| Sting | |
|---|---|
 Sting at the 2009 premiere of Moon | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner |
| Also known as | Sting |
| Born | 2 October 1951 Wallsend, England |
| Genres | Rock, pop, New Wave, jazz,New Age, blue-eyed soul |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, double bass, keyboards, saxophone, lute |
| Years active | 1971–present |
Sting (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner[1] on 2 October 1951), CBE, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police.
Sting has varied his musical style throughout his career, incorporating distinct elements of jazz, reggae, classical, new age, and worldbeatinto his music.[2] As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his firstGrammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, three Brit Awards — winning Best British Male in 1994, a Golden Globe, anEmmy Award, and several Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and theSongwriters Hall of Fame.
Early life
Sting was born in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, England,[3] the eldest of four children born to Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer.[4] His siblings were Philip, Angela and Anita. Young Gordon would often assist his father with the early-morning milk-delivery rounds, and by age 10 he became obsessed with an old Spanish guitar that had been left behind by an emigrating friend of his father.[5]
He attended St. Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He would often sneak into nightclubs like the Club A Go-Go, where he would watch acts such as Cream and Jimi Hendrix, artists who would later influence his own music. After jobs as a bus conductor, a construction labourer, and a tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education, (which later became part of Northumbria University) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher.[6] He then worked as a schoolteacher at St. Paul's First School in Cramlington for two years.[7]
Sting performed in jazz bands on evenings, weekends, and during breaks from college and from teaching. He played with local jazz bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit. He gained his nickname after he performed wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes while onstage with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon[8] thought that the sweater made him look like a bee, which prompted the nickname "Sting".[9] In the 1985 documentary Bring on the Night he was addressed by a journalist as "Gordon", and replied: "My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?"[10] In a 2011 interview forTime magazine, he stated: "I was never called Gordon. You could shout Gordon in the street and I would just move out of your way."[11]
[edit]The Poli
In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London, and soon thereafter he joined Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers) to form theNew Wave band The Police. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five chart-topping albums and won six Grammy Awards. Although their initial sound was punk inspired, The Police soon switched to reggae-tinged rock and minimalist pop. Their last album, Synchronicity, which included their most successful song, "Every Breath You Take", was released in 1983. According to Sting, who appeared in the documentary Last Play at Shea, he decided to leave The Police while onstage during the 18 August 1983 concert at Shea Stadium because he felt that playing that venue was "Everest".[12] While never formally breaking up, after Synchronicity the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, particularly Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming. In 2007, however, the band reformed and undertook a world tour.[13]
[edit]1980s
His first solo album, 1985's The Dream of the Blue Turtles, featured a cast of jazz musicians, including Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim, and Branford Marsalis. It included the hit singles "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free", (backed with the non-LP song "Another Day") "Fortress Around Your Heart", "Love Is the Seventh Wave", and "Russians", the last of which was based on a theme from the Lieutenant Kijé Suite.[15] Within a year, the album reached Triple Platinum. This album would garner Sting a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The film Bring on the Night, directed by Michael Apted, documented the formation of the band and its first concert in France.
Sting released ...Nothing Like the Sun in 1987, including the hit songs "We'll Be Together", "Fragile", "Englishman in New York", and "Be Still My Beating Heart", dedicated to his mother, who had recently died. It eventually went Double Platinum. The song "The Secret Marriage" from this album was adapted from a melody by German composer Hanns Eisler, and "Englishman In New York" was about the eccentric writerQuentin Crisp. The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.[19]
[edit]2010s
On 4 March 2010, Sting performed at the Meydan Racecourse launch in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,[34] with an estimated sell-out crowd of 16,000.
In the first half of 2011, Sting continued his Symphonicity Tour, touring South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Europe.
He has recorded a song called "Power's Out" with Nicole Scherzinger. 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.
Sting recorded a new version of the song "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" as a duet with Glee actor/singer Matthew Morrison, which appears on Morrison's 2011 eponymous debut album.[35]
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