Sting was born in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. In 1977 Gordon moved from Newcastle to London and met Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani to form a new wave band called The Police. They enjoyed success from the late 70's to early 80's, releasing five albums, four of which topped the charts in the UK and one that topped the charts in the US also. They enjoyed huge success with their punk inspired sounds which developed into a minimalist reggae tinged rock/pop and had a plethora of hit singles including 'Message In A Bottle' 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Walking On The Moon'.

The band unofficially parted after their final release 'Synchronicity' to focus on their solo careers. Sting's first solo gig was at Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Other Ball where he performed solo versions of tracks such as 'Roxanne' and 'Message In A Bottle'. In 1985, Sting finally released his debut record which featured a heavier lean towards jazz including the musicians Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim and Branford Marsalis. Once again, he enjoyed a number of hit singles from the record and within a year it had been awarded triple platinum. To add to the accolades Sting also received four Grammy nominations for 'The Dream Of Blue Turtles'.