Sting sued by former Police bandmates over alleged lost royalties

Sting has reportedly been sued by his former Police bandmates over alleged lost royalties from their hit song Every Breath You Take.

In the suit, filed in the high court in London, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland claim they never received songwriting credits on the 1983 single.

The pair also allege they have never been paid for their writing contributions.

The case is said to have been listed under “general commercial contracts and arrangements”. Sting appears as a defendant under his real name, Gordon Matthew Sumner, along with his company, Magnetic Publishing Ltd.

The Police formed in 1977 and achieved a US No 1 single with Every Breath You Take, which appears on the band’s fifth and final album, Synchronicity.

It was the bestselling US single of 1983, the fifth bestselling of the decade and was sampled on P Diddy and Faith Evans’ 1997 song I’ll Be Missing You. The band also had chart success with Roxanne, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic and Don’t Stand So Close to Me before splitting in 1984.

A spokesperson for Sting, 73, denied the legal action was related to Every Breath You Take but did not elaborate on the case, the Sun reported. The Police have reunited on numerous occasions and, in 2023, launched an official TikTok account to mark the 40th anniversary of Synchronicity.

Sting in 2021 said he regretted reforming the trio in 2007, calling the tour that followed “an exercise in nostalgia”.

The musician explained at the time that he preferred being a solo artist due to the “total freedom” it offered.

“It’s not a power thing at all; it’s just about producing exactly the brand and style of music that feels right for you,” he said.

In June, Sting performed his greatest hits at the Isle of Wight festival including Message in a Bottle, An Englishman in New York, Walking on the Moon and Fragile. He also performed at the FireAid benefit in Inglewood, California in January.

Sting in 2022 sold his entire songwriting catalogue to Universal for an estimated $300m (£222m).

He is the latest eminent musician to cash in on a long and successful career. Bruce Springsteen sold his entire song catalogue to Sony Music in a deal worth $500m, while David Bowie’s estate struck a $250m deal with Warner Music.

In 2020, Bob Dylan sold his entire catalogue of 600 songs, including Blowin’ in the Wind and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, to Universal for almost $400m, setting an industry benchmark for future deals.

Source: The Guardian