Sting

• Birth name:

  Gordon Matthew Sumner

• Date of Birth:

  2 October 1951 Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK

• Height:

  6' (1.83 m)

Born in Newcastle, England in 1951, the son of a milkman, Gordon Matthew Sumner, grew up in the turmoil of the ship-building industry and wanted to become a musician very early. He played cruise ships, backing strippers in cabarets, and developed a love for the bass guitar. Having played in jazz/rock bands like "Last Exit" and other various groups, including a dixieland jazz group, where he got the name "Sting" from a yellow/black striped shirt, he settled down with Stewart Copeland a... more

Born in Newcastle, England in 1951, the son of a milkman, Gordon Matthew Sumner, grew up in the turmoil of the ship-building industry and wanted to become a musician very early. He played cruise ships, backing strippers in cabarets, and developed a love for the bass guitar. Having played in jazz/rock bands like "Last Exit" and other various groups, including a dixieland jazz group, where he got the name "Sting" from a yellow/black striped shirt, he settled down with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers for a decade-long tenure with the smashing rock trio, The Police. He then went on to record solo albums and holds a reputation as one of the most literate songwriters and talented musicians in the world. He has also delved into acting, having starred in such films as Quadrophenia (1979), Radio On (1980), Plenty (1985), Giulia e Giulia (1987) (aka Julia and Julia), Dune (1984), Bring on the Night (1985) (a documentary about the formation of his Blue Turtles jazz group), most recently, The Grotesque (1995), where he plays a bisexual, conniving butler.Sting is married to film producer Trudie Styler, and has six children with Trudie and ex-wife, actress Frances Tomelty. Sting owns a Jacobian castle in Wiltshire, which he calls "Lake House", where he records his albums, a place in London, an apartment in New York, and a place on the beach in Malibu, California. He has been called pretentious and is accused of intellectual arrogance for stepping into territory not usually covered by "pop stars".