<P> Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner was born on 2 October 1951, in Wallsend, Northumberland, England, the eldest of four children of Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer . He grew up near Wallsend's shipyards, which made an impression on him . At eight or ten years old, he was inspired by the Queen Mother waving at him from a Rolls - Royce to divert from the shipyard prospect towards a more glamorous life . He helped his father deliver milk and by ten was "obsessed" with an old Spanish guitar left by an emigrating friend of his father . </P> <P> He attended St Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne . He visited nightclubs such as Club A'Gogo to see Cream and Manfred Mann, who influenced his music . After being a bus conductor, building labourer and tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education (now Northumbria University) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher . He taught at St Paul's First School in Cramlington for two years . </P> <P> Sting performed jazz in the evening, weekends and during breaks from college and teaching . He played with the Phoenix Jazzmen, Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit . He gained his nickname after his habit of wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes with the Phoenix Jazzmen . Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought he looked like a bee (or according to Sting himself, "they thought I looked like a wasp"), which prompted the name "Sting". In the 1985 documentary Bring on the Night a journalist called him Gordon, to which he replied, "My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?" In Time in 2011 he said: "I was never called Gordon . You could shout' Gordon' in the street and I would just move out of your way ." </P> <P> In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London and joined Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (soon replaced by Andy Summers) to form the Police . From 1978 to 1983 they had five UK chart - topping albums, won six Grammy Awards, and two Brit Awards; for Best British Group, and for Outstanding Contribution to Music . Their initial sound was punk - inspired, but they switched to reggae rock and minimalist pop . Their final album, Synchronicity, was nominated for five Grammy Awards including Album of the Year . It included their most successful song, "Every Breath You Take", written by Sting, in 1983 . </P>

What was the name of the first band sting played in