Sting sued by his former Police bandmates

BarcelonaThe specter of internal disputes is once again looming over The Police. Forty years after the British trio's split, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland have filed a lawsuit against bassist Sting in the High Court of England and Wales for allegedly unpaid royalties, which they claim are worth millions, according to reports. The Sun and have collected other media such as People.

The lawsuit was filed in the General Contracts and Commercial Agreements Division and includes both Sting—whose real name is Gordon Matthew Sumner—and his company, Magnetic Publishing Limited. The plaintiffs allege that they have not received royalties for some of the group's most iconic songs in years, including Every breath you take, the best-selling single of 1983 and the fifth most consumed of the decade. According to The Sun, Sting is said to earn more than 500,000 pounds a year (about 587,000 euros) for this song alone, while Summers and Copeland are not listed as co-writers and therefore do not receive any amount for this concept.

Sources cited by the British tabloid claim that the conflict "has been brewing for years" and that lawyers have tried unsuccessfully to reach an out-of-court settlement. Faced with the impasse, both former members have opted for legal action with a claim for "substantial damages." A spokesperson for Sting denied, in the same newspaper, that the claim is related to this specific song, without giving further details.

The Police, formed in 1977, released five studio albums before disbanding in 1984. The band achieved worldwide success with songs such as Roxanne, Message in a bottle and Every little thing she two is magical, and sold more than 75 million records. Even now, August 2025, The Police register more than 36 million monthly listeners. But after their achievements, coexistence was tense: "We weren't a tribe. We were three strong characters and we fought for everything," Sting admitted in statements collected by The New York Times in 2007. The recording of Synchronicity (1983), their final album, was particularly contentious, with the musicians working in separate rooms to avoid clashes.

Following the split, Sting embarked on a solo career that cemented him as a global star, while Summers and Copeland went their separate ways. Despite the friction, the band reunited in 2007 for a world tour that grossed over £292 million and which, as Summers explained to The Telegraph In 2022, it was "the biggest payday" he ever received. "I think I was the highest-paid guitarist in the world during that tour," he said.

Now, the litigation reopens old wounds and puts the spotlight back on one of British rock's most influential bands. So far, neither Sting nor his former bandmates have made any public statements about the case, which remains open in the London courts.