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Sting (musician)

"Gordon Sumner" redirects here. For the Australian rules footballer, see Gordon Sumner (footballer).

Sting
CBE
Sting performing at The Queen's Birthday Party in 2018
Born
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner

(1951-10-02) 2 October 1951 (age 73)
Wallsend, England
Alma materNorthern Counties College of Education
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
  • activist
Years active1969–present
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1976; div. 1984)​
  • ​
    (m. 1992)​
Children6, including Joe, Mickey and Eliot
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass guitar
  • guitar
  • double bass
  • keyboards
  • saxophone
Labels
Formerly of
Websitesting.com
Signature
Sting logo

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE (born 2 October 1951), known as Sting, is an English musician, activist and actor. He was the frontman, principal songwriter and bassist for new wave band the Police from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music.[4]

As a solo musician and a member of the Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards: he won Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take", three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2019, he received a BMI Award for "Every Breath You Take" becoming the most-played song in radio history.[5] In 2002, Sting received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Police in 2003. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording. In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014 and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2017.[6] In May 2023, he was made an Ivor Novello Fellow.

With the Police, Sting became one of the world's best-selling music artists. Solo and with the Police combined, he has sold over 100 million records.[7] In 2006, Paste ranked him 62nd of the 100 best living songwriters.[8] He was 63rd of VH1's 100 greatest artists of rock,[9] and 80th of Q's 100 greatest musical stars of the 20th century.[10] He has collaborated with other musicians on songs such as "Money for Nothing" with Dire Straits, "All for Love" with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, "Desert Rose" with Cheb Mami, "Rise & Fall" with Craig David, and "You Will Be My Ain True Love" with Alison Krauss. In 2018, he released the album 44/876, a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy, which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2019.[11]

  1. ^ "Readers Poll: Ten Best Post-Band Solo Artists – 7. Sting". Rolling Stone. 2 May 2012.
  2. ^ Seely, Mike (1 September 2004). "The Ten Most Hated Men in Rock". The Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  3. ^ Collins, Robert (21 February 2014). "Review: Sting and Paul Simon serenade Vancouver". CTV Vancouver News.
  4. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Sting Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved 7 November 2010
  5. ^ "Sting's "Every Breath You Take" Is the Most Played Song on Radio [Video]". GuardianIv. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  6. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (7 February 2017). "Sting and Wayne Shorter Win Polar Music Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Sting releases new album My Songs today". Universal Music Canada. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  8. ^ "100 Greatest Living Songwriters". pastemusic.com. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  9. ^ "VH1 Greatest Artists of Rock". Rockonthenet.com. 1998. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. ^ "The 100 Greatest Stars of the 20th Century". Q. August 1999. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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