Sting - 59 years of glory

It is a brand new year for Sting as the singer turns 59... With a number of notches holed into his belt, we take a walk down memory lane and get an insight to all that made him great...

Born in 1951, and originally named Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, the singer had a humble beginning, being the eldest of four children to a hairdresser and a milkman, in a small town near Newcastle Upon Tyne in England.

Like our very own superstar Rajinikanth, Sting too started off with being a bus conductor. After which, he worked as a labourer, a tax officer and, finally, a school teacher.

His first love, jazz music, caught up with Sumner soon enough and he would play with local bands, when on a break. It was here that he earned himself the name "Sting", as he would always sport a black and yellow striped sweater that mimicked that of a bee. In retrospect, when you first hear the singer crooning, it is like a sting that makes you sit up and take notice!

When he moved to London in 1977, the simple town boy Gordon Sumner joined two other singers (Stewert Copeland and Andy Summers) to form what would be the Police. Their hit Every breath you take still makes the girls swoon, even if serenaded by any Tom, Dick or Harry...

Sting till date gets $2000 per day as part of the royalty owed for Every breath you take...

Shortly after delivering some great numbers, including Roxanne, the band split up in 1983. Each member pursued their independent careers, but none as successful as Sting. They reunited in 2007, when the band reformed and undertook a world tour.

Though never had his career faltered, Sting got a shinier lease in the music industry in 2000. His two greatest hits Brand new day and Desert Rose took his album Triple Platinum in less than two years...

His song for the oh-so-romantic and gallant Hugh Jackman starrer Kate and Leopold, titled Until... has the crooner tugging at the heartstrings and taking us to unparalleled heights... sigh..

On the personal front, Gordon married actress Frances Tomelty in '76 just before he moved to London. But the marriage was short lived, 2 children and 8 years later, the couple split.

From this union, his elder child Joseph(34), aka Joe Sumner, takes after his father and is already part of a band; and his daughter Fuchsia Catherine(28), aka Kate.

After Kate's birth, Sting separated from Tomelty and began his almost 10 year long live-in relationship with actress Trudie Styler. This couple tied the knot in 1992 and have been together since.

They have four children - Bridget Michael or Mickey (26), Jake (25), Eliot Pauline(20), or Coco Sumner as we know her, and Giacamo Luke (15).

The perpetual entertainer, in May 2010, Sting appeared with Elton John on stage in New York, dressed as a drag queen...

The singer has also flirted with films, of which his role in Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels is most remembered.

An avid human rights activist, Sting also supports a number of causes from the 'Feed the World' project to Amnesty International. He also founded the Rainforest Foundation Fund, with his wife, in Brazil.

Sting was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music.

Later in an interview, the singer said,"Being a Commander of the British Empire isn't really what it's cracked up to be, since I can't command anybody. Everyone always ignores me."

"We [wife Trudie Styler and himself] keep getting begged for our 'secret' - why ours has lasted so much longer than most Hollywood marriages put together. More than anything else, the same ounce-of-prevention that works against sibling rivalry also works against separation and divorce - Trudie and I not only love but actually like each other," said Sting in an interview.