We’ve all heard the old adage of ‘where there’s a hit, there’s a writ’ and hits don’t come any bigger than Every Breath You Take – two billion Spotify plays, the biggest song of 1983, fifth biggest of the 1980s - which rakes in something north of £550,000 for Sting every year. Now his ex-colleagues in The Police have decided – 42 years after it was first released – that they want a share of that.
Yes, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland are suing their old bandmate, claiming they’re owed a co-credit and thus millions in royalties. A High Court writ has been issued in London, and Sting (aka Gordon Sumner) and his publishing company Magnetic are named as defendants.
The action has been a long time coming. One source told The Sun that “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 has long contended that the distinctive guitar figure that he came up with is worthy of a co-credit. Speaking to Guitar Player last year, he explained what he added to Sting’s song. "There wasn't a guitar part on it when Sting wrote it. It was just him singing, with this Hammond organ kind of thing, like Billy Preston or something. It didn't sound like the Police at that point.”
“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.”
Arguably, it’s the difference between a ok-ish album track and an all-time classic. Summers’ (and Copeland’s) contributions underline the brooding, intense undertow of Sting’s lyrics – compare the bassist’s somewhat perky demo (above) with the dramatic finished track.
"There's no way that I would've gone in and strummed A, F sharp minor, D and E,” Summers says. “What I managed to do with that guitar lick was take it into a very hip other atmosphere that was completely moody and set the song up. Instead of just strumming some really stupid chords, I made something out of it.”
In time, we’ll no doubt discover what a court thinks. For the moment, Sting has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
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