Sting: Radio 2 in the Park: BBC2 dedicates evening to legendary singer-songwriter

Brought up in a flat in Newcastle in the shadows of the Swan Hunter shipyard, he shot to fame in 1977 after joining up with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers to form the now legendary pop group The Police.

After five number one singles and numerous Ivor Novello and Grammy awards, the three bleached blond musicians were household names with bank balances to be proud of. They eventually split in 1986 (although a brief reunion tour occurred in 2007), and all three have gone on to enjoy extremely profitable and successful careers, but it is frontman Sting who is the most prolific and widely known.

In his autobiography Broken Music: A Memoir, he discusses the years he spent on the road in a bid to find fame, his cocaine habit and his love life.

But his high-profile rock-and-roll lifestyle is mostly a thing of the past. Sting is now a family man (he has six children from his two marriages to actress Frances Tomelty and film producer Trudie Styler) who roams the 54 acres around his 400-year-old manor house on the edge of the River Avon on horseback, hangs out with the kids (and probably grandkids) and meditates.

He once claimed that: “Monogamy’s becoming easier for me as it becomes more logical. As I get older it’s making more sense to me. Trudie is my best friend, my lover, my companion and I really don’t want to contemplate life without her.”

Bless.

Now approaching his 73rd birthday, Sting is back on the road, performing to sellout audiences during an acclaimed world tour. However, earlier today he found the time to drop into Preston to perform as one of the headliners at Radio 2 in the Park. If you didn’t get a ticket, you’ll be able to see the gig here, which is set to include hits from both his time in The Police and his solo career.

It’s followed at 11.15pm by a delve into the Beeb’s archive during Sting and The Police at the BBC – listen out for classic tunes including Message in a Bottle, Walking On The Moon and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.

After that, there’s another chance to see his interview with Dermot O’Leary in Reel Stories (12.15am), which features a range of fascinating anecdotes, as well as footage of his performance at Live Aid in 1985.

And, last but not least, the evening ends with the 1am showing of The Police in the East: Old Grey Whistle Test, a special edition of the seminal music show in which Annie Nightingale joins the band during their 1980 tour of Japan, Hong Kong, India, Egypt and Greece.

It should be an arresting evening’s entertainment…