Sting faces a lawsuit from his former Police bandmates over “millions of pounds” in unpaid royalties over alleged unpaid royalties.
The Daily Mail (UK) and The Sun reported separately on Monday (August 25) that guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland filed papers at London’s High Court seeking damages from Sting, whose legal name Gordon Matthew Sumner, appears on court documents alongside his company Magnetic Publishing Limited.
The case is listed under “general commercial contracts and arrangements” at the London High Court, according to the papers. The Daily Mail noted that the latest lawsuit follows years of legal disputes between Sting and his bandmates.
A source told The Sun that lawyers repeatedly attempted to reach an out-of-court settlement before talks reached a stalemate. The source said: “Andy and Stewart decided there was no alternative than court so pressed the button. They say they are owed millions in lost royalties.”
The lawsuit comes as Sting continues to generate substantial income from the Police’s catalog assets. The Daily Mail said the artist is believed to earn GBP £550,000 (USD $740,500 at current exchange rates) a year in royalties from Every Breath You Take alone, the fifth best-selling of the 1980s and the best-selling single of 1983, according to the newswire.
The Sun said a spokesman for Sting denied that the action was related to Every Breath You Take.
In February 2022, Sting sold his entire song catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group. The catalog includes Sting’s entire solo works and his songs with the Police including Every Breath You Take, Roxanne, Shape Of My Heart, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, Fields Of Gold, Desert Rose, Message in a Bottle, Englishman in New York and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.
The price of the deal wasn’t disclosed by UMPG, but one expert industry source told MBW at the time that the final acquisition fee reached north of $300 million.
Formed in London in 1977, the Police recruited Sting after drummer Copeland saw him with jazz fusion band Last Exit. Summers joined shortly after, completing the band’s lineup.
“We care passionately about the music and we’re all strong characters and nobody would be pushed around. We fought over everything.”
Sting in 2012
However, the band members have had a three-way power struggle, The Daily Mail said, with Sting saying previously: “We didn’t go to school together or grow up in the same neighborhood. We were never a tribe. We care passionately about the music and we’re all strong characters and nobody would be pushed around. We fought over everything.”
Tensions among the Police members reached a breaking point during sessions for their fifth and final studio album, Synchronicity, with band members reportedly recording parts in separate rooms to avoid in-fighting, The Daily Mail said. The group disbanded in 1984 without a formal farewell.
Despite their differences, the band got together for a reunion tour between 2007 and 2008. The 151-date world tour generated an estimated £292 million ($393m), with Summers claiming he earned $1 million per performance, The Daily Mail reported.
Summers was quoted by the newspaper as saying: “The 2007 Reunion Tour was a giant pay-off for all of us and quite incredible: the most money I’ve ever made… We sold out every stadium in the world.”
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