Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), usually known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician from Newcastle upon Tyne. Prior to a distinguished solo career, he was the lead singer, principal composer and bassist of the 1970s/1980s rock band The Police.
Sumner was born in Wallsend, near Newcastle upon Tyne, in North East England to Audrey (a Protestant) and Ernest Sumner (a Catholic via his own mother, Agnes White, whose father was an Irish stevedore). Ernest was a milkman, and raised his children as Roman Catholics. From an early age, Sumner knew that he wanted to be a musician. He attended St Cuthbert's grammar School, in Newcastle upon Tyne, and then the University of Warwick, but did not graduate. From 1971 to 1974, he attended Northern Counties Teacher Training College. He is the oldest of four children and has a brother, Philip, and two sisters, Angela and Anita.
Before playing music professionally, Sumner worked as a ditch digger and a music teacher at a Catholic primary school. His first music gigs were wherever he could get a job. He played with local jazz bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen and Last Exit.
He has stated that he gained his nickname while with the Jazzmen. He once performed wearing a black and yellow jersey with hooped stripes that fellow band member Gordon Solomon had noted made him look like a bumblebee, thus he became "Sting." He uses Sting almost exclusively, except on official documents.
In 1977, Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Henry Padovani (who was very soon replaced by Andy Summers) formed the rock/ pop band The Police in London. The group had several chart topping albums and won six Grammy Awards in the early 1980s. Although they jumped on the punk bandwagon early in their career, they soon abandoned that sound in favor of reggae-tinged rock and minimalist pop. Their last album, Synchronicity which included one of their most successful songs, Every Breath You Take, was released in 1983.
