Sting’s one big regret about George Michael
From the start of his career, Sting never wanted to be any ordinary rock star. Though he played in the same seedy underbellies as the punks in the early days of The Police, Sting’s vast knowledge of music meant that he was never afraid to write music suited for “grown-ups”. It was always about pushing music forward, and Sting forever tried to make forward-looking music whenever possible.
Starting with his career with the iconic power trio, Sting tested the waters of many different genres across his first albums, dipping his toes into genres like punk, reggae, and traditional rock and roll depending on what suited the song. Though Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers both contributed massive parts to every track, Sting was more interested in expanding his musical palette, eventually winding up making songs that were more indebted to world music, like the calypso feel of ‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic’.
While paving his way forward, Sting still had his ear close to the ground with modern music, becoming close to George Michael from WHAM!. Although the genres of The Police and WHAM! fans didn’t cross all that often, Sting was never afraid to pay his respects to Michael, recalling on the BBC Radio 2 show Tracks of My Years, “George was a friend of mine, we were not close, but I really admired him from the pop stardom of Wham to then becoming a very, very well respected and serious songwriter and artist.”
Despite being a part of the foundational pop duo, Michael was looking to expand his musical palette right along with Sting, striking out on his own with massive hits on songs like ‘Faith’ and ‘Father Figure’. Although Sting could appreciate the songs for what they were, he did have a regret about Michael’s progression, continuing: “I often wonder where George would be right now. What kind of music he would be creating? It’s a big regret that George didn’t progress with his music. Very sad.”
Throughout his career, Michael would often wait for years on end before coming out with his next project, only having a handful of releases to his name by the time of his death on Christmas Day in 2016. When paying tribute to him, Sting would cite ‘Careless Whisper’ as one of his favourite tracks from Michael, admitting, “I love that line ‘guilty feet have got no rhythm’. It’s the kind of thing I wish I have written myself.”
Looking back on their career trajectories, both Sting and Michael would be on parallel tracks as well, each dipping their toes into more sophisticated material than traditional pop fare. As Michael started making more easy listening material throughout his career, Sting followed suit when working with some of the most experienced jazz musicians that the world has ever seen.
Though the 1980s belonged to both Michael and Sting at different moments in their careers, both of them often felt like two sides of the same coin. Sting may have been the more adventurous musician that still let his punk roots decide his fate, but Michael’s careful attention to detail proved to be his downfall in Sting’s eyes.
