(Credits: A&M Records)
Sat 14 February 2026 15:44, UK
It turns out you can have fronted one of the biggest bands in the world, sold over 100million records, and won 17 Grammy Awards, and still be jealous. Just ask Sting.
In many ways, it’s simply the mark of a world-beating musician that they can never just be satisfied with their lot. Whether it’s in sales, popularity, or seeking some level of accolade, they have to always strive for something more. Yet in the case of the Police frontman, his quest was for something seemingly far simpler: a song.
That might sound ridiculous, especially given that Sting has been responsible for so many massive hits in his time, but in the moments where he sticks his head above the parapet and takes a look around at the rest of the competition, the green eyes of jealousy begin to burn at the extra pieces of acclaim he could have had.
While this is not an attempt to paint him as some kind of raging narcissist, the point remains that, like the vast majority of artists, there are songs out there that the frontman simply wishes he had written. It may be purely hypothetical, given that suave romance pop has never really been at the top of his roster, but Sting has always had a thing about ‘Careless Whisper’.
In fairness, becoming one of the most famous songs of all time and shooting to the top spot in no less than 25 countries would be enough to make even the most self-assured heads turn, but Sting’s admiration for George Michael extended far beyond just the sheer number of its massive success alone.
“George was a friend of mine,” he explained in a 2023 interview. “We were not close, but I really admired him, from the pop stardom with Wham! to then becoming a very, very well respected and serious songwriter and artist.” Yet within this, there also comes the inevitable sadness overriding the acclaim, with Michael’s premature death never far from view.
Sting added: “It’s a big regret that George didn’t progress with his music. Very sad, but ‘Careless Whisper’ is a great song. I love that line, ‘guilty feet have got no rhythm’. It’s the kind of thing I wish I‘d have written myself,” he confessed, giving rise to a whole host of fantastical theories as to what a Sting version of ‘Careless Whisper’ would indeed look like.
Of course, there is no point in claiming that the Police leader was ever looking to steal the iconic track or even imitate it in any way – that was never his intention. Instead, his words came from a place of genuine, deep-seated respect for Michael, a trait often so hard to find in musicians so equally seismic as those two.
But then again, no one could argue with the fact that there will never be another Michael to grace the music world: a titan so massive, a stalwart so strong, and a powerhouse so popular that he could never be beaten. Naturally, Sting will hope for a largely similar legacy, but sometimes, the spaces among the true greats are limited.