When it comes to music, it’s fair to say that Sting has some pretty big hits.
The singer, who’s real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, fronted The Police from 1977 until the band went their separate ways in 1986. Since then he’s gone onto have a thriving solo career as a music artist penning hits like “Fields of Gold” and “If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free”.
But, even though he has a number of classic tunes to his name, the singer, now 73, also has a few favourite tracks of his own too. The topic has caught the attention of fans on Reddit as they got chatting about Sting’s top 10 favourite songs.
One person wrote: “‘Don’t You Want Me Baby is one of my karaoke songs. I do actually go to karaoke ocasionally, I enjoy it. That’s the song I choose. I love the line ‘you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar’, it always gets people heads turned’. Imagine being drunk at karaoke and Sting hops up onto the stage.”
Another wrote: “Interesting list, although that’s only because most of the songs were pretty popular when The Police were as well, haha.”
When he appeared on BBC Radio 2’s “Tracks Of My Years” back in 2021, Sting listed 10 of his favourite songs of all time. This is what the music legend had to say.
Otis Redding – “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”
Released back in 1968 as single “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”, the track became Otis Redding’s signature song. Tragically, the musician died in a plane accident in December, 1967 when he was only 26.
Despite his short career, his vocals have still gone onto influence a number singers over the years. Sting was just 16 when the artist died, but he admitted he thinks it’s a “wonderful song”.
Procol Harum – “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”
Often considered to be Procul Harum’s most famous song, it’s labelled as one of the best tracks of all time. It was first released as a single back in 1967 and it reached number one in the UK chart.
Rather impressively, it stayed there for six weeks and also reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in America. It’s since thought to have sold around 10 million copies worldwide.
Bob Marley & The Wailers – “No Woman, No Cry”
The hit song was first released by Bob Marley, the most famous reggae musician in history, on his album with The Wailers “Natty Dread” back in 1974. Even though it was their seventh album, it’s often thought of as being one of the most important for Marley.
Sting told BBC Radio 2: “Bob Marley was a huge influence on me in the 70s. Loved his voice, loved his songwriting, loved the whole Jamaican vibe. I’ve met Bob, I had dinner with him one night.
“He treated everybody in a very nice way, but he was also the king. I’ve learned a great deal from him and ‘No Woman, No Cry’ influenced me to write ‘So Lonely’ – it’s the same chords.”
Gerry Rafferty – “Baker Street”
“Baker Street” was released by Gerry Rafferty as part of his 1978 album “City To City”, and the tune arguably features one of the most famous saxophone intros in Rock and Roll music. At the time, it was probably the most known song of Gerry’s career and, as Sting said, it was loved in many countries.
He added: “That saxophone solo in the beginning completly destroyed me. It made me wish that I was in the charts too, because these were number one records. (I thought) ‘What it must be like to have a number one record?’
“It was only a few months later that we had a song in the charts, so I must have been dreaming really hard. But I just remember that wonderful song, it captures so much of that time for me.”
Pet Shop Boys – “West End Girls”
“West End Girls” was initially released as a single in 1984 by the Pet Shop Boys. The group comprised of Neil Tennant on vocals and Chris Lowe on keyboards. Even today, it’s still one of their most famous tracks.
Other notable hits by the group include “Always On My Mind”, “It’s A Sin”, “Go West” and “Domino Dancing”.
George Michael/Wham! – “Careless Whisper”
The hit was released by Wham!, fronted by George Michael, and featured on their 1974 album “Make It Big”. Perhaps not surprisingly, it became one of their biggest hits.
Similarly to “Baker Street”, which also features on the list, the song embodies one of the most famous saxophone riffs in the history of music. When it was first released, it shot to number one in over 20 countries.
Eurythmics – “Here Comes The Rain Again”
A song from another iconic pop duo of the ’80s, Eurythmics was created by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. “Here Comes The Rain Again” actually opened “Touch”, which was the group’s third studio album, and it was released after their most famous hit – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”.
The Human League – “Don’t You Want Me”
Talking about the song, Sting said: “‘Don’t You Want Me’ baby is one of my karaoke songs. I do actually go to karaoke ocasionally, I enjoy it. That’s the song I choose. I love the line ‘you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar’, it always gets people heads turned.”
This is still one of the most popular songs from the ’80s, and it was first released by Human League in 1981. The track soon became the fastest-selling single of the year.
Peter Gabriel – “Sledgehammer”
This is thought of as one of Peter Gabriel’s most successful songs as a solo artist, and it can be found on his 1986 album “So”. The video was so popular that it quickly became one of the most-played MTV videos at the time.
As well as this, it bagged nine MTV Video Music Awards at the 1987 ceremony too.
Shaggy – “It Wasn’t Me”
It may surprise you that Shaggy’s catchy tune makes the list, but it does. Released back in 2000, the track dominated charts around the world.
The song was featured on the Jamaican-American singer’s fifth album “Hot Shot”, and he’s actually great friends with Sting.
He explained: “Sometimes you meet somebody and they might be very different from you, very different backgrounds but you recognize kindred spirit. Shaggy and I we genuinely love each other.
“We laugh at the same jokes, I find him an intensively interesting artist. When he raps he declames like a Shakespearean act, it’s a beautiful voice.”
