When Sting’s son Joe joined him for sensational duet of ‘Every Breath You Take’

6 September 2024, 14:36

Like father, like son.

Undoubtedly, if your dad is one of the greatest and most successful musicians to ever grace the planet, you'd want to emulate them.

That's precisely what Joe Sumner, the first-born son of Sting, has set out to achieve with his own career in music.

Funnily enough, Joe was born when Sting himself had yet to realise his full potential as a musician, having not even formed The Police yet when he first became a father.

The first of two children Sting shared with his first wife Frances Tomelty, Joe pursued music when he reached his twenties, initially inspired by the likes of Nirvana when he founded his own band Fiction Plane in 1999.

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However, as he grew older, his music began to align with his father's, especially once his band was invited to tour alongside The Police for their record-breaking global reunion tour in 2007.

In recent years, Joe has even joined his father on tour as a solo musician, both as a supporting artist and has a member of his band.

For one particularly special concert, however, Sting invited Joe on stage to perform a duet of The Police's greatest song: 'Every Breath You Take'.

We all know that 'Every Breath You Take' is one of the most misinterpreted songs in the history of popular music.

Despite it sounding like a longing ballad, Sting actually wrote it from the perspective of him stalking his ex-wife after growing increasingly jealous about their split. Which he of course instigated.

He once described the number one hit as a "nasty little song", one that documented his "mental breakdown" amid the disintegration of his first marriage and The Police who were also ironically on the verge of a break-up.

But there was certainly nothing nasty about the father-son connection evident on stage when Joe joined his father for the classic track.

Taking place at The Wiltern theatre in Los Angeles on 15th October 2018, Sting was touring in support of his recent reggae-inspired album with Shaggy.

Whilst droves of fans were in attendance to hear their collaborative album, naturally, many of them wanted to hear the Sting hits.

There's few artists quite like Sting, whose knack for composing pop masterpieces without denying his jazz background is unique to him, and him alone.

Sting and Shaggy may have seemed like a strange blend to some, but the music legend has always incorporated reggae rhythms in his music, particularly with The Police.

What didn't seem strange, however, was how Sting and his son Joe's voice merged miraculously as they took to the microphone together.

Every breath you take ft. Joe Sumner - Sting - Los Angeles

Sting is renowned for having a distinct, husky tone to his voice, and he's passed it down to his son who has a similar style of vocal.

It was none more evident than when Sting handed over responsibility of singing the impassioned bridge, where Joe pumped his fist in the air as he belted out the high notes.

No wonder Sting has taken his son on the road with him regularly since, especially when he has his own voice reincarnated in Joe.

In fact, since this performance in Los Angeles, the father-son pairing has made a habit of touring the globe together.

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Speaking to Variety in a joint interview in 2023, Sting and Joe discussed their experiences of touring together, why it works, and how important it is to have family sticking together.

"I think the audience gets a kick out of seeing us together. He’s bigger than me, but we look sort of similar," said Sting.

"There’s no way I would let him do it if I didn’t think he was any good. I would have fired his arse immediately," he joked, before Joe chimed in: "I can attest to this!"

"I feel very proud he’s my boy. I have a natural dad’s pride," Sting went on to say.

"But at the same time it’s a kind of out-of-body experience too, because he’s doing what I do and I recognise there are elements in his voice he gets from me."

Joe himself is the father of four children - three daughters and a son he shares with his wife Kate Finnerty Sumner.

Who knows, they may very well follow in their father and famous grandfather's footsteps themselves. Only time will tell.