this the role of British diplomacy in general and this matter is discussed in this article by Eurasianet.org.
, United Arab Emirates
, with an estimated sell-out crowd of 16,000.
On 31 December 2010, he performed in Kiev, Ukraine on a New Year show on the popular TV channel Inter.
In the first half of 2011, Sting continued his Symphonicity Tour, touring South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Europe.
Two gigs were played on 15 and 19 February 2011 sponsored by AMEX with Dominic Miller (g), Sting (b, voc), Vinnie Colaiuta (dr), David Sancious (k) in the lineup.
He has recorded a song called "Power's Out" with Nicole Scherzinger
(lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls
). The song, originally recorded in 2007, was to have been included on Scherzinger's shelved album Her Name Is Nicole. The song was released on Scherzinger's 2011 debut album Killer Love
.
He has recorded a new version of the song "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" as a duet with Glee
actor/singer Matthew Morrison
, which will appear on his eponymous debut album.
Sting narrated the American premiere of the musical Yanomamo (1983), by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon
, outlining problems that existed in the Amazon rainforest. This was made into a film and later broadcast as Song of the Forest. He also provided the voice of Zarm on the 1990s television show Captain Planet and the Planeteers
. In 1989 he starred as Macheath (Mack the Knife) in John Dexter
's Broadway
production of The Threepenny Opera
. Sting also appeared as himself in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
.
following the example set at the 1979 show by Pete Townshend
. Sting performed two of his Police compositions as a soloist – "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle"' – appearing on all four nights of the show at the Theatre Royal in London. Sting also led an impromptu super-group of other musicians (dubbed The Secret Police) performing at the show including Eric Clapton
, Jeff Beck
, Phil Collins
, Donovan
, Bob Geldof
and Midge Ure
in the show's grand finale – Sting's own reggae-tinged arrangement of Bob Dylan
's I Shall Be Released. The event was the first time that Sting had worked with Geldof, Collins and Ure – an association that developed further with 1984's Band Aid and 1985's Live Aid. Sting's performance at the Secret Policeman's Other Ball – his first live appearances as a solo performer – was prominently featured on the album of the show (being its lead tracks) and in the feature film of the show.
His association with Amnesty continued throughout the 1980s and beyond and he was a pioneering participant in many of Amnesty's Human Rights Concerts
- a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986-1998.
In June 1986, Sting reunited with the Police for the last three shows of Amnesty's six-date A Conspiracy of Hope concerts of the US. The day after the final concert, he was interviewed on NBC
's Today Show about the origins of his support for Amnesty International and he stated: "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years, due to an entertainment event called The Secret Policeman's Ball and before that I did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world." Also in 1986, Sting contributed a haunting song made famous by Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit," to a fund-raising compilation album entitled Conspiracy of Hope: Honouring Amnesty International's 25th Anniversary.
A high point in his many contributions to the human rights cause came in 1988, when he joined a team of other major musicians – including Peter Gabriel
and Bruce Springsteen
– assembled under the banner of Amnesty International for the six-week Human Rights Now! world tour commemorating the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
.
Sting had first shown his interest in social and political issues in his 1980 Police song "Driven to Tears", an angry indictment of apathy in the face of world hunger. Sting took part in Bob Geldof
's "Feed The World" project in December 1984. Sting sang on "Do They Know It's Christmas?
" – the single recorded by Geldof's super-group "Band Aid" that eventually led to the Live Aid
concert in July 1985, in which Sting also took part, performing with Branford Marsalis
, Phil Collins
and Dire Straits
.
In 1988, he released the single "They Dance Alone
" which chronicled the plight of the mothers, wives and daughters of the "disappeared", the political opponents of the regime killed by the Pinochet Government in Chile. Unable to publicly voice their grievances to the government about their missing loved ones, for fear that they would "go missing" too, the women of Chile would pin photos of their "disappeared" relatives on their clothing, and dance in silent outrage against the government in public places. Later, Sting would perform the song on stage in Chile and Argentina, dancing with some of those same women. He has said it was one of the most moving moments in his life.
With his wife Trudie Styler
and Raoni Metuktire, a Kayapó Indian leader in Brazil, Sting founded the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforest
s and protect the rights of the indigenous peoples
living there. In 1989 he flew to the Altamira Gathering
to give a press conference offering his support while promoting his charity. His support for these causes continues to this day, and includes an annual benefit concert held at New York's Carnegie Hall with Billy Joel, Elton John, James Taylor and other music superstars. A species of Colombian tree frog, Dendropsophus stingi
, was named after him in recognition of his "commitment and efforts to save the rain forest".
On 21 October 1991, Sting joined Don Henley
and Billy Joel
at New York's Madison Square Garden for a benefit rock show, The Concert for Walden Woods.
On 15 September 1997, Sting joined Sir Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, Phil Collins and Mark Knopfler at London's Royal Albert Hall for Music For Montserrat, a benefit concert for the Caribbean island that had recently been devastated by an eruption from a volcano. Sting and his wife Trudie Styler
were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award in Sherborn, Massachusetts
on 30 June 2000. Singer/song writer, documentary film producers for their commitment to the environment through the establishment of the Rainforest Foundation; to human rights in China through the documentary film on Tiananmen Square; and to peace and social justice through the powerful gift of song.
In September 2001, Sting also took part in the post-9/11 rock telethon America: A Tribute to Heroes
singing "Fragile" to help raise money for the families of the victims of terror attacks in the United States. Sting lost a close friend in the collapse of New York's World Trade Center towers.
In February 2005, Sting performed at the Leeuwin Estate Concert Series
in Western Australia, with the concert raising $4 million for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.
On 2 July 2005, Sting performed a complete set at the Live 8
concert, the follow-up to 1985's Live Aid
concert.
In 2007, Sting joined Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland and played the closing set at the Live Earth
concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
. Joined by John Mayer
and Kanye West
, Sting and the Police fittingly ended the show singing "Message in a Bottle," as the event was dubbed "The SOS Concert."
In 2008 Sting contributed to a music album called Songs for Tibet, to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso.
On 22 January 2010, Sting performed "Driven to Tears" during the global telethon Hope for Haiti Now
. On 25 April 2010, he performed on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C.
during the 40th anniversary celebration of Earth Day
.
In 2011, Sting was among more than 30 signatories to an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron
calling for the "immediate decriminalisation of drug possession" if a policy review shows it has failed. Sting was quoted: "Giving young people criminal records for minor drug possession serves little purpose - it is time to think of more imaginative ways of addressing drug use in our society."
On 4 July 2011, Sting canceled a concert appearance scheduled for the Astana Day Festival in Astana, Kazakhstan. Amnesty International convinced him to cancel the appearance, due to concerns over the rights of Kazakh oil and gas workers and their families.
from Northern Ireland, on 1 May 1976. Before they divorced in 1984, the couple had two children: Joseph
(born 23 November 1976) and Fuchsia Catherine (a.k.a. "Kate", born 17 April 1982). Joe Sumner is a member of the band Fiction Plane
. The song "Every Breath You Take
" was inspired by the divorce. In 1980 Sting became a tax exile
and moved to Galway in Ireland. In 1982, shortly after the birth of his second child, Sting separated from Tomelty and began living with actress (and later film producer) Trudie Styler
. The couple eventually married on 20 August 1992. Sting and Styler have four children: Bridget Michael (a.k.a. "Mickey", born 19 January 1984), Jake
(born 24 May 1985), Eliot Pauline
(nicknamed "Coco", born 30 July 1990), and Giacomo Luke (born 17 December 1995). Coco is the current singer and founder of the London based group I Blame Coco. Both of Sting's parents died from cancer in 1987. He did not, however, attend either funeral stating that the media fuss would be disrespectful to his parents. 1995 found Sting preparing for a court appearance against his former accountant who had misappropriated several million pounds of his money.
Sting owns several homes worldwide, including Elizabethan manor house Lake House
and its 60 acre country estate near Salisbury
, Wiltshire; a country cottage in the Lake District
; a New York City apartment; a beach house in Malibu; a 600 acres (2.4 km²) estate in Tuscany; and two properties in London: an apartment on The Mall
, an 18th-century terrace house in Highgate
. He also owns homes in the Caribbean, including one in the upscale community of Casa de Campo
, Dominican Republic
. Sting was estimated to have a fortune of £180 million in the Sunday Times Rich List
of 2011, making him one of the 10 richest people in the British music industry.
To keep physically fit, for years Sting ran five miles (8 km) a day and performed aerobics. He participated in running races at Parliament Hill
and charity runs similar to the British 10K. Around 1990 he met Danny Paradise who introduced him to yoga, and he later began practising regularly. His practice consisted primarily of an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
series, though now he practices Tantra
and Jivamukti Yoga
as well. He wrote a foreword to the book, written by Ganga White in 2007.
An avid chess player, Sting played Garry Kasparov
in an exhibition game in 2000, along with four fellow bandmates: Dominic Miller, Jason Rebello, Chris Botti
, and Russ Irwin. Kasparov beat all five simultaneously within 50 minutes. Formerly eating only animals that he raised himself, he now adheres to a macrobiotic diet
.
In 1969 Sting read the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake
and became a passionate fan. He later bought the film rights to the books, and also named household pets, a race horse, his publishing company, and even one of his daughters (Fuchsia) after characters from the books.
Sting is a supporter of Newcastle United
, and in 2009, backed a Newcastle United Supporters campaign against the controversial plan of owner Mike Ashley
to sell off the naming rights to St James' Park.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, is an English musician, singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
of the rock band The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
.
Sting has varied his musical style throughout his career, incorporating distinct elements of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, new age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
, and worldbeat
Worldbeat
Worldbeat is a music genre that primarily refers to a blending of Western pop music with traditional/folk or world music influences...
into his music. As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
in 1981, three Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
—winning Best British Male in 1994, and several Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
and the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
.
Early life
Sting was born in WallsendWallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, England, the eldest of four children born to Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer. His siblings were Philip, Angela and Anita. Young Gordon would often assist his father with the early-morning milk-delivery rounds and his "best friend" was an old Spanish guitar with five rusty strings which had been left behind by an uncle who had emigrated to Canada.
He attended St. Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He would often sneak into nightclubs like the Club-A-Go-Go, where he would watch acts such as Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, artists who would later influence his own music. After jobs as a bus conductor, a construction labourer, and a tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education, (which later became part of Northumbria University
Northumbria University
Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...
) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher. He then worked as a schoolteacher at St. Paul's First School in Cramlington
Cramlington
Cramlington is a town and civil parish in the county of Northumberland, North East England, situated north of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The town's name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or an Anglo-Saxon origin, the word "ton" meaning town. The population was estimated as 39,000 in...
for two years.
Sting performed in jazz bands on evenings, weekends, and during breaks from college and from teaching. He played with local jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit
Last Exit (British band)
Last Exit was a British jazz fusion band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne England in 1974, and is best remembered as the group Sting was in before finding stardom with The Police. The band name came from the book Last Exit to Brooklyn...
. He gained his nickname after he performed wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes while onstage with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought that the sweater made him look like a bee, which prompted the nickname "Sting".
The Police
In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London, and soon thereafter he joined Stewart CopelandStewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
and Henry Padovani
Henry Padovani
Henry Padovani is a French musician from Corsica, who is noted for having been the original guitarist for The Police...
(who was soon replaced by Andy Summers
Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
) to form the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five chart-topping albums
The Police discography
The discography of British rock band The Police.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums: In France compilation albums are not listed on the Top 200 Albums Chart, but instead on a separate chart for compilation albums only...
and won six Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s. Although their initial sound was punk inspired, The Police soon switched to reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
-tinged rock and minimalist pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Their last album, Synchronicity, which included their most successful song, "Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
", was released in 1983. According to Sting, who appeared in the documentary Last Play at Shea
Last Play at Shea
The Last Play at Shea is a 2010 documentary film written by Mark Monroe, directed by Paul Crowder, produced by Steve Cohen and Nigel Sinclair, in conjunction with Billy Joel's Maritime Pictures and Spitfire Films. The film is centered around Billy Joel's 2008 concerts of the same name that...
, he decided to leave The Police while onstage during the 18 August 1983 concert at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
because he felt that playing that venue was "Everest". While never formally breaking up, after Synchronicity the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, particularly Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming. In 2007, however, the band reformed and undertook a world tour
The Police Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third highest grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching over $340 million...
.
Early solo work
In September 1981, Sting made his first live solo appearance, performing on all four nights of the fourth Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
The Secret Policeman's Balls
The Secret Policeman's Balls is the collective name informally used to describe the long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International...
at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis. He performed solo versions of "Roxanne
Roxanne (song)
"Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...
" and "Message in a Bottle
Message in a Bottle (song)
"Message in a Bottle" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, Reggatta de Blanc.The song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island, who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. A year later, he has not received any sort of response, and despairs, thinking he is...
". He also led an all-star band (dubbed "The Secret Police") on his own arrangement of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "I Shall Be Released
I Shall Be Released
"I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.The Band played it on their debut album, Music from Big Pink , with Richard Manuel singing lead vocals, and Rick Danko and Levon Helm harmonizing in the chorus...
". The band and chorus included Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
, all of whom except Beck later worked together on Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
. His performances were featured prominently in the album and movie of the show and drew critical attention to his work. Sting's participation in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field...
was the beginning of his growing involvement in raising money and consciousness for political and social causes. In 1982 he released a solo single, "Spread a Little Happiness
Spread a Little Happiness
Spread a Little Happiness is a song by English musical comedy composer Vivian Ellis from his 1929 musical Mr. Cinders. Ellis was suffering from a fever of 103 degrees when he wrote this song. In the original production it was sung by Bobby Howes as Jim, but Binnie Hale was the singer on the 78...
" from the film version of the Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
television play Brimstone and Treacle
Brimstone and Treacle
-Potter on Brimstone and Treacle:In 1978, Potter said:I had written Brimstone and Treacle in difficult personal circumstances. Years of acute psoriatic arthropathy—unpleasantly affecting skin and joints—had not only taken their toll in physical damage but had also, and perhaps inevitably, mediated...
. The song was a re-interpretation of a song from the 1920s musical Mr. Cinders
Mr. Cinders
Mr. Cinders is a musical. The music is by Vivian Ellis & Richard Myers, and the libretto by Clifford Grey & Greatorex Newman. The story is an inversion of the Cinderella fairy tale with the gender roles reversed. The Prince Charming character has become a modern young and forceful woman, and Mr....
by Vivian Ellis
Vivian Ellis
Vivian Ellis was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song "Spread a Little Happiness" and the theme "Coronation Scot".-Life and work:...
, and was a surprise Top 20 hit in the UK.
1980s
His first solo album, 1985's The Dream of the Blue TurtlesThe Dream of the Blue Turtles
The Dream of the Blue Turtles is the first solo album by British pop singer-songwriter Sting, released in the United States on 1 June 1985, a year after The Police had unofficially disbanded...
, featured a cast of jazz musicians, including Kenny Kirkland
Kenny Kirkland
Kenneth David “Kenny” Kirkland was an American pianist/keyboardist. He is most often associated with Sting, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and Kenny Garrett....
, Darryl Jones
Darryl Jones
Darryl Jones , also known as "The Munch", is an American bass guitarist. Jones began his notable career as a session musician, where he gained the experience and confidence to play with some of the most highly regarded recording artists, in jazz, blues, and rock music...
, Omar Hakim
Omar Hakim
Omar Hakim is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer.Hakim credits jazz vibraphonist Mike Mainieri with giving him his first break in 1980; Hakim appeared in a video with Mainieri called The Jazz Life and began working with singer Carly Simon through Mainieri...
, and Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
. It included the hit singles "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
"If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is the first single released from Sting's solo debut album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. It is also the opening track of the album, and is featured on Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984-1994 as well as The Very Best of Sting & The Police...
", "Fortress Around Your Heart
Fortress Around Your Heart
"Fortress Around Your Heart" is a song from Sting's 1985 album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. The song was also released as a single, and reached #8 and #49 on the U.S. and U.K. singles charts, respectively...
", "Love Is the Seventh Wave", and "Russians", the last of which was based on a theme from the Lieutenant Kijé
Lieutenant Kijé (Prokofiev)
Lieutenant Kijé is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for the 1934 Soviet film Lieutenant Kijé directed by Aleksandr Faintsimmer based on the novel of the same title by Yury Tynyanov.-Suite from Lieutenant Kijé:...
Suite. Within a year, the album reached Triple Platinum. This album would garner Sting a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Album of the Year. The film Bring on the Night
Bring on the Night (film)
Bring on the Night is a 1985 documentary film, directed by Michael Apted, which focuses on the jazz-inspired project and band led by the British musician Sting during the early stages of his solo career. Some of the songs, whose recording sessions are featured in the film, appeared on his debut...
, directed by Michael Apted
Michael Apted
Michael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
, documented the formation of the band and its first concert in France.
Also in 1985, he sang the introduction and chorus to "Money for Nothing
Money for Nothing (song)
"Money for Nothing" is a single by British rock band Dire Straits, taken from their 1985 album Brothers in Arms. It was one of Dire Straits' most successful singles, peaking at number one for three weeks in the United States, and it also reached number one for three weeks on the U.S. Mainstream...
" by Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
(he was given co-writer status because he reused his melody from The Police hit "Don't Stand So Close to Me" for his vocal parts). He performed this song with Dire Straits at the Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
Concert at Wembley Stadium. He also provided a short guest vocal performance on the Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
album You're Under Arrest. He also sang backing vocals on Arcadia's
Arcadia (band)
Arcadia were the pop group formed in 1985 by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran, during a break in that band's schedule. However, Roger Taylor appeared in only a few band photographs and in none of the music videos, and stated he was only to be involved in the recording side...
single "The Promise
The Promise (Arcadia song)
The Promise was the third single released by the Duran Duran offshoot band Arcadia. It was released by Parlophone Records in 1986 as the group's second UK single. It peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.-B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes:...
", and on two songs from Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
' album No Jacket Required
No Jacket Required
The album is named after an incident at The Pump Room restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. Collins , was denied admittance because he did not meet the restaurant's dress code of "jacket required" for dinner, while Plant was allowed in. Collins was wearing a jacket, and argued about it. The Maître d'...
. He also contributed a version of "Mack the Knife
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...
" to the Hal Willner
Hal Willner
Hal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
-produced tribute album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill is a 1985 tribute album to German-American composer Kurt Weill. It was executive-produced by Hal Willner and John Telfer, and produced by Hal Willner and Paul M...
. In 1984 he performed "Do They Know It's Christmas?
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984....
", with Band Aid for the relief of poverty in Africa.
Sting released ...Nothing Like the Sun
...Nothing Like the Sun
…Nothing Like the Sun is a 1987 album by Sting. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet #130 , which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon"...
in 1987, including the hit songs "We'll Be Together
We'll Be Together (Sting song)
"We'll Be Together" is a song performed by Sting on his 1987 album Nothing Like the Sun. The song was also released as a single, and reached #7 and #41 on the U.S. and UK singles charts, respectively...
", "Fragile
Fragile (song)
"Fragile" is a song composed by English musician Sting from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. Released as a single the following year, it placed to number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Sung additionally in both Spanish and Portuguese under the title Fragilidad, it appeared twice more on his...
", "Englishman in New York
Englishman in New York
"Englishman in New York" is a song by Sting, from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. The "Englishman" in question is the famous eccentric Quentin Crisp. Sting wrote the song not long after Crisp moved from London to an apartment in New York's Bowery...
", and "Be Still My Beating Heart
Be Still My Beating Heart
"Be Still My Beating Heart" is a song by Sting, from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun.-Song information:Andy Summers plays guitar on the track.The song later appeared in the 2000 film Dolphins, for which Sting also wrote the score....
", dedicated to his mother, who had recently died. It eventually went Double Platinum. The song "The Secret Marriage" from this album was adapted from a melody by German composer Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
, and "Englishman In New York" was about the eccentric writer Quentin Crisp
Quentin Crisp
Quentin Crisp , was an English writer and raconteur. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant.- Early life :...
. The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130
Sonnet 130
Shakespeare's Sonnet CXXX mocks the conventions of the showy and flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of his mistress.-Synopsis:...
.
Soon thereafter, in February 1988, he released Nada como el sol
Nada Como el Sol
...Nada como el sol is an EP released by Sting, containing five tracks from the album ...Nothing Like the Sun performed in Spanish and Portuguese.-Track listing:# Mariposa Libre – 4:54# Frágil [Portuguese] – 3:50...
, a selection of five songs from Sun sung (by Sting himself) in Spanish and Portuguese. He was also involved in two other recordings in the late 1980s, the first in 1987 with jazz arranger Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, who placed Sting in a big band setting for a live album of Sting's songs (the CD was not released in the U.S.), and the second on Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's 1988 Broadway the Hard Way
Broadway the Hard Way
Broadway the Hard Way is a Frank Zappa live album recorded at various performances along his 1988 world tour. It was first released as a 9-track vinyl through Zappa's mail order label Barking Pumpkin in October 1988, and subsequently as a 17-track CD through Rykodisc in 1989.This album was...
album, where Sting performs an unusual arrangement of "Murder By Numbers", set to the tune "Stolen Moments
Stolen Moments (song)
"Stolen Moments" is a jazz standard composed by Oliver Nelson. It is a sixteen-bar piece , though the solos are on a conventional minor key 12 bar blues structure....
" by jazz composer Oliver Nelson
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
, and "dedicated" to fundamentalist evangelist Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
. October 1988 saw the release of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale with the London Sinfonietta conducted by Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
. It featured Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
and Sting in the role of the soldier.
1990s
His 1991 album The Soul CagesThe Soul Cages
The Soul Cages is the third full length studio album released by Sting. Released in 1991, it became his second No. 1 album in the United Kingdom. It spawned four singles: "All This Time", "Mad About You", "Why Should I Cry For You" and "The Soul Cages"...
was dedicated to his recently deceased father and included the Top 10 song "All This Time
All This Time (Sting song)
"All This Time" is a 1991 single by Sting. It was first released on Sting's 1991 album The Soul Cages. The song was the first single from album....
", which reached #5 on the U.S. Pop chart, and the Grammy-winning "The Soul Cages". The album eventually went Platinum. The following year, he married Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in music from Northumbria University
Northumbria University
Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...
. In 1991, Sting appeared onTwo Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin is a 1991 tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The title refers to the song on Elton John's album 21 at 33, "Two Rooms at the End of the World", to the duo's unusual...
, an album dedicated to the singer/songwriter duo. Sting performed "Come Down in Time", for the album which also features other popular artists and their renditions of John/Taupin Songs. The album was released on 22 October 1991 by Polydor. Also in 1991, a recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
was made by Deutsche Grammophon, narrated by Sting, and played by Claudio Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This was also used as the soundtrack to the television special Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy. In 1993, he released the album Ten Summoner's Tales
Ten Summoner's Tales
Ten Summoner's Tales is the fourth solo studio album by the rock musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his given name, Gordon Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the summoner...
, which went Triple Platinum in just over a year. Ten Summoner's Tales was nominated for the Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
in 1993 and nominated for the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Album of the Year in 1994. The title is a wordplay on his surname, Sumner, and The Summoner's Tale, one of The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
. The single "Fields of Gold" had moderate success on radio airways. Concurrent video albums were released to support Soul Cages (a live concert) and Ten Summoner's Tales (recorded during the recording sessions for the album).
In May 1993, he released a cover of his own Police song from the Ghost in the Machine album, "Demolition Man", for the Demolition Man
Demolition Man (film)
Demolition Man is a 1993 American, science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla, and starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, and Denis Leary co-star....
film. Together with Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Sting performed the chart-topping song "All for Love
All for Love (song)
"All for Love" is a rock song written by Bryan Adams, Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Michael Kamen for the soundtrack The Three Musketeers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, performed by Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting. The song's musical-style and production were heavily inspired by rock and pop...
" for the film The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1993 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1993 film from Walt Disney Pictures and Caravan Pictures, directed by Stephen Herek from a screenplay by David Loughery and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry and Rebecca De Mornay....
. The song stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for five weeks and went Platinum; it is to date Sting's only song from his post-Police career to top the U.S. charts. In February, he won two more Grammy Awards and was nominated for three more. The Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
gave him his second honorary doctorate of music degree in May. In November, he released a greatest hits compilation called Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting, which eventually was certified Double Platinum. That same year, he was featured in a duet with Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
on the song "Sister Moon," which appeared on her album The Sweetest Days
The Sweetest Days
-Singles:"The Way That You Love" and "You Can't Run" were both nominated at the 1995 Grammy Awards, for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female and Best R&B Song respectively.The Sweetest Days...
. At the 1994 Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
, Sting won the award for Best British Male.
His 1996 album, Mercury Falling
Mercury Falling
Mercury Falling is the fifth studio album released by Sting. The album was marked by its tight studio production and use of brass reminiscent of recordings made at FAME Studios in the 1960s. This release was considered by many fans to signal the beginning of Sting's transition from heavier...
debuted strongly with the single "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot", but it dropped quickly on the charts. He reached the Top 40 with two singles the same year with "You Still Touch Me" (June) and "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying
I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying
"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" is a song written and recorded by English rock singer Sting. It was released from his 1996 album Mercury Falling. The song was also released as a single, and reached #94 and #54 on the U.S. and UK singles charts, respectively. Sting also recorded the song as a...
" (December) (which became a country music hit the next year in a version recorded with American country singer Toby Keith
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
). During this period, Sting was also recording music for the upcoming Disney film Kingdom of the Sun, which went on to be reworked into The Emperor's New Groove
The Emperor's New Groove
The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures through Buena Vista Distribution on December 15, 2000. It is the 40th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics...
. The film went through drastic overhauls and plot changes, many of which were documented by Sting's wife, Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
. She captured the moment he was called by Disney who then informed him that his songs would not be used in the final film. The story was put into a final product: The Sweatbox, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Disney currently holds the rights to the film and will not grant its release. That same year Sting also released a little-known CD-ROM called All This Time, which provided music, commentary and custom computer features describing Sting and his music from his perspective.
Also in 1996, he provided some vocals for the Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
single "On Silent Wings
On Silent Wings
"On Silent Wings" is a song by Tina Turner with guest vocals from Sting. Released in April 1996 in support of Turner's Wildest Dreams album, the single performed reasonably well on the U.S. Adult Contemporary music chart, peaking at number 24...
" as a part of her Wildest Dreams
Wildest Dreams
Wildest Dreams is the eighth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Parlophone/Virgin in 1996. It went double platinum in the UK, France, Germany, and on the European charts.-Overview:...
album. In the same year, his performance with the Brazilian composer/artist Tom Jobim in the song "How Insensitive" was featured in the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio
Red Hot + Rio
Red Hot + Rio is a compilation album produced by Paul Heck as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series intended to promote AIDS awareness. This installment is a contemporary tribute to the Bossa nova sound, especially the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim...
produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
. Sting has also cooperated with Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
popular singer George Dalaras
George Dalaras
George Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
, giving a common concert in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. "Moonlight", a rare jazz performance by Sting for the 1995 remake of Sabrina
Sabrina (1995 film)
Sabrina is a 1995 romantic comedy-drama film adapted by Barbara Benedek and David Rayfiel, based on the 1954 screenplay of the same name, which in turn was based upon a play titled Sabrina Fair....
, written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and John Williams, was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
In 1997, Sting performed "I'll Be Missing You" with Puff Daddy at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards
1997 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1997 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1997, honoring the best music videos from June 17, 1996, to June 16, 1997. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.-Video of the Year:* Beck — "The New Pollution"...
in tribute of the late Notorious B.I.G..
2000s
The Emperor's New GrooveThe Emperor's New Groove
The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures through Buena Vista Distribution on December 15, 2000. It is the 40th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics...
soundtrack was released with complete songs from the previous version of the film, which included Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
and Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
. The final single used to promote the film was "My Funny Friend and Me". Sting's September 1999 album Brand New Day included the Top 40 hits "Brand New Day" and "Desert Rose
Desert Rose (Sting song)
"Desert Rose" is a single by Sting from his album Brand New Day . The song peaked at #3 in Switzerland, #4 Italy, #15 in the UK Singles Chart and #17 in the US Billboard Hot 100....
". The album went Triple Platinum by January 2001. In 2000, he won Grammy Awards for Brand New Day and the song of the same name. At the awards ceremony, he performed "Desert Rose" with his collaborator on the album version, Cheb Mami
Cheb Mami
Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed better known by his stage name Cheb Mami , is an Algerian-born raï singer...
. For his performance, the Arab-American Institute Foundation gave him the Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran Jubrān Khalīl Jubrān,Jibrān Khalīl Jibrān, or Jibrān Xalīl Jibrān; Arabic , January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer...
Spirit of Humanity Award. However, Sting was criticized for appearing in a Jaguar
Jaguar (car)
Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
advertisement using "Desert Rose" as its backing track, particularly as he was a notable environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
.
In February 2001 he won another Grammy Award for his rendition of "She Walks This Earth (Soberana Rosa)" on A Love Affair: The Music Of Ivan Lins. His song "After The Rain Has Fallen" made it into the Top 40. His next project was to record a live album at his Tuscan
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
villa, which was to be released as a CD and DVD, as well as being simulcast in its entirety on the internet. The CD and DVD were to be entitled On such a night and was intended to feature re-workings of Sting favourites such as "Roxanne" and "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free." The concert, scheduled for 11 September 2001, was altered in various ways due to the terrorist attacks in America that day. The webcast was shut down after one song (a reworked version of "Fragile
Fragile (song)
"Fragile" is a song composed by English musician Sting from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. Released as a single the following year, it placed to number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Sung additionally in both Spanish and Portuguese under the title Fragilidad, it appeared twice more on his...
"), after which Sting let it be up to the audience whether or not to continue with the show. Eventually they decided to go through with the concert, and the resultant album and DVD was released in November under a different title, ...All This Time. Both are dedicated "to all those who lost their lives on that day". He performed a special arrangement of "Fragile
Fragile (song)
"Fragile" is a song composed by English musician Sting from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. Released as a single the following year, it placed to number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Sung additionally in both Spanish and Portuguese under the title Fragilidad, it appeared twice more on his...
" with Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 2002 he won a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for the song "Until...
Until...
"Until..." is a song from the 2001 Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning film Kate & Leopold, written and sung by Sting. The song won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award in the same category....
" from the film Kate and Leopold. Written and performed by him, "Until..." was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Song. At the 2002 Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
in February, Sting received the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In June he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
. In the summer, Sting was awarded the British honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE). In 2003 he released Sacred Love
Sacred Love
Sacred Love is the seventh studio album by Sting. The album was released on 30 September 2003. The album featured smoother, R&B-style beats and experiments collaborating with hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and sitar player Anoushka Shankar...
, a studio album featuring collaborations with hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artist Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
performer Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar...
. He and Blige won a Grammy for their duet, "Whenever I Say Your Name". The song is based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Praeambulum 1 C-Major (BWV 924) from the Klavierbuechlein fuer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach though Sting gave little comment on this adaptation. The album did not have the hit singles like his previous releases. The first single, "Send Your Love" reached only #30 and reviews were mixed. However, the album did reach platinum status by January 2004.
His autobiography Broken Music was published in October. He embarked on a Sacred Love tour in 2004 with performances by Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
. Sting went on the Broken Music tour, touring smaller venues, with a four piece band starting in Los Angeles on 28 March 2005 and ending this "College Tour" on 14 May 2005. Sting appears as a guest on the 2005 Monkey Business
Monkey Business (album)
-Track listing:Notes*"My Humps" contains a hidden track "So Real".*"Audio Delite at Low Fidelity" includes a hidden track "Change".Sample Notes*"Pump It" samples "Misirlou" by Dick Dale....
CD by American hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, adding vocals to the track "Union" which makes heavy use of samples from his Englishman in New York
Englishman in New York
"Englishman in New York" is a song by Sting, from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. The "Englishman" in question is the famous eccentric Quentin Crisp. Sting wrote the song not long after Crisp moved from London to an apartment in New York's Bowery...
. Continuing with his involvement in Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, he appeared at Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
in July 2005. During 2006, Sting collaborated with Roberto Livi in producing a Spanish language version of his cult classic "Fragile
Fragile (song)
"Fragile" is a song composed by English musician Sting from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. Released as a single the following year, it placed to number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Sung additionally in both Spanish and Portuguese under the title Fragilidad, it appeared twice more on his...
" entitled "Fragilidad" on the album Rhythms Del Mundo by Latino recording legends "The Buena Vista Sound" (previously known as the Buena Vista Social Club) available via www.apeuk.org.
Songs from the Labyrinth
Songs from the Labyrinth is a 2006 album of recordings of the music of John Dowland by Sting and Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov. It entered the UK Official Albums Chart at #24 and reached #25 on the Billboard 200, strong charting peaks for a classical record on the pop album charts...
featuring the music of John Dowland
John Dowland
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
(an Elizabethan-era composer) and accompaniment from Bosnian
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
player Edin Karamazov
Edin Karamazov
Edin Karamazov is a renowned Bosnian musician-lutenist . He studied lute with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis....
. Sting’s musical interpretation of this English Renaissance
English Renaissance
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century; like most of northern...
composer and his cooperation with Edin Karamazov brought him significant recognition in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
circles. As a part of the promotion of this album, he appeared on the fifth episode of Studio 60
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was an American dramedy television series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. It ran for 22 episodes.The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show on the fictional television network NBS , whose format is similar to that of NBC's...
during which he performed a segment of Dowland's "Come Again
Come Again (Dowland)
Come Again, sweet love doth now invite is a song by John Dowland. The lyrics are anonymous. Dowland's music can be performed by soloist and lute or by a small vocal group ....
" as well as his own "Fields of Gold
Fields of Gold
"Fields of Gold" is a 1993 song by Sting from his album Ten Summoner's Tales. "Fields of Gold" and all the other album tracks were recorded at Lake House, Wiltshire, mixed at The Townhouse Studio, London, England and mastered at Masterdisk, New York. The harmonica solo is played by Brendan Power...
" in the arrangement for voice and two archlute
Archlute
The archlute is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the bass range of the theorbo...
s. Reports surfaced in early 2007 that Sting would reunite with his former Police band mates for a 30th anniversary tour. These rumours were confirmed by posts on the popular fanzine Stingus and on various other news websites such as De Standaard
De Standaard
De Standaard is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Corelio . Circulation was about 102.280 in 2007. It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Socialist Flemish daily De Morgen...
, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
etc. In May 2007, Deutsche Grammophon released the opera Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice
Welcome to the Voice is a bilingual opera based on an original story and libretto by Muriel Teodori with music composed by Steve Nieve. A first draft was given a workshop performance at the Atlantic Bell Jazz Festival in 2000. The performance cast was Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, John Flansburgh...
(composer Steve Nieve), with Sting portraying Dyonisos.
On 11 February 2007, he reunited with the other members of the Police as the introductory act for the 2007 Grammy Awards, singing "Roxanne
Roxanne (song)
"Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...
", and subsequently announced The Police Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour
The Police Reunion Tour was a 2007–2008 worldwide concert tour by The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. At its conclusion, the tour became the third highest grossing tour of all time, with revenues reaching over $340 million...
, the first concert of which was held in Vancouver on 28 May 2007 for 22,000 fans at one of two nearly sold-out concerts. The Police toured for more than a year, beginning with North America and eventually crossing over to Europe, South America, Australia & New Zealand and Japan. The last concert was at Madison Square Garden on 7 August 2008, during which his three daughters appeared with him onstage. He also works with his sound engineer Ian Newton, and Newton's daughter, Jenny Newton, a singer. Toronto documentary producer Vanessa Dylyn, who was producing a film called The Musical Brain, featuring neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, approached Sting about participating in the film. Sting was interested in the experience of having his brain scanned by fMRI while different types of music were played to him. The film was financed by CTV in Canada and National Geographic International (broadcast internationally as My Music Brain). Sting was also featured in Levitin's second book, The World in Six Songs, where several of his songs (including "Russians
Russians (song)
"Russians" is a song by Sting, from his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, released in 1985. It was also released as a single. Sting cautions about the repercussions of the Cold War including the mutually assured destruction doctrine...
") are discussed.
He is featured as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
.
"Brand New Day" was the final song of the night for the Neighborhood Ball, one of ten inaugural balls honouring President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2009. Sting was joined by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
on harmonica.
According to an article posted on his official website, Sting entered the studio in early February 2009 to begin work on a new album If on a Winter's Night..., released on October 2009. Initial reviews by fans that had access to early promotional copies were mixed, and some questioned Sting's artistic direction with this album.
In October 2009, Sting played a concert in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, for an arts and cultural festival. Despite claiming he thought the concert was sponsored by UNICEF, he faced criticism in the press for receiving a payment of between one and two million pounds from Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, for the performance. Karimov is accused by the UN and Amnesty of human rights abuses and UNICEF stated they had no connection with the event. In addition to this the role of British diplomacy in general and this matter is discussed in this article by Eurasianet.org.
2010s
On 4 March 2010, Sting performed at the Meydan Racecourse launch in DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, with an estimated sell-out crowd of 16,000.
On 31 December 2010, he performed in Kiev, Ukraine on a New Year show on the popular TV channel Inter.
In the first half of 2011, Sting continued his Symphonicity Tour, touring South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Europe.
Two gigs were played on 15 and 19 February 2011 sponsored by AMEX with Dominic Miller (g), Sting (b, voc), Vinnie Colaiuta (dr), David Sancious (k) in the lineup.
He has recorded a song called "Power's Out" with Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....
(lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
). The song, originally recorded in 2007, was to have been included on Scherzinger's shelved album Her Name Is Nicole. The song was released on Scherzinger's 2011 debut album Killer Love
Killer Love
Killer Love is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger, former lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. It was released from March 18, 2011 in international markets by Interscope Records, in association with its affiliated record labels...
.
He has recorded a new version of the song "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" as a duet with Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
actor/singer Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
, which will appear on his eponymous debut album.
Acting
Sting occasionally has ventured into acting. Film and television roles include:- The Ace Face, the King of The Mods, a.k.a. The Bell Boy in the movie adaptation of The Who album QuadropheniaQuadrophenia (film)Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film, loosely based around the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels as a Mod named Jimmy. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing debut...
(1979) - Radio On : Just Like Eddie (1980)
- The angel Helith in the BBC TV film Artemis 81 (1981)
- Martin Taylor, a drifter in Brimstone and TreacleBrimstone and Treacle-Potter on Brimstone and Treacle:In 1978, Potter said:I had written Brimstone and Treacle in difficult personal circumstances. Years of acute psoriatic arthropathy—unpleasantly affecting skin and joints—had not only taken their toll in physical damage but had also, and perhaps inevitably, mediated...
(1982) - Feyd-Rautha HarkonnenFeyd-RauthaThe na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert.The younger nephew of the cruel, powerful and cunning Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the dark-haired, 16-year old Feyd is as lean and muscular as the Baron is morbidly...
in the movie DuneDune (film)Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
(1984) - SteerpikeSteerpikeSteerpike is a character in Mervyn Peake's novels Titus Groan and Gormenghast.In 2000 Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrayed Steerpike in the BBC miniseries Gormenghast.-Character:...
in two BBC Radio 4 broadcasts based on the Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
novels: Titus Groan and GormenghastGormenghast (novel)Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake, is the second novel in his Gormenghast series. It is the story of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Groan and Lord of Gormenghast Castle, from age 7 to 17. As the story opens, Titus dreads the pre-ordained life of ritual that stretches before him...
(1984) - Mick, a black-marketeer in PlentyPlenty (film)Plenty is a 1985 British drama film directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Meryl Streep . It was adapted from David Hare's play of the same name.-Plot:...
(1985) - Baron Frankenstein in The BrideThe Bride (film)The Bride is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, released in 1985 and directed by Franc Roddam. The film stars Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein and Jennifer Beals as Eva, a woman he creates in the same fashion as his infamous monster....
(1985) - A "heroic officer" in The Adventures of Baron MunchausenThe Adventures of Baron MunchausenThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 British adventure comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams.-Plot:...
(1988) - Finney, a nightclub owner in Stormy MondayStormy MondayStormy Monday is the 1988 feature film debut of director Mike Figgis. Starring Sean Bean, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting and Melanie Griffith, it is an atmospheric, noirish thriller. The notable jazz soundtrack is also by Figgis. Being set in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, the film is something of an homage...
(1988) - Daniel, a British gentleman in Julia and JuliaJulia and JuliaJulia and Julia is a 1987 Italian drama film directed by Peter Del Monte. The screenplay by Silvia Napolitano, Sandro Petraglia, Joseph Minion, and Del Monte is based on a story by Napolitano.-Plot synopsis:...
(1988) - Billy Idol in a Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
sketch (1991) - Himself on The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Radio BartRadio Bart"Radio Bart" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 1992. In the episode, Bart receives a microphone that transmits sound to nearby AM radios...
" (1992) - Himself on The Smell of Reeves and MortimerThe Smell of Reeves and MortimerThe Smell of Reeves and Mortimer was a BBC TV sketch show written by and starring double act Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer. Its first series appeared in 1993 following the duo's move to the BBC after parting company with Channel 4...
Episode 5 (1995) - Fledge in The GrotesqueThe Grotesque (film)The Grotesque is a 1995 British film by John-Paul Davidson, adapted from the 1989 novel by Patrick McGrath...
(1995), in which he appears nude - Himself in The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
episode "Where Is the Love?" (1996) - J.D., Eddie's father and owner of a bar, in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
- Himself in Ally McBealAlly McBealAlly McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
season four episode "Cloudy Skies, Chance of Parade" (2001) - Himself in Everyone Stares: The Police Inside OutEveryone Stares: The Police Inside OutEveryone Stares: The Police Inside Out is a rockumentary film made by Stewart Copeland, drummer of the band The Police. The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on DVD in September 2006....
(2006) - Himself in Studio 60 on Sunset Strip 2006
- Himself on the Vicar of Dibley Comic Relief special (2007)
- Himself in Bee MovieBee MovieBee Movie is a 2007 computer animated family comedy film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, and Patrick Warburton. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, it is directed by Simon J...
(2007) - Himself, mistaken by Tom BakerTom BakerThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
for Stomp, the lead singer of "The Cops" in Little Britain USALittle Britain USALittle Britain USA, an American television series, originated as a spin-off of the British BBC's Little Britain show.As in the British series, Matt Lucas and David Walliams play the majority of the characters: originals such as Lou and Andy, Daffyd Thomas,Sebastian Love, Marjorie Dawes and Vicky...
(2008) He plays his own song, "Fields of GoldFields of Gold"Fields of Gold" is a 1993 song by Sting from his album Ten Summoner's Tales. "Fields of Gold" and all the other album tracks were recorded at Lake House, Wiltshire, mixed at The Townhouse Studio, London, England and mastered at Masterdisk, New York. The harmonica solo is played by Brendan Power...
" - Himself in BrünoBrunoBruno is a male given name. It is derived from the Germanic word brun meaning "brown". It is also one of the most frequent Italian surnames. It also occurs very frequently in continental Europe and parts of Brazil as a given name for men and boys...
(2009) - Himself in Still BillStill Bill (film)Still Bill is a 2009 documentary film about musician Bill Withers. It received its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival...
(2009) - Himself in Do It Again (2010)
Sting narrated the American premiere of the musical Yanomamo (1983), by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon
Peter Rose and Anne Conlon
Peter Rose and Anne Conlon are award-winning writers best known for their environmental musicals for children. They were both teachers in Lancashire, UK for the majority of their creative achievements and most of their works have been written specially for St Augustine's RC High School,...
, outlining problems that existed in the Amazon rainforest. This was made into a film and later broadcast as Song of the Forest. He also provided the voice of Zarm on the 1990s television show Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet is the title character of the series. In the beginning of the series, Gaia assembles a modern-day team of "Planeteers" from several nations...
. In 1989 he starred as Macheath (Mack the Knife) in John Dexter
John Dexter
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera, and film director.- Theatre :Born in Derby, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British army during World War II. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for...
's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
. Sting also appeared as himself in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
.
Activism
Sting's first involvement in the human rights cause came in September 1981 when he was invited by producer Martin Lewis to participate in the fourth Amnesty International gala The Secret Policeman's Other BallThe Secret Policeman's Other Ball
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field...
following the example set at the 1979 show by Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
. Sting performed two of his Police compositions as a soloist – "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle"' – appearing on all four nights of the show at the Theatre Royal in London. Sting also led an impromptu super-group of other musicians (dubbed The Secret Police) performing at the show including Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
in the show's grand finale – Sting's own reggae-tinged arrangement of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's I Shall Be Released. The event was the first time that Sting had worked with Geldof, Collins and Ure – an association that developed further with 1984's Band Aid and 1985's Live Aid. Sting's performance at the Secret Policeman's Other Ball – his first live appearances as a solo performer – was prominently featured on the album of the show (being its lead tracks) and in the feature film of the show.
His association with Amnesty continued throughout the 1980s and beyond and he was a pioneering participant in many of Amnesty's Human Rights Concerts
Human rights concerts
The Human Rights Concerts is the collective name informally used to describe the series of 28 rock concerts presented worldwide 1986-1998 to raise funds for – and awareness of - the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Amnesty International....
- a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986-1998.
In June 1986, Sting reunited with the Police for the last three shows of Amnesty's six-date A Conspiracy of Hope concerts of the US. The day after the final concert, he was interviewed on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show about the origins of his support for Amnesty International and he stated: "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years, due to an entertainment event called The Secret Policeman's Ball and before that I did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world." Also in 1986, Sting contributed a haunting song made famous by Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit," to a fund-raising compilation album entitled Conspiracy of Hope: Honouring Amnesty International's 25th Anniversary.
A high point in his many contributions to the human rights cause came in 1988, when he joined a team of other major musicians – including Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
– assembled under the banner of Amnesty International for the six-week Human Rights Now! world tour commemorating the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
.
Sting had first shown his interest in social and political issues in his 1980 Police song "Driven to Tears", an angry indictment of apathy in the face of world hunger. Sting took part in Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
's "Feed The World" project in December 1984. Sting sang on "Do They Know It's Christmas?
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984....
" – the single recorded by Geldof's super-group "Band Aid" that eventually led to the Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert in July 1985, in which Sting also took part, performing with Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
and Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
.
In 1988, he released the single "They Dance Alone
They Dance Alone
"They Dance Alone " is a protest song composed by English musician Sting and published first on the 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. The song is a metaphor referring to mourning Chilean women who dancing the Cueca, the national dance of Chile, alone with photographs of their disappeared loved...
" which chronicled the plight of the mothers, wives and daughters of the "disappeared", the political opponents of the regime killed by the Pinochet Government in Chile. Unable to publicly voice their grievances to the government about their missing loved ones, for fear that they would "go missing" too, the women of Chile would pin photos of their "disappeared" relatives on their clothing, and dance in silent outrage against the government in public places. Later, Sting would perform the song on stage in Chile and Argentina, dancing with some of those same women. He has said it was one of the most moving moments in his life.
With his wife Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
and Raoni Metuktire, a Kayapó Indian leader in Brazil, Sting founded the Rainforest Foundation Fund to help save the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s and protect the rights of the indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
living there. In 1989 he flew to the Altamira Gathering
Altamira Gathering
The Altamira Gathering was a five day media conference organized by the Kayapo people in an effort to raise awareness of the ecological and political atrocities committed by the Brazilian government....
to give a press conference offering his support while promoting his charity. His support for these causes continues to this day, and includes an annual benefit concert held at New York's Carnegie Hall with Billy Joel, Elton John, James Taylor and other music superstars. A species of Colombian tree frog, Dendropsophus stingi
Dendropsophus stingi
Dendropsophus stingi is a species of frog in the Hylidae family.It is endemic to Colombia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marches, pastureland, and heavily degraded former forest.The...
, was named after him in recognition of his "commitment and efforts to save the rain forest".
On 21 October 1991, Sting joined Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
at New York's Madison Square Garden for a benefit rock show, The Concert for Walden Woods.
On 15 September 1997, Sting joined Sir Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, Phil Collins and Mark Knopfler at London's Royal Albert Hall for Music For Montserrat, a benefit concert for the Caribbean island that had recently been devastated by an eruption from a volcano. Sting and his wife Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award in Sherborn, Massachusetts
Sherborn, Massachusetts
Sherborn is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is in area code 508 and has the ZIP code 01770. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the town population was 4,119. The assessed value of the town for the fiscal year 2005 is $1,008,146,994....
on 30 June 2000. Singer/song writer, documentary film producers for their commitment to the environment through the establishment of the Rainforest Foundation; to human rights in China through the documentary film on Tiananmen Square; and to peace and social justice through the powerful gift of song.
In September 2001, Sting also took part in the post-9/11 rock telethon America: A Tribute to Heroes
America: A Tribute to Heroes
America: A Tribute to Heroes was a benefit concert created by the heads of the four broadcast networks. Joel Gallen was selected by them to produce and run the show Joel Gallen. Actor George Clooney wrangled the celebrities to performed and to man the telephone bank . The marketing and public...
singing "Fragile" to help raise money for the families of the victims of terror attacks in the United States. Sting lost a close friend in the collapse of New York's World Trade Center towers.
In February 2005, Sting performed at the Leeuwin Estate Concert Series
Leeuwin Estate Concert Series
The Leeuwin Estate Concert Series are annual open air events featuring international and Australian performers at Leeuwin Estate Winery.-History:...
in Western Australia, with the concert raising $4 million for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.
On 2 July 2005, Sting performed a complete set at the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert, the follow-up to 1985's Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert.
In 2007, Sting joined Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland and played the closing set at the Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
. Joined by John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
and Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, Sting and the Police fittingly ended the show singing "Message in a Bottle," as the event was dubbed "The SOS Concert."
In 2008 Sting contributed to a music album called Songs for Tibet, to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
Tenzin Gyatso.
On 22 January 2010, Sting performed "Driven to Tears" during the global telethon Hope for Haiti Now
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief was a charity telethon held on January 22, 2010 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time . The telethon was the most widely distributed telethon in history...
. On 25 April 2010, he performed on the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
during the 40th anniversary celebration of Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
.
In 2011, Sting was among more than 30 signatories to an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
calling for the "immediate decriminalisation of drug possession" if a policy review shows it has failed. Sting was quoted: "Giving young people criminal records for minor drug possession serves little purpose - it is time to think of more imaginative ways of addressing drug use in our society."
On 4 July 2011, Sting canceled a concert appearance scheduled for the Astana Day Festival in Astana, Kazakhstan. Amnesty International convinced him to cancel the appearance, due to concerns over the rights of Kazakh oil and gas workers and their families.
Personal life
Sting married actress Frances TomeltyFrances Tomelty
Frances Tomelty is a Northern Irish actress and the first wife of Sting. She is the daughter of Belfast actor Joseph Tomelty ....
from Northern Ireland, on 1 May 1976. Before they divorced in 1984, the couple had two children: Joseph
Joe Sumner
Joseph Sumner is the son of actress Frances Tomelty and singer/actor/activist Gordon Sumner . He is the lead singer and bass player in the UK band Fiction Plane....
(born 23 November 1976) and Fuchsia Catherine (a.k.a. "Kate", born 17 April 1982). Joe Sumner is a member of the band Fiction Plane
Fiction Plane
Fiction Plane is a rock band from England. Originally formed in London under the name Santa’s Boyfriend in 2001, Fiction Plane is currently composed of lead vocalist, guitar and bass player Joe Sumner ; guitarist Seton Daunt; and American drummer Pete Wilhoit.-Recording history:Fiction Plane’s...
. The song "Every Breath You Take
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
" was inspired by the divorce. In 1980 Sting became a tax exile
Tax exile
A tax exile is one who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead to reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance.-Legal status:...
and moved to Galway in Ireland. In 1982, shortly after the birth of his second child, Sting separated from Tomelty and began living with actress (and later film producer) Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
. The couple eventually married on 20 August 1992. Sting and Styler have four children: Bridget Michael (a.k.a. "Mickey", born 19 January 1984), Jake
Jake Sumner
Jake Sumner is a British model and the son of British singer Sting and Trudie Styler. His birth was documented on the Bring on the Night documentary. He modeled in 2003 for Tommy Hilfiger's denim campaign. -External links:...
(born 24 May 1985), Eliot Pauline
Coco Sumner
Eliot Paulina Sumner , also known as Coco, is an English musician recording under the band name I Blame Coco. I Blame Coco's debut album, The Constant, was released in the UK on 8 November 2010...
(nicknamed "Coco", born 30 July 1990), and Giacomo Luke (born 17 December 1995). Coco is the current singer and founder of the London based group I Blame Coco. Both of Sting's parents died from cancer in 1987. He did not, however, attend either funeral stating that the media fuss would be disrespectful to his parents. 1995 found Sting preparing for a court appearance against his former accountant who had misappropriated several million pounds of his money.
Sting owns several homes worldwide, including Elizabethan manor house Lake House
Lake House
Lake House is an Elizabethan country house dating from 1578, in Wilsford-cum-Lake in Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The gardens are Grade II listed in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest....
and its 60 acre country estate near Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Wiltshire; a country cottage in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
; a New York City apartment; a beach house in Malibu; a 600 acres (2.4 km²) estate in Tuscany; and two properties in London: an apartment on The Mall
The Mall (London)
The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It then crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were...
, an 18th-century terrace house in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
. He also owns homes in the Caribbean, including one in the upscale community of Casa de Campo
Casa de Campo
The Casa de Campo is the largest urban park situated west of central Madrid, . It was formerly a royal hunting estate. Its area is more than ....
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. Sting was estimated to have a fortune of £180 million in the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
of 2011, making him one of the 10 richest people in the British music industry.
To keep physically fit, for years Sting ran five miles (8 km) a day and performed aerobics. He participated in running races at Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill, London
Parliament Hill is an area of open parkland in the south-east corner of Hampstead Heath in north-west London. The hill, which is high, is notable for its excellent views of the capital's skyline...
and charity runs similar to the British 10K. Around 1990 he met Danny Paradise who introduced him to yoga, and he later began practising regularly. His practice consisted primarily of an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga is a system of yoga popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois, and which is often promoted as a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga...
series, though now he practices Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
and Jivamukti Yoga
Jivamukti Yoga
Jivamukti Yoga, co-founded by Sharon Gannon and David Life, is one of the nine recognized styles of hatha yoga. Jivamukti Yoga is a physical, ethical, and spiritual practice, combining a vigorous hatha yoga, vinyasa-based physical style with adherence to five central tenets: shastra , bhakti ,...
as well. He wrote a foreword to the book, written by Ganga White in 2007.
An avid chess player, Sting played Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
in an exhibition game in 2000, along with four fellow bandmates: Dominic Miller, Jason Rebello, Chris Botti
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
, and Russ Irwin. Kasparov beat all five simultaneously within 50 minutes. Formerly eating only animals that he raised himself, he now adheres to a macrobiotic diet
Macrobiotic diet
A macrobiotic diet , from "macro" and "bios" , a dietary regimen which involves eating grains as a staple food supplemented with other foodstuffs such as local vegetables avoiding the use of highly processed or refined foods and most animal products...
.
In 1969 Sting read the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
and became a passionate fan. He later bought the film rights to the books, and also named household pets, a race horse, his publishing company, and even one of his daughters (Fuchsia) after characters from the books.
Sting is a supporter of Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, and in 2009, backed a Newcastle United Supporters campaign against the controversial plan of owner Mike Ashley
Mike Ashley (businessman)
Michael James Wallace "Mike" Ashley is an English millionaire retail entrepreneur in the sporting goods market...
to sell off the naming rights to St James' Park.
Discography
| Year | Title | Billboard album 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
UK Top 100 UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Dream of the Blue Turtles The Dream of the Blue Turtles The Dream of the Blue Turtles is the first solo album by British pop singer-songwriter Sting, released in the United States on 1 June 1985, a year after The Police had unofficially disbanded... |
2 | 3 | 3x Platinum | 2x Platinum |
| 1987 | ...Nothing Like the Sun ...Nothing Like the Sun …Nothing Like the Sun is a 1987 album by Sting. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet #130 , which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon"... |
9 | 1 | 2x Platinum | Platinum |
| 1991 | The Soul Cages The Soul Cages The Soul Cages is the third full length studio album released by Sting. Released in 1991, it became his second No. 1 album in the United Kingdom. It spawned four singles: "All This Time", "Mad About You", "Why Should I Cry For You" and "The Soul Cages"... |
2 | 1 | Platinum | Gold |
| 1993 | Ten Summoner's Tales Ten Summoner's Tales Ten Summoner's Tales is the fourth solo studio album by the rock musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his given name, Gordon Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the summoner... |
2 | 2 | 3x Platinum | 2x Platinum |
| 1996 | Mercury Falling Mercury Falling Mercury Falling is the fifth studio album released by Sting. The album was marked by its tight studio production and use of brass reminiscent of recordings made at FAME Studios in the 1960s. This release was considered by many fans to signal the beginning of Sting's transition from heavier... |
5 | 4 | Platinum | Platinum |
| 1999 | Brand New Day | 9 | 5 | 3x Platinum | Platinum |
| 2003 | Sacred Love Sacred Love Sacred Love is the seventh studio album by Sting. The album was released on 30 September 2003. The album featured smoother, R&B-style beats and experiments collaborating with hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and sitar player Anoushka Shankar... |
3 | 3 | Platinum | Silver |
| 2006 | Songs from the Labyrinth Songs from the Labyrinth Songs from the Labyrinth is a 2006 album of recordings of the music of John Dowland by Sting and Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov. It entered the UK Official Albums Chart at #24 and reached #25 on the Billboard 200, strong charting peaks for a classical record on the pop album charts... |
25 | 24 | — | — |
| 2009 | If on a Winter's Night... | 6 | 15 | Gold | — |
| 2010 | Symphonicities Symphonicities Symphonicities is the tenth studio album by English musician Sting, released on 13 July 2010 on Deutsche Grammophon. The album is a companion piece to the tour of the same name, in which Sting, performing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, reinterprets some of his songs as classical... |
6 | 30 |
See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- Mononymous personsMononymous personsA mononymous person is an individual who is known and addressed by a mononym, or "single name". In some cases, that name has been selected by the individual, who may have originally been given a polynym...
External links
- Official website
- http://www.berklee.edu/commencement/past/sting.htmlSting's 1994 Commencement Address To The Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
] - List of Sting's touring band line-ups
- Radio interview about John Dowland songs from NPR Performance Today, 6 March 2007
- Sting Live in Minsk (video) on the Official Website of Belarus