‘A nasty little song, really rather evil’: how Every Breath You Take tore Sting and the Police apart

January 15, 2026

TL;DR

Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers are suing Sting for alleged unpaid royalties from 'Every Breath You Take,' focusing on streaming revenue.
Sting's legal team argues that prior agreements did not cover streaming earnings and suggests the bandmates may have been overpaid.
Despite the lawsuit, Sting has paid his former bandmates $870,000 for admitted historic underpayments.
'Every Breath You Take' remains incredibly popular, ranking high on Spotify daily streams and seeing significant growth.
The song's success is boosted by its inclusion in 'Stranger Things' and its popularity on TikTok.
Originally intended as a romantic song by Sting, 'Every Breath You Take' has a darker lyrical theme of obsession and stalking, which Sting later called 'evil.'
The recording of the song and the album 'Synchronicity' were fraught with tension and conflict between band members.
Andy Summers claims his arpeggiated guitar riff was crucial to the song's survival, as Sting and Copeland couldn't agree on its arrangement.
Puff Daddy's sample of the song for 'I'll Be Missing You' has been a source of ongoing joking between the band members regarding royalties.
The current lawsuit has reignited the deep-seated tensions that plagued The Police during their career.

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