Once on stage, now in court: Former members of the band Polis sue Sting

Sting, who wrote all of the band's biggest hits, denies underpaying other band members

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Sting as a member of the band Polis in 1979, Photo: Shutterstock

Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

03.09.2025. 14:59h

Former members of the British band Police (The Police) sued Sting, the group's frontman, over alleged lost royalties for songs they recorded together between 1977 and 1984.

In a civil case filed at the High Court in London, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stuart Copeland claim they were underpaid for their contributions to songs such as Every Breath You Take i Roxane.

They did not receive the copyright for the aforementioned tracks, but they claim that the band entered into a "verbal agreement" in 1977 about sharing the revenue, which was later translated into a written document.

Sting, who wrote all of the band's biggest hits, denies underpaying other members of the group.

His lawyers called the claims "illegitimate."

'A very dark history'

The British group Polis was formed in 1977 and quickly achieved commercial success.

Sting, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, was the singer, bassist and main songwriter in the group in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before embarking on a solo career.

Single Every Breath You Take sa their fifth album „Synchronicity" It reached number one on the American charts in 1983.

It was one of the most played songs on the radio and was heavily copied in a track by P. Diddy and Faith Evans. I'll Be Missing You of 1997..

Due to personal and musical disagreements, the group broke up in 1984.

Copeland later The Guardian said they had a serious argument during the "very dark" recording sessions for the album "Synchronicity".

Sting stated in 2022 that he felt the group was holding him back.

"I was frustrated that in addition to writing material for the entire album, I would also have to deal with other songs that weren't as good."

"Explaining to someone why their song isn't working is like telling them their girlfriend is ugly."

"It's a personal thing and I didn't want to go through that pain anymore," the musician told Mojo magazine (Mojo Magazine).

Sting was the band's main songwriter, but other members also contributed.

Summers often claimed to be the author of the song's iconic guitar riff. Every Breath You Take.

The lawsuit filed in court states that in 1977 they reached an agreement that any band member who received revenue from the release of a song they wrote would share a percentage of the profits.

It was usually 15 percent with the other two band members and it was called the arrangement fee.

But members disagree about when the agreement was reached.

Summers says it was done on the street, outside the office of their manager Miles Copeland in the London neighborhood of Notting Hill.

Sting, however, claimed that there was no “verbal agreement”, but that Copeland had brought up the idea at his apartment in Bayswater.

The agreement was formalized in 1981 and renewed in 1995 and 2016.

The current dispute is over how much the publishing house should pay Summers and Copeland as compensation.

It's a complex area, and royalties fall into two separate categories.

Copyright royalty is the fee that the author receives based on the Copyright Agreement (Copyright Agreement) for the created copyrighted work.

'Performance royalties': paid when a song is played on the radio or via streaming services.
'Mechanical royalties': payments to a songwriter, publisher or song copyright owner each time their musical composition is reproduced and distributed on physical formats, such as CDs or vinyl, as well as through digital channels such as downloads and streaming.

Summers and Copeland argue that they should be paid for both of these categories, while Sting says their agreement only covers mechanical royalties.

Sting's lawyers also point out that under the terms of the 2016 agreement, all band members agreed not to pursue any claims for royalties.

But Summers and Copeland's lawyers argue that won't stop their clients from challenging it.

They claim they were deprived of more than 1,2 million euros.

Sting's lawyers deny that the guitarist and drummer are underpaid and claim that Summers and Copeland may actually owe money because they were overpaid.

In 2022, Sting sold the copyright to his entire opus of songs, including solo works and material from the group Polis (The Police), the company Universal Music Group (Universal Music Group).

The value of that contract was estimated to be around 200 million euros.

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