Sting is being sued by his former Police bandmates, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, over “millions in lost royalties” from the group’s hit song “Every Breath You Take,” according to The Sun and People magazine.
Summers and Copeland have made a claim for “substantial” damages after years of legal disputes over the 1983 hit.
The song earns nearly $740,000 annually in royalties, according to The Daily Mail. Sting alone is credited for its creation, filed under the bass guitar player’s full name, Gordon Matthew Sumner.
“This has been coming for quite some time,” says a source cited by The Sun. “Lawyers tried repeatedly to reach an out-of-court settlement but hit a stalemate. Andy and Stewart decided there was no alternative than court so pressed the button. They say they are owed millions in lost royalties.”
Summers spoke with Guitar Player about his role in creating the hit, explaining that the song was going nowhere until he came up with his iconic electric guitar riff that outlines the chords of the verses.
"There wasn't a guitar part on it when Sting wrote it,” Summers told Guitar Player last year. “It was just him singing, with this Hammond organ kind of thing.
“I just went into the studio and I heard the chord sequence for it, and it immediately came to me to play the riff I came up with. It was very much in the Police guitar style, if you like.”
As the lead single from the trio's fifth and final studio album, Synchronicity, "Every Breath You Take" became the group's biggest hit, topping the charts on both sides of the pond and spending eight weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to win Grammy Awards for “Song of the Year” and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.”
“It's now past two billion plays on Spotify, so it is actually the most-played song of all-time history,” Summers added. “Which makes my guitar riff one of the most-played riffs in history.
“Not too shabby.”
