Sting

Sting was married to actress Frances Tomelty from 1976 until their divorce in 1984. The couple had two children together: Joseph, who became a singer-songwriter and bassist, and Fuchsia Katherine. In August 1992, he married film producer and director Trudie Styler at Camden Registry Office. The couple bought Lake House in Wiltshire, where he wrote and recorded subsequent solo material. Together they have four children: Mickey, Jake, Eliot, and Giacomo.

Alongside his creative career, Sting has been an active supporter of human rights and environmental causes. He began his involvement with Amnesty International in 1981 at The Secret Policeman's Ball benefits and later joined the 1988 Human Rights Now! tour alongside Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel. In 1989, Sting and Trudie Styler founded The Rainforest Fund to support rainforest conservation and indigenous rights. Queen Elizabeth II made him a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2004 for his contributions to music.

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner grew up near the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend, where his father worked as a milkman and engineer. He became interested in music after hearing his mother play Rodgers and Hammerstein melodies on the piano and becoming fascinated with a Spanish guitar left behind by a family friend. After leaving the University of Warwick after one term, he worked various jobs as a bus conductor, construction labourer, and tax officer. He earned a teaching qualification from Northern Counties College of Education and taught at St Paul's First School in Cramlington for two years.

While teaching, he performed in jazz outfits including the Newcastle Big Band, Earthrise, Last Exit, and the Phoenix Jazzmen. During his time with the Phoenix Jazzmen, his habit of wearing a black-and-yellow striped jumper led his bandmates to remark that he resembled a wasp or bee, resulting in the lifelong moniker Sting. In late 1976, drummer Stewart Copeland saw Sting perform with Last Exit and recruited him to move to London. Together with guitarist Henri Padovani, they formed The Police in 1977, adopting the name to capitalize on punk rock notoriety. Andy Summers soon replaced Padovani, solidifying the classic three-piece lineup, while Stewart's brother Miles Copeland took over management after hearing Sting's composition "Roxanne".

The Police built their early following by touring the United States in a rented van, playing small punk venues such as CBGB in New York and The Rat Club in Boston. Their blend of new wave energy and reggae rhythms helped their 1978 debut album, Outlandos d'Amour, gain momentum through reissued singles like "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", and "So Lonely". Their 1979 follow-up, Reggatta de Blanc, reached number one on the UK charts and generated top hits with "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon", while the title track earned the group their first Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

The trio continued their commercial streak with Zenyatta Mondatta in 1980, featuring "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and the darker, multi-layered Ghost in the Machine in 1981, which yielded "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". In 1983, they released their final studio album, Synchronicity. Powered by the chart-topping hit "Every Breath You Take", the record reached number one worldwide and led to a stadium tour that included a headline date at New York's Shea Stadium. Citing exhaustion and interpersonal tensions, the band went on hiatus following the tour in March 1984. The Police later reunited in 2007 for a major worldwide anniversary stadium tour before formally disbanding again in 2008.

Sting began his solo career in 1985 with The Dream of the Blue Turtles, backed by an ensemble of prominent jazz players including saxophonist Branford Marsalis, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, drummer Omar Hakim, and bassist Darryl Jones. The record featured politically themed tracks such as "We Work the Black Seam" and "Russians", alongside the hit "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free". In 1987, he released ...Nothing Like the Sun, which produced enduring tracks like "Englishman in New York", "Fragile", and the anti-authoritarian anthem "They Dance Alone".

Following the death of his parents, he channelled themes of grief and memory into The Soul Cages in 1991, followed by the critically acclaimed Ten Summoner's Tales in 1993, which included hits such as "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" and "Fields of Gold". In 1999, his album Brand New Day sold over eight million copies worldwide, boosted by the international success of "Desert Rose", a collaboration with Algerian rai singer Cheb Mami. Sting continued to experiment across genres in later decades, recording 16th-century lute compositions on Songs from the Labyrinth with Edin Karamazov in 2006, traditional winter folk material on If On a Winter's Night... in 2009, and the Grammy-winning reggae collaborative album 44/876 with Shaggy in 2018.

Beyond his recording career, Sting pursued work in film and theatre. He made his screen debut in the 1979 film adaptation of The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia, followed by leading roles in Brimstone and Treacle in 1982 and The Bride in 1985, as well as an appearance as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in David Lynch's 1984 film Dune. He also appeared in Guy Ritchie's 1998 British crime comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. As a soundtrack composer, he earned Academy Award nominations for songs featured in The Emperor's New Groove, Kate & Leopold, and Cold Mountain.

Drawing on memories of his childhood near the Newcastle shipbuilders, Sting spent several years developing the musical The Last Ship. Accompanied by a 2013 concept album of the same name, the stage show debuted in Chicago before opening on Broadway in late 2014, with Sting joining the cast during its run. The production later staged runs in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.