Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (born 2 October 1951), known as Sting, is an English musician, activist, and actor. He was the

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, principal songwriter and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

for new wave band

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, classical, new-age, and

worldbeat Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural co ...

in his music. Sting has sold a combined total of more than 100 million records as a solo artist and as a member of the Police. He has received three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2002; a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

; an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

; and four

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations. As a solo musician and as a member of the Police, Sting has received 17

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. He was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

as a member of the Police in 2003. Sting has received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

; the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Lifetime Achievement from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...

; a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for services to music;

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States, American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in ...

; and the

Polar Music Prize The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporary ...

. In May 2023, he was made an

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

Fellow.

Early life

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner was born at

Sir G B Hunter Memorial Hospital The Sir G B Hunter Memorial Hospital is a health facility at Wallsend Green, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. It is managed by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. History The facility has its origins in a private house, ...

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

, Northumberland, England, on 2 October 1951, the eldest of four children of Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and former fitter at an engineering works. He grew up near Wallsend's

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s, which made an impression on him. As a child, he was inspired by the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

waving at him from a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

to divert from the shipyard prospect towards a more glamorous life. He helped his father deliver milk and by ten was "obsessed" with an old Spanish guitar left by an emigrating friend of his father. Sting attended St Cuthbert's Grammar School in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. He visited nightclubs such as Club A'Gogo to see

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

and

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

, who influenced his music. He learned to sing and play simultaneously by listening to records at 78 rpm. After leaving school in 1969, he enrolled at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, but left after a term. After working as a bus conductor, building labourer, and tax officer, he attended the Northern Counties College of Education (now

Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher. He taught at St Paul's First School in

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland. It is north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. The population was 28,843 as of 2021 census data from Northumberland County Cou ...

for two years. Sting performed

in the evenings, at weekends, and during breaks from college and teaching, playing with the Phoenix Jazzmen, Newcastle Big Band and Last Exit. He gained his nickname after his habit of wearing a black and yellow jumper with hooped stripes with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought he looked like a

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

(or according to Sting himself, "they thought I looked like a

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

"), which prompted the name "Sting". In the 1985 documentary '' Bring On the Night'' a journalist called him Gordon, to which he replied, "My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?" In 2011, he told ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' that "I was never called Gordon. You could shout 'Gordon' in the street and I would just move out of your way". Despite this, he chose not to legally change his name to "Sting".

Musical career

1977–1984: The Police and early solo work

In January 1977, Sting joined

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

and

Henry Padovani Henry (or Henri) Padovani (born 14 October 1952) is a French musician noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band the Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to August 1977 and was replaced by Andy Summers, who ha ...

(soon replaced by

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

) to form the Police, becoming the band's lead singer, bass player, and primary songwriter. From 1978 to 1983, the Police had five UK chart-topping albums, won six

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s and won two Brit Awards (for Best British Group and for Outstanding Contribution to Music)."The Police Chart history"
Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2014 Their initial sound was

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-inspired, but they switched to

rock and minimalist pop. Their final album, ''

Synchronicity Synchronicity () is a concept introduced by Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, to describe events that coincide in time and appear meaningfully related, yet lack a discoverable causal connection. Jung held that this was a healthy fu ...

'', was nominated for five

s including Album of the Year in 1983. It included their most successful song, "

Every Breath You Take "Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for ei ...

", written by Sting. According to Sting, appearing in the documentary '' Last Play at Shea'', he decided to leave the Police while onstage during a concert of 18 August 1983 at

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. ountEverest". While never formally breaking up, after ''Synchronicity'', the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, especially Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming. In 2007, the band did reform temporarily for the purpose of undertaking a reunion tour. Four of the band's five studio albums appeared on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

's'' list of the

500 Greatest Albums of All Time 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

and two of the band's songs, "

" and " Roxanne", each written by Sting, appeared on ''Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In addition, "Every Breath You Take" and "Roxanne" were among

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

. In 2003, the band was inducted into the

. They were also included in ''Rolling Stones and

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's lists of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 1978, Sting collaborated with members of

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

and

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

as the Radio Actors on the one-off single "Nuclear Waste". In September 1981, Sting made his first live solo appearance, on all four nights of the fourth

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball in London's

Drury Lane theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis. He performed solo versions of " Roxanne" and "

Message in a Bottle A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water). Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...

". He also led an all-star band (dubbed "the Secret Police") on his own arrangement of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

I Shall Be Released "I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan. Dylan recorded two primary versions. The first recording was made in collaboration with the Band during the Basement Tapes sessions in 1967, and released on '' The Bootleg Series Volu ...

". The band and chorus included

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successfu ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

and

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

, all of whom (except Beck and Gibb) later performed at

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

. His performances were in the album and movie of the show. The Secret Policeman's Other Ball began his growing involvement in political and social causes. In 1982 he released a solo single, " Spread a Little Happiness" from the film of the

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978) and '' The Singing Detective'' ...

television play '' Brimstone and Treacle''. The song was a reinterpretation of the 1920s musical '' Mr. Cinders'' by

Vivian Ellis Vivian John Herman Ellis, CBE (29 October 1903 – 19 June 1996) was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song " Spread a Little Happiness" and the Paul Temple theme " Coronation Scot". Life and work Ellis was born in Hampste ...

and a Top 20 hit in the UK.

1985–1989: Solo debut

Sting's first solo album, 1985's ''

The Dream of the Blue Turtles ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'' is the debut solo album by English musician Sting, released on 17 June 1985. The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Five singles were released from ...

'', featured

musicians including

Kenny Kirkland Kenneth David Kirkland (September 28, 1955 – November 12, 1998) was an American pianist and keyboardist. Biography Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, Kirkland was six when he first sat down at a piano keyboard. After years ...

Darryl Jones Darryl Jones (born December 11, 1961) is an American bassist. He has been recording and touring with the Rolling Stones since 1993. He has also played in bands with Miles Davis and Sting, among others. Career Darryl Jones was born on Decemb ...

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American drummer, producer, arranger and composer. His session work covers jazz, jazz fusion, and pop music. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Chic, Sting, Madonna, Dire S ...

and

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) 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 ens ...

. It included the hit singles " If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" (backed with the non-LP song "Another Day"), " Fortress Around Your Heart", " Love Is the Seventh Wave" and "

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

", the latter of which was based on a theme from the '' Lieutenant Kijé Suite''. Within a year, the album reached Triple

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

. The album received

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations for Album of the Year,

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance and Best Engineered Recording. In November 1984, Sting was part of Band Aid's "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

", which raised money for famine victims in Ethiopia. Released in June 1985, Sting sang the line "I Want My MTV" on " Money for Nothing" by

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

. In July 1985, Sting performed Police hits at the

concert at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in London. He also joined Dire Straits in "Money for Nothing" and he sang two duets with

. In 1985, Sting provided spoken vocals for the

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

album '' You're Under Arrest'', taking the role of a French-speaking police officer. He also sang backing vocals on Arcadia's single " The Promise", on two songs from Phil Collins' album ''

No Jacket Required ''No Jacket Required'' is the third solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 18 February 1985 by Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic and WEA internationally. After finishing touring commi ...

'', and contributed "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...

" to the Hal Willner-produced tribute album '' Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill''. In September 1985, he performed "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards at the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

in New York. The 1985 film '' Bring On the Night'', directed by

Michael Apted Michael David Apted (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was an English television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the ''Up (film series), Up'' documentary series from 1970 to 2019). He later di ...

, documented the formation of his solo band and its first concert in France. Sting-Bono-Conspiracy of Hope-by Steven Toole

Sting released '' ...Nothing Like the Sun'' in 1987, including singles, " We'll Be Together", " Fragile", "

Englishman in New York "Englishman in New York" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Sting, from his second studio album '' Nothing Like the Sun'', released in October 1987. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track, while the drums were played by ...

" and " Be Still My Beating Heart", dedicated to his mother, who had recently died. It went Double Platinum. "The Secret Marriage" from this album was adapted from

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

and "Englishman in New York" was about

Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt; – ) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of h ...

. The album's title is from William Shakespeare's

Sonnet 130 Sonnet 130 is a sonnet by William Shakespeare, published in 1609 as one of his Shakespeare's sonnets, 154 sonnets. It mocks the conventions of the showy and flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of Dark Lady (Shakespeare), his mistre ...

. The album won Best British Album at the 1988 Brit Awards and in 1989 received three

nominations including his second consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. " Be Still My Beating Heart" earned nominations for Song of the Year and

. In 1989, ''...Nothing Like the Sun'' was ranked number 90 and his Police album ''

'' was ranked number 17 on ''Rolling Stone''s 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In February 1988, he made ''

Nada como el sol ''Nada como el sol'' is an extended play by English musician Sting (musician), Sting, containing five songs from his second solo album ''Nothing Like the Sun (Sting album), ...Nothing Like the Sun'' sung in Spanish and Portuguese and published i ...

'', four songs from ''Nothing like the Sun'' he sang in Spanish and Portuguese. In 1987, jazz arranger

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

placed him in a big band setting for a live album of Sting's songs, and on

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's 1988 '' Broadway the Hard Way'' he performed an arrangement of "Murder by Numbers", set to " Stolen Moments" by

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signi ...

and dedicated to evangelist

Jimmy Swaggart Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal televangelist and gospel artist. Swaggart is one of the most well-known televangelists in America. During the 1980s, Swaggart's crusades were a major part of his ministry� ...

. In October 1988 he recorded a version of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

's ''

The Soldier's Tale ', or ''Tale of the Soldier'' (as it was first published), is an hour-long 1918 theatrical work to be "read, played and danced ''()''" by three actors, one or more dancers, and a septet of instruments. Its music is by Igor Stravinsky, its librett ...

'' with the London Sinfonietta conducted by

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

. It featured

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954) is an Italian singer and songwriter. Her most notable songs include "America" (1979), "Fotoromanza" (1984), "I maschi" (1987), "Meravigliosa creatura" (1995), "Sei nell'anima" (2006) and "Bello e impossibile ...

and Sting as the soldier.

1990–1997: Greater solo success

Sting's 1991 album, ''

The Soul Cages ''The Soul Cages'' is the third full-length studio album by English musician Sting. Released on 21 January 1991, it became Sting's second No. 1 album in the United Kingdom. It spawned four singles: " All This Time", " Mad About You", "The S ...

'', was dedicated to his late father. It included " All This Time" and the Grammy-winning title track. The album, which went platinum, included an Italian version of "Mad About You". Also in 1991, he appeared on '' Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin''. He performed "Come Down in Time" for the album, which also features other popular artists and their renditions of John/Taupin songs. Sting's fourth album, ''

Ten Summoner's Tales ''Ten Summoner's Tales'' is the fourth solo studio album by English musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his family name, Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'', the summoner. Released in 1993, it exp ...

'', peaked at two in the UK and US album charts in 1993 and went

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in just over a year. The album was recorded at his

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

country home, Lake House in Wiltshire. ''Ten Summoner's Tales'' was nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

in 1993 and for the Grammy 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'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

'' by

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

. Hit singles on the album include " Fields of Gold", a song inspired by the barley fields next to his Wiltshire home, with the music video featuring a silhouette of Sting walking through a village containing common features seen throughout the UK during that time such as a

red telephone box The red telephone box is a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral. The telephone box is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, its associa ...

and "

If I Ever Lose My Faith in You "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sting, released on 1 February 1993 by A&M Records as the lead single from his fourth studio album, ''Ten Summoner's Tales'' (1993). The song reached number 17 on the US ' ...

", the latter earning his second award for best male pop singer at the

36th Grammy Awards The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening ...

.Rock on the Net: Sting
Rock on the Net. Retrieved 29 December 2011 In May 1993, he covered his own Police song from the ''

Ghost in the Machine The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the concept of the mind existing alongside and separate from the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part ...

'' album, "Demolition Man", for the '' Demolition Man'' film. With Bryan Adams and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, Sting performed " All for Love" for the film ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

''. The song stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for three weeks, topped multiple other charts worldwide and reached number two in the UK. In February, he won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for three more.

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

awarded him his second honorary doctorate of music in May. In November, he released the compilation, ''Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting'', which was certified Double Platinum. That year, he sang with

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

on "Sister Moon" and appeared on her album '' The Sweetest Days''. At the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Brit Awards in London, he was Best British Male. Sting's 1996 album, '' Mercury Falling'', debuted strongly, with the single "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" reaching number 15 in the UK Singles Chart, but the album soon dropped from the charts. He reached the UK

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

with two further singles the same year with "You Still Touch Me" (number 27 in June) and "I Was Brought To My Senses" (number 31 in December). The song " I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" from this album also became a US country music hit in 1997 in a version with

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

. Sting recorded music for the Disney film ''Kingdom of the Sun'', which was reworked into ''

The Emperor's New Groove ''The Emperor's New Groove'' is a 2000 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal and produced by Randy Fullmer, from a screenplay writte ...

''. The film's overhauls and plot changes were documented by Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, as the changes resulted in some songs not being used. On 4 September 1997, Sting performed "I'll Be Missing You" with

Puff Daddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

at the

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. American singer Beck took home the ...

in tribute to

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

On 15 September 1997, Sting appeared at the '' Music for Montserrat'' concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, London, performing with fellow British artists

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

1998–2005: ''Brand New Day'' and soundtrack work

A period of relative musical inactivity followed from 1997, before Sting eventually re-emerged in September 1999, with a new album '' Brand New Day'', which gave him two more UK Top 20 hits in the title track " Brand New Day" (a UK number 13 hit featuring

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

on harmonica) and " Desert Rose" (a UK number 15 hit). 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 Mohamed Khelifati (; born 11 July 1966), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (), is an Algerians, Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometimes in Mashriqi Arabic, Eastern Arabic dialects or ...

. In 2000, the soundtrack for ''

'' was released with complete songs from the previous version of the film. The final single used to promote the film, " My Funny Friend and Me", was Sting's first nomination for an

Academy Award for Best Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

. In February 2001, he won another Grammy for "She Walks This Earth (Soberana Rosa)" on ''A Love Affair: The Music Of Ivan Lins''. His "After the Rain Has Fallen" made it into the Top 40. His next project was a live album at his villa in

Figline Valdarno Figline Valdarno () is a ''frazione'' in the ''comune'' of Figline e Incisa Valdarno in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence. It is the birthplace of Marsilio Ficino. It ...

, released as a CD and DVD as well as being broadcast on the internet. The CD and DVD were to be entitled ''On Such a Night'' and 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 due to the terrorist attacks in America that day. The webcast shut after one song (a reworked version of " Fragile"), after which Sting let the audience decide whether to continue the show. They decided to go ahead and the album and DVD appeared in November as '' ...All This Time'', dedicated "to all those who lost their lives on that day". He performed " Fragile" with

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

and the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...

during the opening ceremonies of the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Utah, US. In 2002, he won a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for " Until..." from the film ''

Kate & Leopold ''Kate & Leopold'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy science fiction film that tells a story of a physicist by the name of Stuart (Liev Schreiber), who accidentally pulls his great‑great‑grandfather, Leopold (Hugh Jackman), through a time po ...

''. Written and performed by him, "Until..." was his second nomination for an

. At the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Brit Awards in February, Sting received the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In May 2002 he received the

for Lifetime Achievement from the

. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2003 Sting was made a

Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

''For services to the Music Industry''. At the

54th Primetime Emmy Awards The 54th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 22, 2002. Nominations were announced July 22, 2002. The ceremony was hosted by Conan O'Brien and was broadcast on NBC. Two networks, FX and VH1, received their first major nominations ...

in September, Sting won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety Or Music Program, for his A&E special, ''Sting in Tuscany... All This Time''. In 2003, Sting released ''

Sacred Love ''Sacred Love'' is the seventh studio album by the English musician Sting. The album was released on 29 September 2003. The album featured smoother, R&B-style beats and experiments collaborating with hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and sitar play ...

'', a studio album featuring collaborations with

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

artist

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

performer

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Hemangini Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player and musician of Indian descent, as well as occasional writer. She performs across multiple genres and styles—Indian classical, classical and contemporary, acoust ...

. He and Blige won a Grammy for their duet, "Whenever I Say Your Name". The song is based on

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's ''Praeambulum 1'' C-Major (BWV 924) from the Klavierbuechlein fuer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, though Sting said little about this adaptation. In 2004, he was nominated for the third time for an Academy Award for Best Song, for " You Will Be My Ain True Love", from '' Cold Mountain'', sung in duet with

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

. The pair performed the song at the

76th Academy Awards The 76th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2003 in film, films of 2003 and took place on February 29, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood ...

. His autobiography ''Broken Music'' was published in October. He embarked on a ''Sacred Love'' tour in 2004 with performances by

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

. 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 on 14 May 2005. Sting was on the 2005 '' Monkey Business'' CD by hip-hop group

the Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

, singing on "Union", which samples his ''

''. Continuing with

, he appeared at

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and 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 ...

at Hyde Park, London in July 2005."Live 8 – Sting"
BBC. Retrieved 12 November 2014

2006–2010: Experimental albums and the Police reunion

In 2006, Sting was on the Gregg Kofi Brown album, with "Lullaby to an Anxious Child" produced and arranged by Lino Nicolosi and Pino Nicolosi of Nicolosi Productions. In October 2006, he released an album entitled ''

Songs from the Labyrinth ''Songs from the Labyrinth'' is the eighth studio album by British singer-songwriter Sting. On this album, he collaborates with Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov. The album features music by John Dowland (1563–1626), a lutenist and songwrit ...

'' featuring the music of

John Dowland John Dowland ( – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", " Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", " N ...

(an

-era composer) and accompaniment from Bosnian lute player

Edin Karamazov Edin Karamazov (born Edin Džananović in 1965) is a Bosnian musician, lutenist and guitarist. Biography Karamazov studied lute with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He has worked with such ensembles as Hesperion XX, L'A ...

. Sting's interpretation of this

English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...

composer and his cooperation with Edin Karamazov brought recognition in classical music. As promotion of this album, he appeared on the fifth episode of '' Studio 60'' to perform a segment of Dowland's " Come Again" as well as his own " Fields of Gold" in arrangement for voice and two

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 Renaissan ...

s. On 11 February 2007, he reunited with the Police to open the

2007 Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Stapl ...

, singing "Roxanne", and announced a reunion tour, the first concert of which was in Vancouver on 28 May 2007 for 22,000 fans. The Police toured for more than a year, beginning with North America and crossing to Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Tickets for the British tour sold out within 30 minutes, the band playing two nights at Twickenham Stadium, southwest London on 8 and 9 September 2007. The last concert was at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

on 7 August 2008, during which his three daughters appeared with him. "Brand New Day" was the final song of the night for the ''Neighborhood Ball'', one of ten inaugural balls honouring President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2009. Sting was joined by

on harmonica. Sting entered the studio in early February 2009 to begin work on a new album, '' If on a Winter's Night...'', released in 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 2009, Sting appeared at the

25th anniversary concert, playing " Higher Ground" and " Roxanne" with

and "

People Get Ready "People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by the Impressions, and the title track from the '' People Get Ready'' album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number three on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 14 on the ''Billboard'' ...

" with

. Sting himself was inducted in 2003, as a member of the Police. In October 2009, Sting played a concert in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, for an arts and cultural festival organised by the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation. Despite claiming he thought the concert was sponsored by

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, he faced criticism in the press for receiving a payment of between one and two million pounds from Uzbek president

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...

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.

2010–2016: ''The Last Ship'' and joint tours with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel

In 2010–2011, Sting continued his Symphonicity Tour, touring South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Europe. In the second half of 2011, Sting began his Back to Bass Tour, which would continue (with periodic breaks) through 2013. In October 2010, Sting played two concerts in

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

, Netherlands, for ''Symphonica in Rosso''. In 2011, ''

'' magazine named Sting one of the 100 most influential people in the world. On 26 April he performed "Every Breath You Take", "Roxanne" and "Desert Rose" at the Time 100 Gala in New York City. Sting recorded a song called "Power's Out" with

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...

. 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'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer Nicole Scherzinger which features special guest appearances from Sting, Enrique Iglesias & 50 Cent. It was released on March 18, 2011, by Interscope Records, in association with i ...

''. Sting recorded a new version of the song "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" as a duet with ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' actor/singer

Matthew Morrison Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in multiple Broadway and off-Broadway produ ...

, which appears on Morrison's 2011 eponymous debut album. On 15 September 2011, Sting performed "Fragile" at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the You ...

in New York City, to honour the memory of his friend, financier-philanthropist Herman Sandler, who died in the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the World Trade Center. For several years, Sting worked on a musical, '' The Last Ship'', inspired by Sting's own childhood experiences and the shipbuilding industry in

. ''The Last Ship'' tells a story about the demise of the British shipbuilding industry in 1980s

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and debuted in Chicago in June 2014 before transferring to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in the autumn. Sting's eleventh studio album, titled '' The Last Ship'', and inspired by the play, was released on 24 September 2013. The album features guest artists with roots in northeast England, including

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980 at the age of 32, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. Johnson was one of the founding members of th ...

, vocalist from

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

. In February 2014, Sting embarked on a joint concert tour titled On Stage Together with

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, playing 21 concerts in North America. The tour continued in early 2015, with ten shows in Australia and New Zealand, and 23 concerts in Europe, ending on 18 April 2015. On 26 June 2015 in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Norway (at the Bergen Calling Festival), Sting embarked on a 21-date Summer 2015 solo tour of Europe in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway (at the Olavsfestdagene), visiting Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Sweden. On 28 August 2015, " Stolen Car", a duet with French singer

Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...

was released. It is a cover from Sting's 2003 seventh solo studio album, ''

'', and will serve as the first single from Farmer's tenth studio album, '' Interstellaires''. On its release, the song went straight to number one over French

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

music download charts, subsequently hitting number one on the main French singles chart and giving Sting his first number one in France. In 2016, Sting performed a 19-date joint concert summer tour of North America with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

2016–2020: ''57th & 9th'', ''44/876'' and ''My Songs''

On 18 July 2016, Sting's first rock album in many years was announced. '' 57th & 9th'' was released on 11 November 2016. The title is a reference to the New York City intersection he crossed every day to get to the studio where much of the album was recorded. It has contributions by long-time band members

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

and Dominic Miller, and Jerry Fuentes and Diego Navaira of the Last Bandoleros. The album was produced by Sting's manager, Martin Kierszenbaum. On 9 November 2016, Sting performed two shows at

Irving Plaza Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Verizon 5G and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York ...

, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York City, playing songs from ''57th & 9th'' for the first time live in concert: a "57th & 9th iHeartRadio Album Release Party" show and a Sting Fan Club Member Exclusive Show later that night. Named the 57th & 9th Tour, a world tour of theatres, clubs and arenas in support of ''57th & 9th'' (with special guests Joe Sumner and the Last Bandoleros) began on 1 February 2017 in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

at the Commodore Ballroom and continued into October. On 4 November 2016, management of the Bataclan theatre announced that Sting would perform an exclusive concert in Paris on 12 November 2016 for the re-opening of the Bataclan, a year after the terrorist attack at the venue. The Police's former guitar player, French native

, joined the band on stage for " Next to You", one of the encores. Sting was announced as the joint winner of the 2017

, a Swedish international award given in recognition of excellence in the world of music. The award committee stated: "As a composer, Sting has combined classic pop with virtuoso musicianship and an openness to all genres and sounds from around the world." In 2018, he scheduled a musical and story-telling performance at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

honouring

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. Early on, the paintings typically depicted the Hudson River Valley and the sur ...

artist

Thomas Cole Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for hi ...

. On 7 February 2018, Sting performed as special guest at the Italian

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

, singing "Muoio per te", the Italian version of "

Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City as they navigate life together. In later seasons, the couple has a daughter. It initially aired on NBC from September 2 ...

", the lyrics of which were written by his friend and colleague

Zucchero Fornaciari Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), known professionally as Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his primary school teacher used to ...

and "Don't Make Me Wait" with Shaggy. ''

44/876 ''44/876'' is a collaborative album by English musician Sting and Jamaican musician Shaggy, also the thirteenth solo studio album. It was released on 20 April 2018 by A&M Records, Interscope Records and Cherrytree Records. The album's title r ...

'', Sting and Shaggy's first studio album as a duo, was released in April 2018. On 21 April 2018, Sting was among the artists to perform at

The Queen's Birthday Party The Queen's Birthday Party was a music concert held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 21 April 2018 to celebrate the 92nd birthday of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II. It was organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society. Events The event co ...

held at the

. In 2019, he received a

BMI Award The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the main pop music award was founded in 1952. The awards inclu ...

when "Every Breath You Take", a hit single by The Police, became the most-played song in radio history. Sting's fourteenth album, titled '' My Songs'', was released on 24 May 2019. The album features 14 studio (and one live) re-recorded versions of his songs released throughout his solo career and his time with The Police. In support of the album, a world tour named the My Songs Tour started on 28 May 2019 at

La Seine Musicale La Seine Musicale is a music and performing arts center located on Île Seguin an island on the Seine river between Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Events La Seine Musicale was inaugurated on 22 April 2 ...

in Paris and ended on 2 September 2019 at Kit Carson Park in

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico ** Taos Pueblo, a Native American ...

, New Mexico. A 16-date residency from 22 May to 2 September 2020 at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

in Las Vegas, Nevada was rescheduled due to COVID-19, with the first date taking place on 29 October 2021. His six nights at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

were rescheduled to April 2022. On 14 April 2020, Sting recorded a duet cover of "Message in a Bottle" with the girl group All Saints. The same year, he appeared on the song "Simple" available on the EP ''

Pausa In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pâusis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in ...

'' by

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

. Also in 2020, Sting was listed as number 32 on '' Rolling Stone's'' list of the top 50 greatest bassists of all time.

2021–present: ''Duets'' and ''The Bridge''

On 19 March 2021, Sting released '' Duets'', a compilation album comprising 17 tracks of collaborations with various artists including

, Shaggy,

and

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (October 12, 1935 – January 10, 2025) was an American singer who was best known as a member of the soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave from 1961 to 1981. He was a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (f ...

. Sting released his fifteenth studio album, ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

'', on 19 November 2021. It was preceded by the release of the lead single "If It's Love" on 1 September 2021. Sting wrote the set of pop-rock songs "in a year of global pandemic, personal loss, separation, disruption, lockdown and extraordinary social and political turmoil". On 20 November 2021, Sting's single "What Could Have Been", with

Ray Chen Ray Chen (; born 6 March 1989) is a Taiwanese Australians, Taiwanese-Australian violinist. He was the winner of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the Quee ...

, was featured in the third act of the ''League of Legends'' animated series ''

Arcane Arcane may refer to: Comics and literature * Anton Arcane, a DC Comics character * Arcane Jill Watson, a fictional character in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' franchise * Arcane literature, fictional literature in the Cthulhu Mythos ...

''; this single was released the same day. Sting then opened

The Game Awards 2021 The Game Awards 2021 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2021. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on D ...

with the song; Todd Marten, for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', wrote "

The Game Awards The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. After working on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awar ...

began this year with an opening that might have launched the Grammy Awards". In February 2022, Sting collaborated with Swedish DJ supergroup Swedish House Mafia, releasing a song and music video titled "Redlight". The song used lyrics from The Police's 1979 hit "Roxanne" with a dark electronic feeling. Sting made an appearance in the music video, the song being part of the new album from Swedish House Mafia titled '' Paradise Again''. In February 2022, it was announced that

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

purchased Sting's catalogue of solo works and those with The Police for an undisclosed amount. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked him as the highest-paid solo musician of 2022, with an estimated earnings of $210 million. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' reported that Sting gave a private performance on 17 January 2023 for fifty top Microsoft executives at the 2023 World Economic Forum at Davos. The next day Microsoft announced plans to lay off 10,000 people in what some employees called "as a bad look" for the company. "Some employees thought it wasn't the right time for a company-sponsored Sting concert," wrote Tom Dotan and Sam Schechner. "The theme of the event was sustainability." The event quickly went viral.

Activism

Sting's involvement in human rights began in September 1981, when Martin Lewis included him in the fourth

gala, '' The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'', a benefit show co-founded by

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

member

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

. Sting states, "before he BallI did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world." Following the example set at the 1979 show by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

, Sting performed "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle" appearing on all four nights at Theatre Royal in London. He also led other musicians (''The Secret Police'') including

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

and

in the finale – Sting's

-tinged arrangement of

's "

". The event was the first time that Sting worked with Geldof. His association with Amnesty continued throughout the 1980s and beyond and he took part in Amnesty's

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 human rights organization Amnesty International.Henke, James, "Human ...

. Sting had shown his interest in social and political issues in his 1980 song "Driven to Tears", an indictment of apathy to world hunger. In November 1984, he joined Band Aid, a charity supergroup primarily made up of the biggest British and Irish musicians of the era, and sang on "

" which was recorded at

Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Is ...

in Notting Hill, London."Looking Back At Live Aid, 25 Years Later"
MTV. Retrieved 28 October 2016 This led to the

concert in July 1985 at

, in which Sting performed with Phil Collins and

. On 2 July 2005, Sting performed at the

concert at Hyde Park, London, the follow-up to 1985's Live Aid. In 1984, Sting sang a re-worded version of "Every Breath You Take", titled "Every Bomb You Make" for episode 12 of the first series of the British satirical puppet show ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...

''. The video for the song shows the puppets of world leaders and political figures of the day, usually with the figure matching the altered lyrics. In June 1986, Sting reunited with the Police for the last three shows of Amnesty's six-date

A Conspiracy of Hope A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rig ...

concerts in the US. The day after the final concert, he told

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'': "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years." In 1988, he joined musicians including

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

for a six-week

Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...

tour commemorating the 40th anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

."How Amnesty International Rocked the World: The Inside Story"
. ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved 12 November 2014 With his wife, Trudie Styler and Raoni Metuktire, a

Kayapo The Kayapo (Portuguese language, Portuguese: Caiapó ) people are an indigenous people in Brazil, living over a vast area across the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, south of the Amazon River and along the Xingu River and its tributaries. This l ...

Indian leader in Brazil, Sting founded the

Rainforest Foundation Fund The Rainforest Foundation Fund is a charitable foundation founded in 1987 and dedicated to drawing attention to rainforests and defending the rights of indigenous peoples living there. The fund provides support to indigenous rainforest peop ...

to help save the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s and protect

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

there. In 1989, he flew to the Altamira Gathering to offer support while promoting his charity. His support continues and includes an annual benefit concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, which has featured

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

and others. A species of Colombian tree frog, '' Dendropsophus stingi'', was named after him for his "commitment and efforts to save the rainforest". In 1988, the single " They Dance Alone (Cueca Sola)" chronicled the plight of the mothers, wives and daughters of the "

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...

", political opponents killed by the

Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader of the military junta, which i ...

dictatorship in Chile. On 15 September 1997, Sting joined

, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins and Mark Knopfler at London's

for Music for

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

, a benefit for the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island devastated by a volcano. Sting and Styler were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award in Sherborn, Massachusetts, on 30 June 2000. In September 2001, Sting took part in '' America: A Tribute to Heroes'' singing "Fragile" to raise money for families of victims of the 9/11 attacks in the US. In February 2005, Sting performed the Leeuwin Estate Concert Series in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

: the concert raised $4 million for the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

relief. In 2007, Sting joined Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland for the closing set at the

Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase Environmentalism, environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Live Earth 2007 The 1st series ...

concert at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...

East Rutherford East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,022, an inc ...

, New Jersey. Joined by

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, Sting and the Police ended the show singing "Message in a Bottle" In 2008 Sting contributed to ''

Songs for Tibet A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usually ...

'' to support

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

Tenzin Gyatso The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

. On 22 January 2010, Sting performed "Driven to Tears" during '' Hope for Haiti Now''. On 25 April 2010, he performed on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

in Washington, D.C. in the 40th anniversary celebration of

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

. Sting is a patron of the

Elton John AIDS Foundation The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care and s ...

. In 2011, Sting joined more than 30 others in an open letter to British Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

for "immediate decriminalisation of drug possession" if a policy review showed it had 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 cancelled a concert for the Astana Day Festival in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

, Kazakhstan. Amnesty International convinced him to cancel due to concerns over the rights of Kazakh oil and gas workers and their families. On 2 November 2012, Sting appeared on '' Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together'' and sang a version of "Message in a Bottle" to raise funds for those affected by a storm on the east coast of the US that week. The show reportedly raised $23 million. Sting also participated as a co-host and musician during the day-long 2015 Norwegian TV campaign, dedicated to the preservation of the rainforest. In August 2014, Sting was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to reject Scottish independence from the UK in September's referendum on the issue. Sting publicly supported the United Kingdom remaining in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. On 23 June 2016, in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, the British public voted to leave. In October 2018, Sting was among a group of British musicians who signed an open letter sent to then Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

, drafted by

, calling for "a 2nd vote", stating that Brexit will "impact every aspect of the music industry. From touring to sales, to copyright legislation to royalty collation", the letter added: "We dominate the market and our bands, singers, musicians, writers, producers and engineers work all over Europe and the world and, in turn, Europe and the world come to us. Why? Because we are brilliant at it ...

ur music Ur ( or ) was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar () in Dhi Qar Governorate, southern Iraq. Although Ur was once a Sea port, coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the ...

reaches out, all inclusive, and embraces anyone and everyone. And that truly is what Britain is." In January 2018, it was reported that Sting had joined the board of advisors of an impact investing fund of

JANA Partners LLC JANA Partners LLC (JANA or JANA Partners) is an Asset management, investment manager specializing in event-driven investing. It was founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. JANA engages in traditional shareholder activism and socially responsible inv ...

named JANA Impact Capital, aimed at serving environmental and social causes. On 6 January 2018, JANA Partners, together with the California State Teachers' Retirement System issued a public letter imploring

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

to take a more responsible approach towards smartphone addiction among children. The letter cited several pieces of evidence that show that smartphone use by children increases the risk of their having mental health problems and worsens academic performance.

Personal life

Sting married actress

Frances Tomelty Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), '' Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchar ...

on 1 May 1976. They had two children:

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

(b. 23 November 1976), and Fuschia Katherine "Kate" (b. 17 April 1982) Sumner. In 1980, Sting became a

tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland. In 1982, after the birth of his second child, he separated from Tomelty. Tomelty and Sting divorced in 1984 following Sting's affair with actress

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress, director, and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was ...

. The split was controversial; as ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' reported in 2006, Tomelty "just happened to be Trudie's best friend (Sting and Tomelty lived next door to Styler in Bayswater, west London, for several years before the two of them became lovers)". In a 2025 interview, Sting revealed that Styler was his inspiration for the song "

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by the British rock band The Police from their fourth studio album, ''Ghost in the Machine'' (1981). It was a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981

" that he wrote in 1977. Sting married Styler at Camden Registry Office on 20 August 1992, and the couple had their wedding blessed two days later in the twelfth-century parish church of St Andrew in

Great Durnford Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

, Wiltshire, south-west England. Sting and Styler have four children, three of whom were born before their marriage: Brigitte Michael "Mickey" (b. 19 January 1984), Jake (b. 24 May 1985), Eliot Paulina "Coco" (b. 30 July 1990), and Giacomo Luke (b. 17 December 1995) Sumner. Coco is founder and lead singer of the group

I Blame Coco Eliot Paulina Sumner (born 30 July 1990) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. They are the child of musician Sting and actress Trudie Styler. They began their music career at a young age and signed a record deal with Island Records ...

. Giacomo Luke is the inspiration behind the name of

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

-winning horse

Giacomo Giacomo () is an Italian given name corresponding to English James (name), James. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob (name), Jacob. People bearing the name include: *Giacomo Acerbo (1888–1969), Italian economi ...

. In April 2009, the ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and has been published as a magazine supplement by British national ...

'' estimated Sting's wealth at £175million and ranked him the 322nd wealthiest person in Britain. A decade later, Sting was estimated to have a fortune of £320million in the 2019 ''Sunday Times Rich List'', making him one of the ten wealthiest people in the British music industry. Both of Sting's parents died of cancer: his mother in 1986 and his father in 1987. He did not attend either funeral, in order not to draw media attention to them. In 1989, a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film written specifically for Sting was organized by his own and former

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

video director

Lol Creme Laurence Neil "Lol" Creme ( ; born 19 September 1947) is an English musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He was later one half of the duo Godley & Creme, with 10cc drummer Kevin Godley. Creme has collaborated with ...

. Sting's manager at the time Miles Copeland became involved, and the project was later passed to director

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

, but was never undertaken from there. In 1995, Sting gave evidence in court against his former accountant (Keith Moore), who had misappropriated £6 million of his money. Moore was jailed for six years. Sting owns several homes worldwide, including Lake House and its sixty-acre estate near

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, Wiltshire; a penthouse at 220 Central Park South in New York City; and the Villa Il Palagio estate in

, Tuscany. He owned a house in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, 2 The Grove for a number of years, which had previously been the home of violinist

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

. For much of his life, Sting's spare time interests and activities have revolved around mental and physical fitness. For many years, he ran five miles (8 km) a day and also performed aerobics. He participated in running races at

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

and charity runs (including the Race Against Time for

Sport Aid Sport Aid (also known as Sports Aid) was a sport-themed campaign for African famine relief held in May 1986, involving several days of all-star exhibition events in various sports, and culminating in the Race Against Time, a 10 km fun run held s ...

in both 1986 and 1988). Around 1990, Danny Paradise introduced him to yoga and he began practising the

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Ashtanga yoga (not to be confused with Patanjali's '' aṣṭāṅgayoga'', the eight limbs of yoga) is a style of yoga as exercise popularised by K. Pattabhi Jois during the twentieth century, often promoted as a dynamic form of medieval ha ...

series, though he now practises

Tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

and

Jivamukti Yoga The Jivamukti Yoga method is a proprietary style of yoga created by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984. Jivamukti is a physical, ethical, and spiritual practice, combining a vigorous yoga as exercise, vinyasa-based physical style with adherenc ...

as well. He wrote a foreword to ''Yoga Beyond Belief'', written by Ganga White in 2007. In 2008, he was reported to practise

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 191? – 5 February 2008) was the creator of Transcendental Meditation (TM) and leader of the worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways, including as a new ...

Transcendental Meditation technique The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique is that associated with Transcendental Meditation, developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It uses a private mantra and is practised for 20 minutes twice per day while sitt ...

. He also practises

pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive e ...

regularly. Kasparov-44

Also a keen

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player, Sting played chess grandmaster

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

in an exhibition game in 2000, along with four bandmates: Dominic Miller, Jason Rebello,

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album Impressions ...

and Russ Irwin. Kasparov beat all five simultaneously within fifty minutes. In 1969, Sting read the Gormenghast trilogy by

Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was a British writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...

and later bought the film rights. He named pets, a racehorse, his publishing company and one of his daughters (Fuschia, in the books actually Fuchsia) after characters from the books. Sting supports his hometown

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

football club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and in 2009 backed a supporters' campaign against the plan of owner Mike Ashley (businessman), Mike Ashley to sell off naming rights of the club's home stadium St James' Park. He wrote a song in support of Newcastle, called "Black and White Army (Bringing The Pride Back Home)". In a 2011 interview in ''Time (Magazine), Time'', Sting said that he was agnostic and that the certainties of religious faith were dangerous. In August 2014, Sting donated money to The Friends of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool to regenerate the 1920s Lido (swimming pool), lido at the southern end of Longsands Beach in Tynemouth, northeast England, a few miles from where he was born. Sting follows a macrobiotic diet, meaning that he avoids processed foods.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1985) * '' ...Nothing Like the Sun'' (1987) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Mercury Falling'' (1996) * '' Brand New Day'' (1999) * ''

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2006) * '' If on a Winter's Night...'' (2009) * ''Symphonicities'' (2010) * '' The Last Ship'' (2013) * '' 57th & 9th'' (2016) * ''

'' (2018) (with Shaggy) * '' My Songs'' (2019) * ''

'' (2021)

Performances and bibliography

As actor * ''Quadrophenia (film), Quadrophenia'' (1979) – The Ace Face, the King of the Mods, a.k.a. the Bell Boy in the film adaptation of the Who album. * ''Radio On'' (1979) – Just Like Eddie * ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' (1980) – Leader of the Blow Waves. The footage was cut but it later reappeared in the DVD version and in the documentary ''The Filth and the Fury'' (2000). * ''Artemis 81'' (1981) – The angel Helith (BBC TV film) * '' Brimstone and Treacle'' (1982) – Martin Taylor, a drifter * ''Dune (1984 film), Dune'' (1984) – Feyd-Rautha, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen – Sting's likeness was also used for the version of the character that appears in the Cryo Interactive Dune (video game), video game adaptation of ''Dune''''.'' * ''Gormenghast (series)#Adaptations, Titus Groan'' (1984) – Steerpike (BBC Radio 4 broadcast based on the

novel) * ''Gormenghast (series)#Adaptations, Gormenghast'' (1984) – Steerpike (BBC Radio 4 broadcast based on the Mervyn Peake novel) * ''Plenty (film), Plenty'' (1985) – Mick, a black-marketeer * ''The Bride (1985 film), The Bride'' (1985) – Victor Frankenstein, Baron Frankenstein * ''Walking to New Orleans'' (1985) – Busker, singing ''Moon Over Bourbon Street.'' * ''Julia and Julia'' (1987) – Daniel, a British gentleman * ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988) – a "heroic officer" * ''Stormy Monday (film), Stormy Monday'' (1988) – Finney, a nightclub owner * ''The Grotesque (film), The Grotesque'' (1995), a/k/a ''Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets'' and ''Grave Indiscretion'' – Fledge * ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) – J.D., Eddie's father and owner of a bar. * ''Kaamelott: The First Chapter'' (2021) – Horsa As himself * ''Urgh! A Music War'' (1982) * '' Bring On the Night'' (1985) * ''Saturday Night Live'' (1991) – host, various * ''The Simpsons'' episode "Radio Bart" (1992) * ''The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer'' Episode 5 (1995) * ''The Larry Sanders Show'' episode "Where Is the Love?" (1996) * ''Ally McBeal'' season four episode "The Last Virgin, Cloudy Skies, Chance of Parade" (2001) * ''Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out'' (2006) * ''List of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip episodes, Studio 60 on Sunset Strip'' (2006) * ''Vicar of Dibley'' Comic Relief (charity), Comic Relief special (2007) * ''Bee Movie'' (2007) * ''Little Britain USA'' (2008) * ''Brüno'' (2009) * ''Still Bill (film), Still Bill'' (2009) * ''Do It Again (documentary), Do It Again'' (2010) * ''Life's Too Short (TV series), Life's Too Short'' (2011) * ''2012: Time for Change'' (2011) * ''Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police'' (2012) * ''The Michael J. Fox Show'' (2013) (singing "August Wind" from ''The Last Ship'') * ''20 Feet from Stardom'' (2013) * ''Zoolander 2'' (2016) * ''Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics'' (2020) * ''Only Murders in the Building'' (2021) * ''The Book of Solutions'' (2023)

Broadway and Tour credits

Publications

* *

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * * * *
Sting's Commencement Address
(1994) to the

Sting
radio interview about John Dowland songs, from NPR ''Performance Today'', 6 March 2007
Sting
live in Minsk (video) on th
Belarus official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sting Sting (musician), 1951 births Living people 20th-century English bass guitarists 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singer-songwriters 21st-century British double-bassists 21st-century English bass guitarists 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singer-songwriters A&M Records artists Actors from Wallsend Alumni of Northumbria University Annie Award winners Brit Award winners British male double-bassists British reggae musicians British soft rock musicians Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deutsche Grammophon artists English activists English agnostics English autobiographers English classical double-bassists English classical singers English expatriate male actors in the United States English expatriate musicians in the United States English expatriates in Italy English lutenists English male bass guitarists English male film actors English male new wave singers English male rock singers English male singer-songwriters English rock bass guitarists English tenors English yogis Golden Globe Award–winning musicians Grammy Award winners Indigenous rights activists Ivor Novello Award winners Kennedy Center honorees Male actors from Northumberland Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Musicians from Northumberland People educated at St. Cuthbert's School People from Cramlington The Police members Primetime Emmy Award winners Pseudonyms Reggae rock musicians Rock double-bassists Schoolteachers from Northumberland Strontium 90 (band) members Sumner musical family Universal Music Group artists Walt Disney Animation Studios people