Sting

Composer, singer, actor, author, and activist – Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards and two Brits, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

As one of the world’s most distinctive solo artists, Sting has earned an additional 10 Grammy Awards, two Brits, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, three Oscar nominations, Billboard Magazine’s Century Award, and MusiCares 2004 Person of the Year. Throughout his enduring career, he has sold close to 100 million albums from his combined work with The Police and as a solo artist.

The Last Ship, his fourteenth solo album, is inspired by his memories of the shipbuilding community of Wallsend in the North East of England where he was born and raised. A new play of the same name, with music and lyrics by Sting and book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, premiered in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre this summer and will debut on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre with previews beginning September 29 and opening night set for October 26. Directed by Joe Mantello and produced by Jeffrey Seller and Kathryn Schenker, The Last Ship is set against the demise of the local Wallsend shipbuilding industry and tells the story of a group of unemployed shipyard workers who are inspired to take back their shipyard and build one last ship – not for their former employer, not for the government, but for their own pride and humanity.

Sting has appeared in more than 15 films, executive produced the critically acclaimed A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and in 1989 starred in The Threepenny Opera on Broadway.

An accomplished author, he published a memoir entitled Broken Music in 2003, which spent 13 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. In 2007, he released Lyrics, a comprehensive collection of lyrics accompanied by personal commentary and photos.Sting’s support for human rights organizations such as the Rainforest Fund, Amnesty International and Live Aid mirrors his art in its universal outreach. Along with wife Trudie Styler, Sting founded the Rainforest Fund in 1989 to protect both the world’s rainforests and the indigenous people living there. Together they have held 16 benefit concerts to raise funds and awareness for our planet’s endangered resources. Since its inception, the Rainforest Fund has expanded to a network of interconnected organizations working in more than 20 countries over three continents.