You really can't tell his age, even if his once blonde mane has given way to a thinner, short hairstyle. Sting has always had a youthful quality about him. How does it feel for him to be turning 75? âIt feels better than being dead,â the Brit joked in an interview with the German Press Agency before his birthday. «I am very proud of my age. I don't feel old at all. I feel like I still have as much energy as I did when I was 14.â
No breaks, because that keeps you young
He's proving that again this year. After his âSting 3.0â tour took him through the USA and numerous European countries, he is currently visiting London with his musical âThe Last Shipâ. He will also be on stage at the Theater Royal Drury Lane on his birthday (October 2nd). He has already performed with âThe Last Shipâ in Amsterdam, Paris, Brisbane and New York.
He doesn't like long breaks. «You have to explain the concept to me first. âI donât really understand it,â joked the former Police frontman. His job is partly responsible for his physical fitness. «I think music keeps you fresh. Music consists of vibrations. When you sing and play, your whole body resonates. And I think vibrating in harmony is very healthy.â
From teacher to world star
Sting aka Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner was born in Wallsend near Newcastle in 1951. The trained teacher became famous as the singer, bassist and songwriter for the band The Police at the end of the 70s. Their music combined postpunk, new wave, rock, pop and even elements of reggae with smart lyrics. Hits like âCan't Stand Losing Youâ, âSo Lonelyâ, âMessage In A Bottleâ and âEvery Breath You Takeâ are classics today.
After five albums and tours around the globe, however, it was over in the mid-80s, although the band never officially broke up. Sting later regretted a successful reunion tour in the 2000s and spoke of it as an âexercise in nostalgiaâ. But Sting is no nostalgic.
When he plays the old hits today, he changes something every time, like on his âMy Songsâ tour a few years ago - or most recently at an acoustic concert in Amsterdam that was published as âThe Night Watch: Live at the Rijksmuseumâ.
«My job is not to simply reproduce something I recorded 40 years ago as if it were a museum piece. A song is something living,â he explained. «My job is actually to always find something new in every song I sing. It's a journey of discovery."
Master of reinvention
Reinventing himself is his thing. His first solo album âThe Dream Of The Blue Turtlesâ from 1985 was a departure from the Police sound. Instead of rock, there was a mixture of shallow pop (like the single âIf You Love Somebody Set Them Freeâ), jazz and reggae. The dark âRussiansâ was about the Cold War and the arms race between the USA and the Soviet Union.
Musically, Sting switched between styles with ease over the decades, experimenting with world music, shanties and electronic sounds. On top of that, the 17-time Grammy winner, who has been nominated 45 times, has an excellent feel for emotional songs. âFields Of Goldâ, âShape Of My Heartâ and âWhen We Dancedâ are among his best-known ballads.
Movie villain and marital crisis
He also occasionally appears in the cinema. In 1979 he played his first film role in the drama âQuadropheniaâ, which was based on The Who album of the same name. In 1984 he stood in front of the camera for the film adaptation of the science fiction epic "Dune - The Desert Planet" by director David Lynch - and literally shone as the diabolical, red-haired Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen - scantily dressed and with an oiled, toned body.
âDuneâ came at a turbulent time for Sting. It wasn't just The Police who went their separate ways back then. His first marriage to Frances Tomelty, with whom he has two children, also broke up. The reason was an affair with Tomelty's friend and neighbor Trudie Styler, which the British tabloids reported extensively. Sting has been married to the producer and actress Styler since 1992. The couple has four children.
Just âaccidentalâ actors
Acting was never an option as a main career. He âslid into it by chance,â he told dpa. «I never trained as an actor. There are so many actors in the world who are desperately looking for work. I don't want to stand in their way. Sometimes I'm offered a role that's specifically tailored to me - then I do it. Otherwise, I'm not really looking for roles."
He cares more about theater. "I love acting in a play on stage because you have complete freedom - a freedom that a film actor doesn't have," said Sting. By the way, he doesn't have much time to celebrate: two days after the last performance in London, he's performing again in Vancouver.
