A LIFE IN PICTURES
Bass Face: Sting through the years.
1 “The guitar seemed like a key to escape”: 10-year-old Gordon Sumner, Wallsend, North Tyneside.
2 Flaring up: Last Exit (from left, John Hedley, Gerry Richardson, Sting), 1974.
3 Call the cops: The Police (from left) Stewart Copeland, Sting and original guitarist Henry Padovani in 1977.
4 Getting things off his chest: (from left)Sting, Copeland and Andy Summers on-stage in 1979.
5 Going solo: (from left) Omar Hakim, Sting, Darryl Jones and Branford Marsalis circa The Dream Of The Blue Turtles (1985).
6 Having his collar felt: Sting as Ace Face in 1979 Franc Roddam-directed Mod drama Quadrophenia.
7 On-stage with Bruce Springsteen for the Amnesty International-supporting Human Rights Now! tour, Wembley Stadium, 1988.
8 Back in the saddle: Stewart Copeland, Sting and Andy Summers re-form for 2007’s mega-successful The Police Reunion Tour.
9 Sting in 1982: “I’m not a purist,” he says now. “I’m a gadfly, proudly. I like to dabble in all kinds of different music.”