- August 17, 2019
- Art
- Irina Klimchuk
We will talk about the famous British musician, singer and composer, actor, public figure, and the leader of The Police - Sting. A short biography of the famous British rock singer will be described in today's publication. The world fame acquired during his solo career, the talent and hard work of this man truly deserve attention. From the image of an aggressive "tough guy" in his youth, he has developed into a mature, intelligent performer and composer. I rightly call him a legend. Sting’s biography, personal life, and children are of interest not only to fans, since there is no person who would not be touched or touched by the songs of this great musician.
Childhood
The future singer was born on October 2, 1951 in the small port town of Wallsend, Tennessee. His father, Ernest Matthew Sumner, worked for a long time as an assembly worker at a factory, and his mother, Audrey Sumner, worked for some time in a hair salon and then as a nurse at a local hospital. Sting was the eldest child in the family; at birth he received the name Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. He has two younger sisters and one brother. The family soon buys a dairy store, Sting helps his father and mother in the family business. It was his mother who instilled in Sting a love of music; she played the piano beautifully, and at the age of 10, the future star received a guitar as a gift. His mother encouraged him to study music in every possible way, and the boy happily uses every minute, mastering new chords.
I would like to note that in one of his interviews, Sting said that he would never want to return to that past. “The main colors of my childhood were black and gray. Black is the color of the coal that was mined in my city, and gray is the color of the sea, which remained the same even in clear weather.”
Family dramas and the three main loves in Sting's life
It was his mother who instilled in Sting a taste for wonderful music: as a child, little Gordon sat on her lap when she played the piano and watched as her feet pressed the pedals... At the same time, she played her beloved tango from sight. There were also rock and roll records in the house. Rock and roll did something unimaginable to a little boy: he could dance, roll on the floor and jump to the beat of this music, the nature of which he would later have to comprehend and completely rethink. They could dance until they dropped to the tune of twist and hulu and laughed a lot. These were wonderful times when happiness reigned in the house.
Sting and Trudy in Venice, 2006
But at the same time, there was tension in the house, akin to what accumulates over the years in a dormant volcano. Returning from Germany after serving in the engineering units, Gordon's father, Ernest, got a job at a company that made massive turbines and engines for ships. Audrey did not need to work: although the Sumner family was not rich, her mother could afford to be a housewife and look after the children (three years after Gordon’s birth, his brother Phil was born, and then his sisters, Angela and Anita).
When his eldest son was five years old, Ernest decided to quit his job as an engineer and become the owner of a dairy store. He will regret this decision, which will radically change the fate of the entire family, for the rest of his life: among the store employees was Alan, the ghost of little Gordon’s childhood and the only true love of his mother, who has lasted more than thirty years.
Having found each other again, Audrey and Alan never parted. She certainly left once a week in an unknown direction, although in the family these trips were called “to visit her friend Nancy.” And then she completely ran away to him along with her youngest daughter Anita. After some time, however, she returned home (Alan’s earnings were not enough to make ends meet), but then she left again, having already divorced Ernest.
Sting in the movie Dune, 1984
However, it was too late: some time later she was diagnosed with cancer. She died in the arms of her beloved, continuing to joke that it would be nice to go help people in Chernobyl, and at the same time receive radiation treatment, because now she has so much free time... They found out about cancer too late, therapy was already pointless.
Her whole life is a tragic tossing between love and a sense of responsibility to her family. Sting's father knew from the very beginning about Audrey and Alan's secret meetings - they turned out to be not so secret. But he preferred to pretend that everything was fine. Only his eyes, swollen from tears, betrayed his grief: he loved his wife, no matter what, all his life and left after her - a few months after her death, cancer took him too.
Growing up in a house full of deceit and insincerity, the older he got, Sting found it increasingly difficult to find a common language with his family. The only salvation from the impending danger that at one moment the house would explode from internal tension was music. She became his best friend in his loneliness and fears.
Sheryl Crow, Sting and Gwen Stefani, 2002
At first it was the piano that his mother taught him to play, then an old guitar, a gift from Uncle John. With new strings on it, Sting was able to play melodic music rather than just a bunch of sounds and terrible chords just to break the silence and release negative emotions. But these are already memories...
...He says goodbye to James and Trudy and, after hesitating for a few minutes, goes to his basement apartment. Frances and Joe are sleeping peacefully. No, he will not be able to betray her - the one who has done so much for him, who with her own hands brought him closer to realizing his dream - to become a famous musician and get out of the ill-fated Wallsend - the city where his father’s home is, where he was born and raised - the city where there is a port from which ships leave for long voyages. And he, like one of these ships, will also leave his home, never to return there again.
He told Frances about this desire as soon as they met while working on the musical Birth of Rock. At that time, he was already playing in the jazz group Last Exit, which he combined with his work as a teacher of fourth-graders at school. Although it was difficult to call it teaching: during the lessons the children composed songs, played instruments, adapting all available objects for these purposes. He took the children to rehearsals for the musical. They adored him.
Frances Tomelty is half-Irish and the only professional actress with extensive experience among all those semi-learned musicians who have gathered to work on the production. She is the daughter of the famous actor Joseph Tomelty, and before coming to Newcastle she was already a star of London theaters, starring in films and television plays. She was to play the main role in the musical, and Sting immediately became interested in her: dark curly hair, almost black eyes. However, getting her attention was not so easy.
In the evening, after the successful premiere of “The Birth of Rock,” the troupe and musicians gathered in a nearby pub. Sting decided to approach her and speak.
Sting with his first wife Frances Tomelty, 1980
They fell in love and got married eighteen months later. And six months later, Sting’s first child, Joe, was born, with eyes as beautiful as his. He made a decision: he would go to see her in London every weekend, and then somehow he would manage to move there. He is twenty-three, and Frances is the first girl with whom he plans to build a serious relationship.
Youth
As a teenager, Sting sang at church services and was fond of swimming. The tall (183 cm), athletic young man participated in competitions, but he was more interested in going to the local rock club, where he enjoyed the music. Sting has said in more than one interview that the playing of Jimi Hendrix, the singer and composer and hard rock legend of the 50s, had a tremendous influence on him. For a short time, Sting worked as an English teacher at a local school, realizing every day that his heart and soul belonged to music. It was then that the turning point in Sting’s biography occurred, when he realized that his passion for music was not just a hobby, but an important and significant part of his life.
Sting switches to Russian
Over the past quarter century, a detailed list of world rock stars has emerged who have developed almost intimate relationships with Russia. Deep Purple, Nazareth, Elton John, Scorpions come to us regularly and for a long time with any of their projects. Sometimes they say it’s the last time, but a year later everything happens again.
Some of these musicians meet with the leaders of the country, and even communicate with local promoters like old friends. They perform at corporate events, star in TV shows, travel to the Urals and Siberia with concerts, and consistently sell out houses. In general, we almost have them. In their company, I think, we can already include the former punk from The Police, who in the mid-1980s became a respectable British artist, and ten years ago, a Knight of the Auden of Arts and Letters - Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, nicknamed Sting.
He spent October 2017 in St. Petersburg and Moscow, where he came not only with his wine, which he personally presented in one of the capital’s supermarkets, but also with two stadium solo concerts as part of the 57th & 9th world tour in support of his latest album. Like 11 years ago, Sting brought his eldest son Joe with him. And he presented it to the public in Russian, virtually without an accent. In turn, 40-year-old Joe, left alone with a guitar in front of a crowded Olimpiysky Stadium, began with declarations of his love for the language of Pushkin and Tolstoy (again in Russian) and with an apology that he himself did not know Russian, but hopes that the audience knows English. The audience responded with a resounding yes. To cement the friendship, Joe showed the people a pick painted in the colors of the Russian tricolor. I haven’t seen such kindnesses from Western artists for a long time.
However, if we remember that the “post-polis” solo story of Sting’s dad began with the single Russians, which used a fragment of Sergei Prokofiev’s suite, then a lot can be explained. Joe could well have been inspired by his parents' interest in Russian culture. Sting, by the way, said in one of his interviews that in the mid-1980s he loved to watch Soviet children's television programs. That is, I learned the Russian mentality thoroughly. That’s why, apparently, he fit into Channel One’s Olivier Show seven years ago and appeared on last year’s Sochi New Wave. Although there was a moment after the story with Pussy Riot and the Crimean events, when Sting refrained from visiting Russia for several years, but now, apparently, he has found explanations and motivation for himself to return with a tour concert to Moscow.
Having now turned to authentic rock and roll after a series of symphonic experiments, Sting built his program (especially its first part) on an alternation of long-standing hits of The Police and those “imperishables” for which the Russian audience loves him. Englishman In New York, Fields of Gold, Mad About You followed the usual sequence with laconic but precisely built lighting and good sound. Sting generally sounded like a club at the Olimpiyskiy. A rare fact for this building.
Joe did his best on backing vocals and percussion; the sound was given density by the playing of drummer Josh Freese, who participated in the recording of the 57th & 9th album along with Sting’s longtime drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, but went on tour alone, apparently because he was much younger. The family feel of the evening was enhanced by a pair of guitarists - father and son Millers. And additional soulfulness and enthusiasm (again, as if Sting was specifically targeting Russians and Eastern Europe) was provided by accordionist Percy Cordona, who transformed the famous solos, previously performed with the support of keyboards or saxophone, into a Romano-Balkan arrangement. In this situation, I wanted Sting to continue his famous oriental Desert Rose with the composition Inshallah from the last album, dedicated to refugees from the Middle East. But he moved on to Roxanne.
It was also thought that Sting would remember his legendary colleague and peer Tom Petty, who died the day before. And perhaps he would have done so, but another tragic reason arose. Sting traditionally dedicated the final Fragile of this tour to the numerous victims of the Las Vegas shooting. The mise-en-scene turned out to be poetic. Sting alone with a guitar in the center of the stage, surrounded by thousands of people with glowing mobile phones raised up, blurry images of the guitar and the musician on the video screens and the blackness of the large hall. The fading acoustics ended the two-hour performance. I'm sure it won't be long until Sting's next visit. If he finishes singing before his 70th birthday, he will definitely include Russia in his anniversary tour. He has a special connection with our country.
The author is a journalist, music critic, author of books about rock music.
The author's opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors
Music
Sting's musical career began with his appearance in his hometown Newcastle Big Band as a bass player. The young musician is gaining professional experience. Sting thought through and worked through every step he took.
With the light hand of fellow musicians, the name, or rather the nickname Sting, appears in Sting’s biography. “Wasp”, “sting” - this is how this word is translated from English. It is under this name that Sting will become known to the world. And it’s not just the difficult, “stinging” character of the musician, who annoyed his colleagues, because Sting came to all rehearsals in his favorite black-and-yellow striped sweater, reminiscent of a wasp or a bee.
In the early 70s, Sting created his own rock band, Last Exit. When the musician was 26 years old, he was noticed by the famous musical showman Steward Copeland, from whom Sting received an offer to join the band The Police. In 1980, Sting took part in his first world tour as part of the famous trio. In addition, he writes music for independent music projects. But despite the fruitful creative work, in 1983 the group announced the end of their joint activities and gave farewell concerts.
Sting and Trudie Styler: 30 years together!
Sting met actress and model Trudy when he was already married and even raising children. True, at that time the musician was a typical rowdy rocker, attending the wildest parties and using drugs. Actually, they met at a party. Sting does not hide the fact that he was not faithful to his then-wife, and Trudy was by no means his first hobby on the side. Styler did not immediately fall in love with the guy who was always high and more than once answered him with a cold refusal. Perhaps this won over Sting, who was accustomed to too easy victories.
But who would have imagined that a relationship with a fragile blonde would change the musician. Trudy forced him to undergo treatment for alcohol and drug addiction. He began to behave himself, and after the birth of four children and the acquisition of a 16th-century castle, he generally turned into a family man. By the way, the couple spent a very long time choosing a house for their family nest. This luxurious castle with 60 acres of land near Stonehenge captivated them with its beauty and gave them comfort. Subsequently, they also purchased a villa in Italy, in Tuscany, where they spend most of their time.
By the way, the couple lived for almost 10 years without registering their relationship. Actually, they only thought about the wedding because of the children, who began to be teased at school as “bastards.” The wedding was magnificent and chic. The Indian chief of the Amazon, one of Sting's loyal friends, acted as a groom's witness.
On her wedding day, Trudy looked like a beautiful elf in a $40,000 Versace dress. She arrived at the altar on a horse, like a real princess. The wedding itself took place in an ancient English church of the 11th century in the presence of 250 guests to the accompaniment of songs by Sting and his band The Police.
The musician does not hide the fact that maintaining a relationship for so many years is not at all easy. “We work on relationships every day,” Sting told Harper's Bazaar. “It’s not easy, but we’re lucky, we really love each other.” As soon as Trudy walks into the room, my world changes.”
In this couple, sensual relationships between partners occupy a very special place. “Sex occupies a special place in our relationship. Trudy and I never get bored! And the time spent apart only inflames our passion,” Sting says with a smile. The musician loves yoga and meditation and practices them daily. In addition, he visited India more than once, where he learned the art of meditation with experienced teachers. The rocker attaches particular importance to tantric sex. He sometimes talks about this to journalists, joking that his goal is to make love for five hours without a break. Trudy also shares a passion for yoga and tantrism. In addition, they are both passionate about environmental protection and the fight against drugs. Common activities and hobbies bring spouses closer and allow them to spend a lot of time together.
Solo career
The most significant page in Sting's biography has begun. The first steps of his solo career bring him enormous success. His CD Dream of the Blue Turtles sells millions of copies in Europe and overseas. Sting's jazz style of performance stood out favorably against the general background of rock musicians. The use of musical melodies from Sergei Prokofiev's sonata in the hit Russians has brought incredible success. New hits appear in which Sting actively attracts world-famous celebrities: Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Andy Summers. Music albums from the early 90s placed Sting at the top of the music tabloids.
The second half of the 90s became especially fruitful: all of Sting’s discs of that period went platinum in his native England. Sting's famous song "Desert Rose", performed together with Sheb Mami, a musician from Algeria, was a resounding success. Sting's voice has become recognizable all over the world.
Throughout the 2000s, the popularity of music albums decreased somewhat compared to previous works. It was during this period that The Police band united and gave a number of memorable concerts.
Cinema in the life of a musician
The musician’s songs are heard in cinema, which has become an equally important chapter in Sting’s biography. So in 1993 the hit All for love was released. The famous trio - Sting, Bryan Adams and Rod Steward - hit the top of the American charts. The song became a track for the film "The Three Musketeers". Luc Besson in the film drama "Leon" uses the single Shape, written by the talented Sting together with the genius guitarist Dominic Miller, who, as you know, was Sting's main assistant and jazzman Larry Adler for most of his career. The main track for the famous Brazilian TV series “Clone” was the song “Desert Rose” released in 2000.
Sting ends his moratorium on performances in Russia
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There is nothing new or sensational in the story itself with the landing of foreign pop stars at the wedding of Mikhail Gutseriev’s son. Large Russian entrepreneurs like to show off by arranging exclusive performances by famous foreigners at their private parties. In this spirit, Telman Ismailov, the former owner of the Cherkizovsky market, liked to celebrate glorious dates. On YouTube you can find footage from Telman Ismailov’s anniversary, with Jennifer Lopez on stage.
This was in 2006. The range of musical preferences of our wealthy fellow citizens has not changed. Jennifer Lopez arrived at the Safisa restaurant, as well as Enrique Iglesias and Patricia Kaas. Some reports mentioned Elton John, but he, along with Beyoncé, were rumored to have been invited to grace the ears of guests at a wedding party in England. After all, there are quite a large number of people who, for various reasons, cannot come to Moscow, but would not mind raising a toast to the newlyweds.
Personally, the name of Sting on the list of speakers particularly intrigues me. This wonderful musician has been regularly traveling to Russia and the countries of the former USSR for many years to attend corporate events and private parties. At the same time, he was among those who stood up for Pussy Riot. In 2011, Sting canceled a concert in Astana as a sign of solidarity with striking Kazakh oil workers. Sting belongs to that category of world stars who, in general, are always for everything good. Together with Amnesty International, he tirelessly fights against attacks on human rights. But when he canceled the concert in Astana, the local “market participants” immediately reminded him that he was fighting for these rights selectively. I remember my conversation with one of the promoters: “Last night Sting managed to transform into a mullah, Kazan literally exploded at Desert Rose. But after the concert at Tatneftyaren, Sting canceled Astana. The catalyst was an appeal from Amnesty International. The reason is trampled upon human rights... As if in Minsk these rights were not trampled upon... Or in Tashkent, where he spoke in the kitchen of the president’s daughter, or in Georgia, where he will fly before Kiev.” At the same time, Sting was reminded of the reaction in human rights circles that greeted his decision to perform at a private party in Uzbekistan, a country where human rights are also far from perfect, thank God.
A year and a half ago, the Russian press was heatedly discussing a list of big foreign pop stars who would now not go to perform in Russia because of the situation with Crimea. Sting's name was among the first there. An acquaintance of mine who had dinner with the singer in London said: “Sting loves Russia very much, he strives here with all his soul. But he honestly says: “If I go to you, the press will tear me apart.” Now he performed at Gutseriev’s wedding, and there may be three reasons for this.
First: relations between Russia and the world, according to the laws of which Sting lives, have warmed up so much that he is no longer comfortable going to Moscow for private parties.
Second: Sting has a difficult relationship with money, and there are amounts beyond which one can survive the reaction of a critical press.
And finally the third. Sting has a clear crisis that has been going on for many years. His musical is going so-so, all possible tour formats have been tried, and now we have to tag along with Peter Gabriel. There haven't been any hits for a long time. The only way out is to write a song based on the poems of Mikhail Gutseriev. So it is still unknown who paid whom.
Personal life
Sting’s biography and the musician’s personal life are of considerable interest. He was married twice. The first wife was Frances Tomelty, an Irish actress who is known to viewers from the TV series A Purely English Murder, Merlin and The White Queen. The couple met in 1976. From this marriage two children were born in the family: a son and a daughter. At that time, Sting led a hectic lifestyle, with drugs and alcohol playing a significant role. To top it all off, his wife introduced him to her friend, who would become his second wife. Her name was Trudie Styler. After some time, their relationship became widely known, and the first wife was expecting a second child at that time. Sting made his choice and went to Trudy. They lived in a civil marriage for eight years, and only in 1992 did they formalize their relationship.
It should be noted that the public followed the singer’s personal life, and there were also negative comments about his departure from the family. Only time showed how happy the second marriage turned out to be. It was with Trudy that Sting found peace and happiness. Drugs and alcohol are a thing of the past. The singer became interested in yoga and became a vegan, although after some time he returned to a traditional diet. This marriage produced four children: two sons and two daughters. So for many years the musician has been faithful to one woman. And Sting’s biography is not replete with romances, intrigues, or high-profile scandals.
Sting's wife
For many years now, Sting has remained faithful to his wife - actress, mother of his four children - Trudie Styler.
Sting
But in the beginning everything was not so smooth. The future husband and wife met in 1982. At that time, Sting was already married and they were expecting the birth of their second baby. Trudie Styler was a close friend of the singer's wife, so when the details of their relationship became known, it left a mark on her career as an actress and successful model.
Apparently Sting loved Trudy very much, because in 1984. he divorced his first wife and moved in with Styler, who by that time was already raising their common daughter.
Sting with his wife Trudy
The official registration of the relationship did not attract Sting; the experience of previous relationships affected him. So the family lived in a civil marriage until the 90s and had three children together.
Trudie Styler leads a healthy lifestyle, practices yoga and is a very strong woman. She was able to change her common-law husband, convince and interest him in the need to eat healthy food and give up the rock star life that he led. The fact that at 60 years old Sting looks much younger is entirely due to Trudy.
Sting and Trudie Styler
This woman's wisdom and patience formed the basis of their strong family relationship. She was quite aware of how many fans and temptations Sting had during his long tours. But no matter what happened, the husband always returned to his wife.
In 1992, Sting and Styler's children insisted that their parents marry. Trudy herself directed her wedding and appeared before the guests in a chic gilded wedding dress. It was a real fairy tale in reality. Heaven blessed this union and soon the couple had a fourth child - son Giacomo.
Trudie Styler
Currently, Sting's family is actively involved in charity work and is an ardent environmentalist. They run a large foundation whose goal is to save the rainforest. They also have a business - a farm in Italy producing organic products. These products enjoy considerable success and are always present in Italian stores; they can be seen in America and England.
Sting and his wife Trudy
Sting's close friend, Bob Geldof, a famous singer, told a subtle detail from the life of the star couple. It turned out that Sting and Styler have been practicing tantric things for several years now. This allows them to receive spiritual fusion. The high level of their relationship is the key to lasting long-term family happiness. Now Sting and Trudy are something whole, indivisible, they cannot exist without each other.
Hobbies
Sting cannot imagine his life without dogs and horses. Six dogs live in his house. And every day he takes walks on horseback, surrounded by his four-legged pets. I would also like to note that one of Sting’s latest and rather unusual hobbies is tightrope walking. And this is not surprising, because today we can see Sting looking fit, athletic and energetic in almost every photo. It is worth noting that in 2020 he celebrated his 67th birthday.
Public life
Let us note that it was not only Sting’s songs that brought him popularity. He leads an active social life. Sting is an ardent conservationist and founded the Rainforest Foundation with his wife Trudy Sumner. This idea came to him after traveling through the tropical forests of Brazil. In April 2010, the musician made a statement calling for the decriminalization of marijuana use. Sting believes that the fight and persecution of this drug in society is pointless. In 2020, he spoke at an event dedicated to the fight against autoimmune diseases. In addition, the musician has his own vineyards in central Italy, where he produces his own wine.
What does Sting's gay daughter look like and live like?
The British performer of the legendary soundtrack to the film “Leon” “Shape of my heart” Sting is the father of many children: from two marriages the singer has three daughters and three sons.
The daughter from Eliot's second marriage, Paulina Sumner, has repeatedly attracted the attention of the press. The girl never hid her gay orientation, but she officially came out only in 2015.
Eliot decided to follow in her father's footsteps. From the age of four, Sting's daughter began to study music. She learned to play the piano, and also mastered the guitar and drums.
“Music has always been a mystery to me. It was very personal for me. So I secretly wrote songs, but never played for everyone."
Eliot says.
The girl began performing in public at the age of 15. She always appeared to audiences under the pseudonym I Blame Coco or simply Coco. Eliot's first album, The Constant, was released in 2010.
Eliot doesn't like being compared to her father. However, critics themselves note the girl’s bright individuality.
instagram.com/eliotsumner
“I never wanted to be another child who followed in the footsteps of my parents,” Eliot once admitted in an interview. “But yes, my dad is proud of me.” He is still my father. But he makes his own music, and I make mine, there’s no need to compare us. Seriously. Even if we are similar in some ways, it’s just a feature of our work.”
instagram.com/eliotsumner
Today, the 28-year-old singer very much resembles a man: Eliot prefers trouser suits, does not use makeup, and even her long hair gives her not a feminine, but, on the contrary, a brutal look.
instagram.com/eliotsumner
“Since childhood, I didn’t want to be like everyone else. After all, it would be too predictable and boring,”
— the singer shared. But Eliot was never particularly interested in the opinions of the people around her.
After Eliot came out as a lesbian, she increasingly began to appear in public with women. Sting's daughter had relationships with Australian model Lucy von Alten and French actress Josephine de la Bume.
instagram.com/eliotsumner
The girl leads an active social life and is constantly engaged in creativity. She was recently spotted at the premiere of the series “Maniac.” Eliot is currently working on releasing his new album.
instagram.com/eliotsumner
Neither Sting nor his wife, Trudie Styler, expressed their condemnation of Eliot. Obviously, the parents accepted this choice of their daughter.
instagram.com/eliotsumner
Sexual orientation is a personal choice for each person, so it remains to be expected that the public will begin to pay more attention to Eliot’s work rather than her appearance.
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