Sting

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October 2, 1951

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner

Trudie Styler (20 August 1992 - present) 4 children

Frances Tomelty (1 May 1976 - 1 March 1984) (divorced) 2 children

The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)

...Nothing Like the Sun (1987)

The Soul Cages (1991)

Ten Summoner's Tales (1993)

Mercury Falling (1996)

Brand New Day (1999)

Sacred Love (2003)

Songs from the Labyrinth (2006)

Actor

2009 Great Performances (TV series)

2007 Bee Movie (voice)

2007 Imagine (TV series)

1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

1996 The Larry Sanders Show (TV series)

1995 The Grotesque

1993 Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy (TV movie) (voice)

1990-1992 Captain Planet and the Planeteers (TV series) (voice)

1988 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

1988 Stormy Monday

1987 Giulia e Giulia

1985 Plenty

1985 The Bride

1984 Dune

1984 Lift Off (TV series)

1982 Brimstone & Treacle

1981 Artemis 81 (TV movie)

1980 Radio On

1979 Quadrophenia

Producer

2006 A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (executive producer)

Appearances

2011 One Train Later (documentary)

2004-2011 Late Show with David Letterman (TV series)

2011 LII Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar (TV documentary)

2011 The 7PM Project (TV series)

2011 The American Cinematheque Tribute to Robert Downey Jr (TV movie)

2010 Tossed Salad 2011 (TV movie)

2010 Pozner (TV series)

2006-2010 The Charlie Rose Show (TV series)

2010 Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way (TV documentary)

2010 The Daily Show (TV series)

2010 Sting: Live in Berlin (video documentary)

2010 Michel Legrand and Friends (TV movie)

1993-2010 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (TV series)

2007-2010 Entertainment Tonight (TV series)

2010 Video Killed the Radio Star (TV series documentary)

2010 Rock'n'roll... Of Corse! (documentary)

2010 2012: Time for Change (documentary)

2005-2010 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (TV series)

2010 Do It Again (documentary)

2010 Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief (TV movie)

2010 The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice! (TV special documentary)

2009 The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (TV movie)

2009 Larry King Live (TV series)

2006-2009 Live with Regis and Kelly (TV series)

2009 The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert (TV special)

2009 The Variety Club Showbiz Awards 2009 (TV movie)

2001-2009 Vivement dimanche (TV series)

2009 Che tempo che fa (TV series)

1996-2009 Later with Jools Holland (TV series)

2009 The Alan Titchmarsh Show (TV series)

2009 The ONE Show (TV series)

2009 The View (TV series)

2009 Still Bill (documentary)

2009 Brüno

2009 PoliWood (documentary)

2009 Burning Down the House: The Story of CBGB (documentary)

2009 The Musical Brain (documentary)

2009 The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration (TV movie)

2009 The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV special)

2009 Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... (TV series)

2009 Cardio Dance Flow (video)

2009 2009 Golden Globe Awards Red Carpet Special (TV special)

2008 Better Than Therapy (video)

2008 The Police: Certifiable (video)

2008 Little Britain USA (TV series)

2008 Stephen Fry in America (TV mini-series documentary)

2008 VH1 Rock Honors (TV movie)

2008 Legends (TV series documentary)

2007 Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who (documentary)

2007 The Vicar of Dibley (TV series)

2004-2007 Great Performances (TV series)

2007 Sting: Songs from the Labyrinth (TV movie)

2005-2007 Corazón de... (TV series)

2006 HARDtalk Extra (TV series)

2006 Breakfast (TV series)

2006 Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (documentary)

2006 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (TV series)

2006 The Culture Show (TV series)

2003-2006 Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (TV series)

2006 Tony Bennett: Duets - The Making of an American Classic (video)

2006 JCPenney Jam: The Concert for America's Kids (TV special)

2006 Herbie Hancock: Possibilities (documentary)

2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (TV movie)

2006 Chris Botti Live: With Orchestra and Special Guests (video documentary)

2006 Deleted 'Dune' (video documentary short)
Feyd Rautha (uncredited)

2006 Christmas in Rockefeller Center (TV special)

2005 Live 8: A Bittersweet Symphony (TV documentary)

2005 Live 8: Twenty Years Ago Today (TV documentary)

2005 Live 8 (TV special documentary)

2005 All We Are Saying (TV documentary)

2005 All I Want: A Portrait of Rufus Wainwright (TV documentary)

2005 George Michael: A Different Story (documentary)

2005 Brit Awards 2005(TV special)

2004 TV total (TV series)

2004 Richard & Judy (TV series)

2004 McEnroe (TV series)

2004 Band Aid: The Song That Rocked the World (TV documentary)

2004 The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Music Edition (video)

2004 Tout le monde en parle (TV series)

2004 This Morning (TV series)

2004 Anke Late Night (TV series)

2004 Jeremy Vine Meets... (TV series documentary)

2004 Bob Geldof: Saint or Singer? (TV documentary)

1996-2004 The South Bank Show (TV series documentary)

2004 The 76th Annual Academy Awards (TV special)

2004 Live from the Red Carpet: The 2004 Grammy Awards (TV special)

2004 The 46th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

2004 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (TV documentary)

2003 The 2003 Billboard Music Awards (TV special)

1979-2003 Top of the Pops (TV series)

2003 The Words and Music of 'Cold Mountain' (TV movie)

2003 TROS TV Show (TV series documentary)

2003 The Late Late Show (TV series)

2003 A Journey to 'Cold Mountain' (TV documentary short)

2003 50º edición de los premios Ondas (TV movie)

1999-2003 Parkinson (TV series)

2003 Children in Need (TV series)

2003 The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (TV documentary)

2003 Gold, Gold, Gold (TV movie)

2003 Unsere Besten (TV series)

2003 The Oprah Winfrey Show (TV series)

2003 God kveld Norge (TV series)

2003 Sting: Inside - The Songs of Sacred Love (TV special documentary)

2003 Everest: The Mountain at the Millennium, Vol. 1 (video documentary short)

2003 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (TV series)

2003 Top of the Pops 2 (TV series)

2003 Super Bowl XXXVII (TV special)

2002 The Sweatbox (documentary)

2002 Chris Botti & Friends: Night Sessions Live in Concert (video documentary)

2002 The 74th Annual Academy Awards (TV special)

2002 Pride of Britain Awards 2002 (TV special)

2002 The Orange British Academy Film Awards (TV special)

2002 Brit Awards 2002 (TV special)

2002 Musikbutikken (TV series)

2002 XIX Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (TV movie)

2002 The 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV special)

2002 Pavarotti & Friends 2002 for Angola (TV special documentary)

2001 2002 (TV documentary)

2001 MADtv (TV series)

1990-2001 Today (TV series)

2001 My VH1 Music Awards (TV special)

2001 Operación triunfo (TV series)

2001 Being Mick (TV documentary)

2001 Wetten, dass..? (TV series)

2001 FanClub (TV series)

2001 CD:UK (TV series)

1999-2001 Mundo VIP (TV series)

2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes (TV special documentary)

2000-2001 Top Ten (TV series documentary)

2001 All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live! (documentary)

2001 Ally McBeal (TV series)

2001 The 73rd Annual Academy Awards (TV special)

2001 Caiga quien caiga (TV series)

2001 Sting... All This Time (video documentary)

2000 Good Morning Australia (TV series)

2000 The Beatles Revolution (TV documentary)

2000 Rove Live (TV series)

1997-2000 Howard Stern (TV series)

2000 The Howard Stern Radio Show (TV series)

1999-2000 Música sí (TV series)

2000 HermanSIC (TV series)

2000 Dale's All Stars (TV series)

2000 The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (TV series)

2000 MTV Video Music Awards 2000 (TV special)

2000 Sting: The Brand New Day Tour - Live from the Universal Amphitheatre (video documentary)

2000 VH1: Men Strike Back (TV special)

1999 Radio City Music Hall's Grand Re-Opening Gala (TV movie)

1999 Cosas que importan (TV series)

1999 Late Night with Conan O'Brien (TV series)

1987-1999 Saturday Night Live (TV series)

1999 Behind the Music (TV series documentary)

1997-1999 The Rosie O'Donnell Show (TV series)

1999 Saturday Night Live 25 (TV special documentary)

1999 VH1's Karaoke Cabaret (TV series)

1999 Des O'Connor Tonight (TV series)

1999 The Making of 'The Mighty' (video documentary short)

1999 Elton John: With a Little Help from My Friends (TV documentary)

1999 The 41st Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1999 Tina Turner: Celebrate Live 1999 (video documentary)

1998 Tony Bennett Live by Request: An All-Star Tribute (TV special)

1998 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards (TV special)

1998 The X-Files Movie Special (TV special documentary)

1998 Divas Live: An Honors Concert for VH1 Save the Music (TV documentary)

1998 The 40th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1998 Twentieth Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward (video documentary)

1997 On Tour (TV series documentary)

1997 Music for Montserrat (TV special documentary)

1997 An Audience with Elton John (TV special)

1997 The 39th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1997 MTV Video Music Awards 1997 (TV special)

1996 Sting in Vietnam (TV documentary)

1996 TFI Friday (TV series)

1996 Lo + plus (TV series)

1996 Corazón, corazón (TV series)

1996 Clive Anderson Talks Back (TV series)

1996 Poetry, Passion, the Postman: The Poetic Return of Pablo Neruda (TV documentary)

1996 I Want My MTV (video)

1995 The State's 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special (TV movie)

1995 The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (TV series)

1995 Brit Awards 1995 (TV special)

1995 The History of Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 9 (TV documentary)

1994 The Best of Sting: Fields of Gold 1984-1994 (video)

1994 The 36th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1994 41º edición de los premios Ondas (TV movie)

1994 The Brit Awards 1994 (TV special)

1993 MTV Video Music Awards 1993 (TV special)

1988-1993 Aspel & Company (TV series)

1993 Sting: Ten Summoners Tales (video documentary)

1992 Branford Marsalis: The Music Tells You (documentary)

1992 The Simpsons (TV series)(voice)

1992 Pavarotti & Friends (TV special documentary)

1991 Two Rooms: A Tribute to Elton John & Bernie Taupin (TV documentary)

1991 1st Annual Environmental Media Awards (TV movie)

1991 Sting: The Soul Cages Concert (video)

1991 Coca Cola Pop Music Backstage Pass to Summer (TV special)

1991 The Simple Truth: A Concert for Kurdish Refugees (TV movie)

1991 The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1991 Unplugged (TV series documentary)

1991 Sting at the Hollywood Bowl (TV documentary)

1990 Resident Alien (documentary)

1990 Spaceship Earth: Our Global Environment (TV movie)

1990 Famous Last Words (TV series documentary)

1989 Dance of Hope (documentary)

1989 Wogan (TV series)

1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute (TV special documentary)

1988 Programa Piloto (TV series)

1986-1987 Champs-Elysées (TV series)

1987 The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross (TV series)

1987 The Police: Every Breath You Take - The Videos (video)

1987 Rolling Stone Presents Twenty Years of Rock & Roll (TV documentary)

1986 The Prince's Trust Rock Gala: 10th Birthday (TV documentary)

1986 The Tube (TV series)

1986 The 28th Annual Grammy Awards (TV special)

1985 Bring on the Night (documentary)

1985 Late Night with David Letterman (TV series)

1985 MTV Video Music Awards 1985 (TV special)

1985 Solid Gold (TV series)

1985 Live Aid (TV special documentary)

1985 Ligmalion: A Musical for the 80s (TV movie)

1984 The Police: Synchronicity Concert (video documentary)

1983 Cheggers Plays Pop (TV series)

1982 The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (documentary)

1982 Police: Around the World (video)

1981 Urgh! A Music War (documentary)

1980 Aplauso (TV series)

1980 Punk and Its Aftershocks (documentary)

1980 Musikladen (TV series)

Academy Awards

2004 Nominated Oscar Best Music, Original Song for: Cold Mountain (2003). For the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love".


2002 Nominated Oscar Best Music, Original Song for: Kate & Leopold (2001). For the song "Until".


2001 Nominated Oscar Best Music, Original Song for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with: David Hartley (composer) For the song "My Funny Friend and Me".


American Screenwriters Association

2004 Won David Angell Humanitarian Award


Annie Awards

2001 Won Annie Outstanding Individual Achievement for a Song in an Animated Production for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with: David Hartley For the song "Perfect World".


Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

2002 Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Song for: Kate & Leopold (2001). For the song "Until".


2001 Won Critics Choice Award Best Song for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with: David Hartley (composer)
For the song "My Funny Friend and Me".

Emmy Awards

2002 Won Emmy Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for: Sting... All This Time (2001) (V).


Golden Globes

2004 Nominated Golden Globe Best Original Song - Motion Picture for: Cold Mountain (2003). For the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love".

2002 Won Golden Globe Best Original Song - Motion Picture
for: Kate & Leopold (2001). For the song "Until...".


2001 Nominated Golden Globe Best Original Song - Motion Picture for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with:
David Hartley For the song "My Funny Friend and Me".


1999 Nominated Golden Globe Best Original Song - Motion Picture for: The Mighty (1998). Shared with: Trevor Jones (lyrics)
For the song "The Mighty".

Grammy Awards

2005 Nominated Grammy Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for: Cold Mountain (2003).
For the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love".

2002 Nominated Grammy Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with: David Hartley For the song "My Funny Friend And Me".

1995 Nominated Grammy Best Music Video - Long Form
for: Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy (1993) (TV).

1994 Won Grammy Best Music Video - Long Form for: Sting: Ten Summoners Tales (1993)

1993 Nominated Grammy Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television for: Lethal Weapon 3 (1992).
Shared with:Michael Kamen Eric Clapton For the song "It's Probably Me".

1987 Won Grammy Best Music Video, Long Form for: Bring on the Night (1985). Shared with: Michael Apted (video director)

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards

2000 Nominated Sierra Award Best Song for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). For the song "My Funny Friend And Me".


1998 Won Sierra Award Best Original Song for: The Mighty (1998). For the song "Freak, The Mighty".

MTV Movie Awards

1994 Nominated MTV Movie Award Best Movie Song for: The Three Musketeers (1993). Shared with: Bryan Adams Rod Stewart
For the song: "All For Love".

1993 Nominated MTV Movie Award Best Movie Song for: Lethal Weapon 3 (1992). Shared with: Eric Clapton For the song: "It's Probably Me".

Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards

2001 Won PFCS Award Best Original Song for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with: David Hartley For the song "My Funny Friend and Me".

Satellite Awards

2001 Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Original Song
for: The Emperor's New Groove (2000). Shared with:
David Hartley (composer) For the song "My Funny Friend And Me".

World Soundtrack Awards

2004 Won World Soundtrack Award Best Original Song Written for Film for: Cold Mountain (2003). Shared with:
Alison Krauss (performer) For the song "You Will Be My Ain True Love".

2002 Nominated World Soundtrack Award Best Original Song Written for a Film for: Kate & Leopold (2001). For the song "Until".

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Having achieved stardom as singer, bassist, and principal songwriter for the Police, Sting dissolved that band at the peak of its career in the mid-'80s. Sting's solo career is characterized by a restless yen to experiment, and, by pop standards, take risks. He has sought to push the canny musicianship and affinity for exotic musical styles that distinguished his former group in directions that a trio could never have considered. Consequently, some have lamented the absence of the Police's striking economy, just as they've found Sting's literary and historical references pretentious. To his admirers, though, Sting's post-Police projects have ensured his place among the most articulate and intuitive rock musicians of his generation. Sting has recorded more albums as a solo artist than he did with the Police, and his total sales as a solo artist have surpassed that group's total as well.

For his first solo effort, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (#2, 1985), Sting enlisted a group of young jazz musicians, including saxophonist Branford Marsalis and Weather Report drummer Omar Hakim. The album was widely viewed as a reclamation of the musical turf Sting had covered while playing in jazz ensembles during his youth. But Turtles also drew on elements of classical music, funk, and, perhaps most predictably, reggae. Moreover, the hit songs "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" (#3, 1985) and "Fortress Around Your Heart" (#8, 1985) were as pop-savvy as any Police singles. The 1986 concert album and documentary Bring On the Night featured the players that Sting had assembled for Turtles offering live renditions of his new songs, as well as fresh takes on a few Police favorites....Nothing Like the Sun (#9, 1987), released shortly after Sting's mother died and dedicated to her, featured a revised, expanded lineup of musicians dominated by Marsalis' saxophone. As on Turtles, Sting often played guitar rather than his primary instrument, bass. A moody album full of dense, delicate orchestration, Sun spawned only one Top 10 single, the atypically funky "We'll Be Together" (#7, 1987). (The album fared well in South America, though, thanks in part to its various Latin-flavored instrumental touches; hence the EP Nada Como el Sol, featuring tracks from Sun rendered in Spanish.)

Teh Soul Cages, inspired by Sting's father's death, was darker still, full of haunted ballads, religious imagery, and traditional English folk flourishes that embellished a newly spare foundation provided by guitarist Dominic Miller, keyboardist David Sancious, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and Sting on bass. Again, an anomaly proved the one big hit: the upbeat "All This Time" went to #5. (On that single's strength, the album peaked at #2.) Sting unexpectedly shifted gears for 1993's breezy, buoyant Ten Summoner's Tales (#2), which featured the same core of musicians who had appeared on Cages. The album went triple platinum, yielding the hits "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (#17, 1993) (which also won a Grammy) and "Fields of Gold" (#23, 1993). That same year, Sting shared a #1 megahit single with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, "All for Love," from the film The Three Musketeers. An anthology, Fields of Gold, was released in 1994, featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

Sting released Mercury Falling (#6) in 1996; although a few singles were released from the album - notably "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" (#86), "You Still Touch Me" (#60), and "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" (#94) - the album as a whole was more successful than any one song. For the accompanying tour, Sting commuted to his concerts via private jet from one of his three homes so he would have more time to spend with his growing brood, including his sixth child (his fourth with his second wife, film producer Trudie Styler), an infant son. Another greatest-hits compilation was released in 1997, this one combining his solo material with Police hits.

An album of new material, Brand New Day (#9, 2000), followed in 1999. The title track was moderately popular on radio, but the song "Desert Rose" - released as a single nearly a year after the album and featuring Arabic backup vocals by Algerian singer Cheb Mami - was a surging success (perhaps helped by its use in a luxury car commercial) reaching #17 and pushing the album to double-platinum status in 2000. Even before the song reached its peak, Mami was snagged as the opening act on Sting's Brand New Day tour, giving him Western exposure and allowing him to support Sting on the song during the headliner's set. A critical success, the album also earned two Grammys, for Pop Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal performance for its titlesong. With David Hartley, Sting wrote several songs for the 2000 Disney animated children's feature The Emperor's New Groove. In the process, he had creative differences with the Disney people, which were captured on film by Styler for the "making-of" documentary The Sweatbox.

Equally unpredictable outside the studio, Sting has made numerous film appearances (including Dune, Stormy Monday, Plenty, Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and in 1989 starred in a Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera. Four years later he opened a series of stadium shows for the Grateful Dead. What's remained constant is his devotion to human-rights and environmental issues. In the late '80s he not only toured with other stars to benefit Amnest International, but also helped establish the Rainforest Foundation, and has since crusaded to raise funds and awareness on behalf of the preservation of this endangered Brazilian territory, in part with an annual all-star benefit concert, co-organized by Styler, in New York City.

Got his nickname "Sting" from the black and gold rugby shirts he used to wear, which made him look like a hornet.

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