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Sting
Gordon Sumner's life started to change the evening a fellow musician in the Phoenix
Jazzmen caught sight of his black and yellow striped sweater and decided to re-christen him Sting. Sting paid
his early dues playing bass with local outfits The Newcastle Big Band, The Phoenix Jazzmen, Earthrise and Last
Exit, the latter of which featured his first efforts at songwriting. Last Exit were big in the North East, but
their jazz fusion was doomed to fail when punk rock exploded onto the music scene in 1976. Stewart Copeland,
drummer with Curved Air, saw Last Exit on a visit to Newcastle and while the music did nothing for him he did
recognize the potential and charisma of the bass player. The two hooked up shortly afterwards and within
months, Sting had left his teaching job and moved to London.
Source: Sting.com Thank you!!!
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They certainly made an odd trio:
guitarist Summers had a career dating back to the mid-60s, the hyper-kinetic Copeland was a former
prog-rocker, and Sting's background was in trad jazz and fusion. The sound the trio made was unique
though, and Sting's pin-up looks did them no harm at all. The band returned to the UK to find the reissued
'Roxanne' single charting, and played a sell-out tour of mid-size venues. The momentum had started. The
debut album 'Outlandos d'Amour' (Oct 78) delivered three sizeable hits with 'Roxanne', 'Can't Stand Losing
You' and 'So Lonely' which in turn led to a headlining slot at the '79 Reading Festival which won the band
some fine reviews, but it was with 'Reggatta de Blanc' (Oct 79) that the band stepped up a
gear.
Reggatta's first
single, 'Message In A Bottle', streaked to number one and the album's success was consolidated further
when 'Walking On The Moon' also hit the top slot. The band was big, but about to get even bigger. 1980 saw
them undertake a world tour with stops on all continents - including the first rock concerts in Bombay -
and the band eventually returned to the UK exhausted, for two final shows in Sting's hometown of
Newcastle. Much of this groundbreaking tour was captured on the 'Police Around The World' video and a BBC
documentary entitled 'The Police in the East'
Within weeks, the band were in a Dutch
studio recording new material but Sting's stock of pre-Police songs and ideas were wearing out. When
'Zenyatta Mondatta' was released (Oct 80) although it sold well and produced another number one single in
'Don't Stand So Close To Me' and a top five hit with 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' a rethink was required.
Sting later admitted that he felt 'Zenyatta' was the band's weakest album but by the end of 1980 the band
were undoubtedly the biggest-selling band in the country selling out two shows in a huge marquee on
Tooting Bec Common in London.
Changes materialized on 1981's 'Ghost In The
Machine', a rich, multilayered album which was augmented not only by Jean Roussel's keyboards and Sting's
self taught saxophone playing, but by particularly strong writing contributions from both Copeland and
Summers. The album still had the now expected clutch of hit singles with 'Every Little Thing She Does Is
Magic' making number one, the bleak 'Invisible Sun' reaching number two (despite a BBC ban being slapped
on its video) and 'Spirits In The Material World' also charting, but it was a much darker and complex
album than its predecessors and, to many, more satisfying.
During this period Sting
took the lead role in Richard Loncraine's big-screen version of Dennis Potter's controversial play
"Brimstone and Treacle" as well as in the BBC production "Artemis '81". In the late 70's he had appeared
in a couple of movies - a minor part in Chris Petit's "Radio On" and an excellent cameo in Franc Roddam's
"Quadrophenia" but "Brimstone and Treacle" was a major role and Sting took up a good deal of screen time
opposite Joan Plowright and Denholm Elliot. The Police also contributed music to the movie's soundtrack
and indeed Sting had a surprise solo hit with the track 'Spread A Little Happiness'. Also during this
period he made his first solo appearances at 'The Secret Policeman Ball' benefits in aid of Amnesty
International demonstrating a burgeoning interest in humanitarian causes.
Sting and The Police decamped to Air Studios
in Montserrat to begin recording what would be their final studio album, 'Synchronicity', at the turn of
1983. The album was preceded by the release of a new single 'Every Breath You Take' (May 83) which
immediately went to number one on both sides of the Atlantic and simply stayed there. Dressed up as a love
song, the song was anything but - its sinister theme being one of obsession and surveillance. More than
twenty years later, the song is one of the most played records on American radio having clocked more than
seven million plays. With such a stand-out track the album couldn't fail and it duly took its rightful
place at the top of the world's charts as the band started a spectacular stadium tour of the States, the
high spot of which was a sell-out show in New York's Shea Stadium. Further hit singles in the shape of
'Wrapped Around Your Finger', 'King of Pain' and 'Synchronicity II' helped maintain the album's success,
but despite the album collecting three Grammies awards, the writing was on the wall for The
Police.
In June 1985, Sting released his first solo
album 'The Dream Of The Blue Turtles' and it was a revelation. Featuring the cream of America's young,
black jazz musicians - Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Omar Hakim and Darryl Jones - the album showed
that Sting had lost none of his songwriting ability by being outside of the Police camp. The new material
had a more political stance - 'We Work The Black Seam' dealt with the miner's strike, 'Children's Crusade'
with drugs, and 'Russians' with the West's demonization of communism. He even wrote what he termed "an
antidote song" to 'Every Breath You Take' in the shape of 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'. The
album was premiered in a series of shows at Paris's Mogador Theatre - a period captured in Michael Apted's
rockumentary "Bring On The Night" - and the band were magnificent. The success of the album, a solo
appearance at Live Aid, and a well received world tour were proof that Sting had no need for the safety
net of The Police - he had not only a retained a fan base he had started to build another one.
'...Nothing Like The Sun' (Oct 1987) was
another strong collection of songs, containing perennial favorites 'Englishman In New York' and 'Fragile'.
Sting even got himself banned from Chilean radio thanks to 'They Dance Alone', a haunting song that
resulted from his meeting with some of South America's "Mothers of the Disappeared". Released shortly
afterwards was a mini-album 'Nada Como El Sol' which featured several of the album's songs in Spanish and
Portuguese, and which strengthened his popularity further in Latin America. His new band included Kirkland
and Marsalis, Delmar Brown, Jeff Campbell and Tracey Wormworth, with Sting content to sing, dance and play
occasional guitar. In mid tour, Sting joined the Amnesty International "Human Rights Now!" tour alongside
Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel for several huge fundraising concerts.
Ever busy, when the tour finished Sting
was looking for a new project, and found it with a starring spot on Broadway during 1989 in Brecht's "3
Penny Opera" in the role of Macheath. The shows proved popular and the show completed a three month run
ending on new year's eve. Earlier visits to the Amazonian rainforest in 1987 also led to both he and
Trudie Styler establish a charity, The Rainforest Foundation, aimed at protecting both the environment and
indigenous peoples. This has proved to be not just a passing interest, with an annual all-star benefit
concert at New York's Carnegie Hall helping to raise funds to maintain the charity's work in supporting
indigenous and traditional people of the world's rainforests in their efforts to protect their
environment.
Recovering from a spell of writer's block,
Sting returned to his childhood memories for inspiration and released 'The Soul Cages' (Jan 1991).
Jokingly referred to by Sting as a record for the "recently bereaved", 'The Soul Cages' was often bleak
but always compelling. Depending on your point of view it is either impenetrably dense or his strongest
work - only the listener can decide. The first single, 'All This Time', was deceptively poppy and 'Mad
About You' was also a minor hit, but the rest of the album was not so radio friendly. Nevertheless the
album sold well, the title track collected a Grammy for Best Rock Song, and the live shows saw a stripped
down rock band comprising of Dominic Miller (guitar), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and David Sancious
(keyboards) with Sting returning to the bass. During the tour a very popular MTV unplugged session was
recorded in New York and this was followed by a small acoustic gig at a Wallsend Arts Centre, from which
some songs were released on the 'Acoustic Live In Newcastle' (Nov 1991) mini-album.
Sting and Trudie
married in 1992, and bought Lake House in Wiltshire where the writing and recording of 'Ten Summoner's
Tales' took place (Mar 1993). As upbeat as 'The Soul Cages' was downbeat, it was a remarkable album, and
won universal praise from the critics. The album contained instantly likeable tracks such as 'If I Ever
Lose My Faith In You', 'Fields Of Gold', 'Seven Days' and 'Shape of My Heart'. It also hinted at what was
to come on later albums with its mix of musical genres and styles. During the inevitable world tour he
found time to record a Stateside number one by performing with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart on 'All For
Love' from the "The Three Musketeers" soundtrack and to add another three Grammies to his awards
collection. The following year saw the release of the retrospective 'Fields Of Gold - The Very Best of
Sting 1984-1994' which included two new tracks 'This Cowboy Song' and 'When We Dance'.
During 1995 Sting was writing and recording
songs for a new album, 'Mercury Falling' (Mar 1996) a release which showed an increasing tendency for him
to risk commercial success by writing primarily to please himself and his band. Foregoing standard pop and
rock fare, he was now writing country tunes such as 'I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying', bossa nova such as
'La Belle Dame Sans Regrets', gospel tinged material such as 'Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot' and songs in
devilishly difficult time signatures like 'I Hung My Head'.
The highly anticipated
'Brand New Day' album (Sep 1999) proved to be Sting's most popular album in terms of sales - in excess of
eight million copies world-wide. If 'Mercury Falling' mixed genres, 'Brand New Day' took it a step further
- the title track was full of optimism and renewal, a true millennium message. The remarkable, arabesque
'Desert Rose' featured the prince of rai music, Cheb Mami, and brought arabic flavoured music to
traditionally conservative US radio. 'Fill Her Up' crossed country with gospel, 'Perfect Love...Gone
Wrong' included French rap, and 'Big Lie Small World' was gentle bossa nova. This was undoubtedly one of
Sting's finest albums.
The subsequent tour was
a staggering success with Sting playing his longest ever tour - close to 300 shows in 45 countries to just
under 3 million people. As the tour finished in July with two celebratory show at London's Hyde Park,
Sting was already planning his next project. He would take the 'Brand New Day' songs back to their
birthplace - Italy - where he would record a live album in front of an audience of fan club members and
friends that would see the material reworked and remodelled. Plans for a simultaneous webcast of the
concert on September 11 were postponed as a mark of respect for the victims of the heinous terrorist acts
in the USA, but the show went ahead and the results can be heard on the compelling 'All This Time'
album/DVD. The powerful emotions of that evening can be heard throughout the performance from band and
audience alike. Sting not only kept his promise to rework the songs from the 'Brand New Day' album but he
also delved deep into his back catalog producing magical versions of solo favourites like 'All This Time'
and 'When We Dance', as well as reworkings of Police classics like 'Roxanne' and 'Don't Stand So Close To
Me'.
'Sacred Love' (Sep
2003) was accompanied by a sumptuous DVD companion piece recorded in Los Angeles. The subsequent tour
which started in January 2004 was a lavish production with backscreens and video incorporated into the
show. A tour of small theatres in the USA was followed by a visit to Europe before a return to the US for
a summer amphitheatre tour headlining with Annie Lennox. A further visit to Europe was followed by
Australasian dates including two shows in India and a Tsunami Benefit concert in Australia which raised an
estimated £1.6m. 2004 also saw Sting recognized as Musicares® Person of the Year, made a Commander of
the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, and at an emotional event back home in Newcastle he was
honored by the Variety Club of Great Britain. He and Mary J. Blige also collected a further Grammy award
for 'Whenever I Say Your Name'.
With only a matter of weeks passing
since the finish of the 'Sacred Love' tour, Sting was ready for a change. With a new stripped down,
rockier sounding four piece band comprising bass, two guitars (Dominic Miller and Shane Fontayne) and
drums (Josh Freese) he undertook a six week tour billed as 'Broken Music' playing a career spanning mix of
tunes across the US in mainly college venues and cities he has not previously played. Sting also took the
opportunity on this tour to visit many colleges as a guest lecturer where he spoke to English classes
about the process of writing his memoir and to music classes about songwriting and the music
business.
As unpredictable as ever, October 2006 saw
Sting turn his attentions to a long-standing interest in the work of acclaimed Elizabethan songwriter John
Dowland, with the release of 'Songs From The Labyrinth', an album featuring the talents of virtuoso
Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov. Sting explained, "I'm not a trained singer for this repertoire, but I'm
hoping that I can bring some freshness to these songs that perhaps a more experienced singer wouldn't
give. For me they are pop songs written around 1600 and I relate to them in that way; beautiful melodies,
fantastic lyrics, and great accompaniments." The album was a critical and commercial success topping
classical charts across the world with the album outselling all previous Dowland releases in its first
week of release. Indeed, despite its release late in the year, the album was the best selling classical
album of both 2006 and 2007 on the Billboard end of year chart.
The reformed band proved even more
popular than on their 'Synchronicity' tour with sold out shows at many of the most historic and renowned
stadiums around the world including: Fenway Park (Boston); Wrigley Field (Chicago); Dodger Stadium (Los
Angeles); Twickenham Stadium (London); Stade de France (Paris); Croke Park (Dublin) and River Plate
Stadium (Buenos Aires). The Dublin show alone saw the band play to more than 81,000 fans - their largest
ever audience. Among the accolades garnered by the tour were "Major Tour of The Year" (Pollstar), as well
as "Tour of the Year" and "Top Selling Tour of 2007" (Billboard Magazine). In February 2008 the band
announced a third tour swing through North America supported by Elvis Costello and the Imposters, which in
addition to their summer tour of festivals and stadiums in Europe would see the band on the road until
August 2008.
A handful of concert appearances in mid
2009 disguised the fact that Sting was also recording a new solo album, and naturally, it was not what was
expected. Taking the winter as it's over-arching theme, Sting instead recorded a selection of ancient
hymns, carols, folk songs and re-recorded a small selection of his own songs with a hugely talented group
of musicians including Dominic Miller and Kathryn Tickell. The resulting album 'If On A Winter's Night...'
was release in Autumn 2009, and the songs on the album received a world premiere in the magnificent
setting of Durham cathedral, in Sting's native northeast England where the two performances were also
filmed for a feature length DVD/TV programme. Further shows in New York, Paris and Baden Baden followed
before Christmas 2009.
The new year found Sting performing
occasional live shows in places like Dubai, Venezuela and Colombia with a core band of Dominic Miller and
David Sancious and one of a selection of drummers - Vinnie Colauita, Abe Laboriel Jr and Josh Freese -
depending on their respective availability. The main live activity of 2010 though was the 'Symphonicity'
tour with the Royal Philaharmonic Concert Orchestra and a quintet consisting of Dominic Miller, David
Cossin, Jo Lawry, Rhai Krija and Ira Coleman. The tour found him performing his most celebrated songs
re-imagined for symphonic arrangement, conducted by Steven Mercurio (Pavarotti, Bocelli). The tour played
across North America in June and July, arriving in Europe in the autumn and continues in Australasia in
2011. An album of studio recorded tracks, 'Symphonicities', was released in July 2010 with a live CD/DVD
recorded at Berlin's O2 World released in late November before the tour heads back to Europe in the summer
of 2011 with dates conducted by Sarah Hicks.
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