Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, formerly the guitarist and drummer, respectively, in The Police, are suing their former bandmate Sting, claiming that they are owed royalties for the band’s 1983 hit Every Breath You Take.
In their legal case, filed in the High Court in London, Summers and Copeland claim they were never properly credited as songwriters on the song, and therefore have never received royalties for their contributions.
Sting (as Gordon Matthew Sumner) and his publishing company, Magnetic Publishing, are listed as defendants in the case.
Released in 1983 as the first single from the band’s fifth and final album Synchronicity, Every Breath You Take topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks, and went on to became the best-selling single of 1983, the fifth-best-selling single of the decade, and the most played song in radio history in America. It also topped the UK charts for 4 weeks, and hit the number one in Ireland, Canada, South Africa, and Israel.
The song is credited solely to The Police’s vocalist/bassist, and according to a 2010 interview with the musician’s publisher, it generates between a quarter and a third of Sting’s publishing income.
In October 2023, Andy Summers was a guest on The Jeremy White Show podcast, where, among other topics, he was asked about the role he played in the song’s success. His thoughts on the matter, as reported by Guitar World, hinted at the possibility that a legal challenge was in the works.
“Every Breath You Take was going in the trash until I played on it,” Summers stated, leading the podcast host to ask why the guitarist doesn’t have a songwriting credit on the track.
“It’s a very contentious [topic] – it’s very much alive at the moment,” Summers responded. “Watch the press, let’s see what happens in the next year. That’s all I can tell you.”
A source for Summers and Copeland told UK tabloidThe Sun, “This has been coming for quite some time. Lawyers tried repeatedly to reach an out-of-court settlement but hit a stalemate. Andy and Stewart decided there was no alternative than court so pressed the button. They say they are owed millions in lost royalties.”
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