Looking back at Sting ‘s career
He was born on this day in 1951
Looking back at Sting ‘s career
Sting has been one of the most successful artists in the world for well over 4 decades now. He became a well-known name back in the late 1970’s as frontman for The Police with whom he recorded 5 hit albums between 1978 and 1983. He released his first solo album in 1985 making a total now of 12 solo albums. Today, Sting turns 73
Sting was born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner on October 2nd, 1951, in Wallsend, Northumberland, England. During his adolescence he visited nightclubs such as Club A ‘Gogo to see Cream and Manfred Mann, who influenced his music. After being a bus conductor, building laborer and tax officer, Sting became a teacher for two years. In 1977, living in London, he formed The Police with himself on vocals and bass guitar, together with American born drummer Stewart Copeland and soon after Andy Summers on guitar. Initially influenced by the Punk movement and sound, The Police soon switched to a Reggae influenced style much more Pop and radio friendly, in 1978 they release their first album “Outlandos d’Amour,” the album featured the first string of hit songs for the band including their signature one “Roxanne,” “So Lonely” and “Can’t Stand Losing You.” In subsequent years, The Police became a true hit machine scoring several No.1’s around the world and releasing memorable songs such as “Message in a Bottle,” “Walking on the Moon,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” “Spirits in the Material World,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Every Breath You Take.” The Police broke up in 1983, however Sting was able to launch a successful solo career that lasts to this day, establishing himself with a name stronger than his former band. The music he has done it’s also far more eclectic than the one he did with The Police, Sting usually includes elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age and worldbeat in his music. Since 1985 Sting has made memorable songs, including: “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” “Russians,” “We’ll Be Together,” “Englishman in New York,” “Fragile” (which he recorded both in Portuguese and English), “It’s Probably Me” (with Eric Clapton), “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,” “Fields of Gold,”, “All for Love” (with Bryan Adams & Rod Stewart), “Rise And Fall” (with Craig David) and “Desert Rose” (with Cheb Mami) where he introduced the North African music genre raï to Western audiences. With a career that is still going strong today, here’s a list of some of the honors he has received over the years: As a solo musician and a member of The Police, he has received 16 Grammy Awards (his first in the category of best rock instrumental in 1980, for “Reggatta de Blanc”), three Brit Awards, including Best British Male in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and 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 Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to music and was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014. He was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2017. Aside of music, he has also dedicated some of his life to acting, one of his most famous roles it’s in the 1984 David Lynch’s sci-fi movie “Dune” as the alien Feyd-Rautha. Sting is also known as an activist for several causes, most notably his concerns with the Rain Forests and environment, and also for human rights.
Listen to some of Sting and The Police best songs compiled by Pop Expresso on Spotify
Watch more music related videos
Images and photographs can be from different ranges of sources such as Pinterest, Tumblr etc. except when/where noted. If you are the copyright holder and would like them removed or credited, please get in touch.
