The songwriter, in 2022, is, ultimately, a man at peace. He is reflective, satisfied with his achievements, and driven by creative satisfaction rather than anything cloaked in industry awards or dollar bills.
He is Sting, and he is Gordon Sumner. He is the ex-frontman of one of the most pioneering bands of the post-punk era, who sold 75 million records worldwide.
Sting has recently returned to a place of collaborative creativity with the release of his album Duets, even if, in almost every other way, he continues to find comfort, innocence, and improvement in blissful isolation.
We will have to wait and see whether Sting's regression ends there. In recent years there are hints of rebelliousness in collaborations that imply he's not willing to fade away into one genre, and in fairness, he never has. From allowing Puff Daddy to sample his music to recording an entire album with Shaggy in 2018 to performing with artists as diverse as Craig David, Eric Clapton, Sam Moore, and Julio Iglesias, it's all proof of a man still enthralled and enchanted with music, and, indeed, the world around him, in all its forms.
For all his occasional seriousness, every time he speaks his mind, it's with bruising honesty. At the same time, countless musicians half his age have long since given up on discovering something new about themselves, their music, and the spaces around us. For Sting, the search goes on.
STRIPLV: You seem very happy plowing a lone furrow. Did the Police reunion turn you against the band for good? STING: At the time, I labeled the tour an exercise in nostalgia, and that was simply how I felt and is still how I feel today. I think it's okay to be honest about your feelings, and that was the way it went for me. That's not a slight on the people I was with or the way things panned out; it's just how I saw it by the end, and let's be honest, that's not how I wanted to remember it. If I thought that would be the emotion I'd be leaving with, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. I think there is a freedom in being a solo artist. It's not a power thing at all. It's just about producing exactly the brand and style of music that feels right for you. Music, in every form, is a collaborative process, but never more so in a band, where you have to consider other people almost more than you do yourself. To have total creative freedom is, for me, the ultimate thrill of being a solo artist. STRIPLV: Has the industry's veneer worn off for you over the years? STING: It's great fun to have a hit record, it really is, but it's not why I make records, and it never has been, to be honest. It's easy to get swept along in the excitement of the charts. A lot more so in the Eighties than it is today, but the truth is I make records out of love and curiosity, even if it's always nice to have something on the radio. When I make a record, I want to go on a journey. I need to learn as much about music as the listener. That's really important to me. It's been a long time since I went into a project wanting to play it safe. Neither do I want the musicians alongside me to play it safe, which is often why I will take some musicians out of genre. You cannot perform to your optimum if you are in a safe, protected environment. Everyone needs to sit on the edge of risk and failure to get the best out of themselves. STRIPLV: So, music is still a journey of discovery for you? STING: Of course. I'm always trying to broaden what I listen to. Everything I've ever heard, bad, good, and indifferent, has conditioned my opinions about music. I don't believe there are any bad experiences. STRIPLV: You've spoken about making ends meet in the early days and the fact you were forced to work many different jobs to get by. Do you recall and admire those days as a rite of passage to the success and wealth you enjoy now? STING: Of course, I liked all of those jobs, albeit in very different ways. I was never embarrassed about any of the jobs I did. They all connected me with real worlds, and it wasn't until I was 26 that the music industry presented itself to me. As you infer, I am indeed glad of that. I'm glad I had many years of struggle and obscurity because that has only helped my psychology. If I hadn't had so long on the other side, I'm not sure how I would have survived fame. STRIPLV: You've said you need help with the trend of modern-era music entertainment where musicians are cherry-picked on reality shows. In a matter of weeks, they are transformed from everyday members of the public to global superstars, and that's problematic. STING: I feel the reason a lot of them crash and burn has much to do with the way that exposure comes about in the first place. You can ride the wave for a while, but so many of those careers are built on loose foundations, on being fast-tracked to the top. The music industry is much like any other, there comes a point where it will need you to have done the hard yards, and if you haven't it can be very difficult to sustain the whole thing. STRIPLV: What is the solution though, when the industry these days is so fickle? STING: If there was someone who could shadow new entrants into the industry, that would be a start. It won't be me though. I wouldn't say I am disillusioned with how the industry is today, but it's almost unrecognizable from when we were at the top of the tree four decades ago. From a music-buying perspective, it's much easier now to seek out and acquire music. I think we forget what an absolute nightmare it used to be to acquire physical records. Not only that, it was very expensive. The freedom with which consumerism operates in the record industry now is tempered by the fact that, in the same process of opening up ease, we've also opened up exploitation across multiple facets. The artists are exploited, the music itself is exploited, and the marketers exploit the record-buying public itself. I like to see some elements of the industry rebelling against this change. For instance, I take real heart and comfort from the vinyl revival, and we can all share in this incredible medium together. I had the great privilege of putting a record on the other day. You know, taking it out of the inner sleeve, putting on the turntable and lowering a needle onto it, and hearing that lovely noise before the music starts. It's a fantastic ritual that I actually miss so much that I'm going to go back to that. I'm going to go back to vinyl! STRIPLV: You remain a fierce devotee to philanthropic causes, having previously nailed your colors to the masts of Friends of the Earth, Amnesty International, victims of the September 11 attacks, plus humanitarian projects in Brazil and Tibet. These causes remain special to you, right? STING: Of course, despite all of the negativity that the industry cooks up, all of the artificial elements that we object to, it still remains a tremendous vehicle for connecting people with causes and initiatives. Music is such a universal gift, and it drives emotion and empathy. I can never think of a better tool that will unite people and create positive change, and I am constantly blessed by that reality. Ultimately, I am a citizen of the world, and I care about the world. I vote, I pay taxes, I'm a dad, I'm a husband. And this world isn't any madder now than it was before; it's just that in the past, it was presented to us and then gone. People didn't pore over it on social media for hours and hours. The important thing is we fill our lungs and keep breathing it in.
The five tracks that defined not just the Police/Sting sound but perhaps also a record-buying generation.
ONE The Police - Message in a Bottle (1979) Message in a Bottle was only a minor hit in the US, but a number one back in Sting’s native UK, and one that defined so much of the band’s sound. A combination of post-punk and reggae with a sinister undertone, it epitomized the trios’ early work.
TWO The Police – Every Breath You Take (1983) The first US number-one for the band, coming off the breakthrough album Ghost in the Machine, which made it to no.2 on the Billboard charts. The single marked an evolution of sound, offering a softer edge that would permeate Sting’s solo work, even if the subject matter of this particular track (it’s about a stalker) remained dark.
THREE Sting – If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (1985) This was Sting’s first solo top-three release in the US charts. The record extends Sumner’s pop/rock sensibilities in a golden era of songwriting on both sides of the Atlantic. It also offers a dig at his former bandmates after their acrimonious split.
FOUR Sting, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart – All for Love (1993) A huge hit coming off the Three Musketeers soundtrack and Sting’s final US no.1. The track sold 1.2 million copies Stateside and earned a platinum certification from the RIAA while marking a shift in direction for Sting towards duets and collaborations.
FIVE Sting with Shaggy – Don’t Make Me Wait (2018) Although only a minor hit in the US, the single proved another step into the world of collaboration, with Sting marking four decades in music by exploring sound and genre experimentation. He continues to do this in the new era, with artists as diverse as soul diva Mary J Blige, rapper Maître Gims, Arabic sound songwriter Cheb Mami, and electro house DJ Steve Aoki.