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Quiz about Sting Life Lyrics Movies
Quiz about Sting Life Lyrics Movies

Sting: Life, Lyrics, Movies Trivia Quiz


Since The Police hit the music scene in the late '70s, I've been fascinated by Sting. He's multi-faceted, multi-talented and absolutely fascinating. And...here's my quiz. Good Luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by woboogie. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
woboogie
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
285,042
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
10 / 20
Plays
453
- -
Question 1 of 20
1. First, the basics. In what year was Sting born? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. Sting is one of four children. Where does he fall among the siblings? Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. Because he was born in Wallsend, Sting is seen as a "Geordie" by many British. ("Geordie" refers to those citizens from Northeast England, usually Tyneside, Northumberland and Durham). Which of the following British celebrities is NOT a Geordie? Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. About what did Sting make this statement in his autobiography "Broken Music"? "It cost me sixteen guineas, which is a large amount of money, but I'm in love for the very first time." Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. What was the first Beatles tune Sting ever heard, according to "Broken Music"? Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. From where did Gordon Sumner get the nickname 'Sting'? Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Who was Sting's first wife, whom he married in 1976? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. At what school was Sting a teacher? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is based on a true incident from Sting's life as a teacher.


Question 10 of 20
10. Which of the following is NOT a band in which Sting was a member before The Police? Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. In 1977, Sting moved to London and joined the New Wave band The Police. Who among the following was not an original member of The Police? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. These lyrics are from Sting's beautiful and romantic song "Sister Moon"

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
My hunger for her explains everything I've done
To howl at the moon the whole night through
And they really don't care if I do
I'd go out of my mind, but for you."

What poet inspired the first line of this verse?
Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. Sting has appeared, to mixed reviews, in several movies. In which of the following films did he NOT appear? Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. Did Sting ever appear on the TV series "Ally McBeal"?


Question 15 of 20
15. According to the website "Sting.com", "Moon Over Bourbon Street", from Sting's album "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was inspired by which book by Anne Rice? Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. After seeing which band did Sting say, in his autobiography "Broken Music": "I lay in bed with my ears ringing and my world view significantly altered." Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. Did Sting ever appear on "Friends"?


Question 18 of 20
18. What American actress starred opposite Sting in the movie "Julia and Julia"? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers appeared together as The Police after 23 years. Sting, of course, has been a busy solo artist, actor, producer and activist, and Andy has also stayed busy as an actor and collaborating with musicians such as John Etheridge, Ginger Baker and Deborah Harry.

Stewart Copeland has released several solo albums and provided the musical score for a number of T.V. shows and movies. For which of the following did he NOT compose the music?
Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. According to the album's liner notes, Sting's song "Englishman in New York" from "Nothing Like the Sun" was written about whom? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. First, the basics. In what year was Sting born?

Answer: 1951

Sting was born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner on October 2, 1951, in Wallsend, Tyneside, England. His parents were Ernest, who managed a dairy, and Audrey.

My husband was also born in 1951 and his father owned a dairy. He wonders why I keep bringing this up whenever I mention Sting...hmmmm :)
2. Sting is one of four children. Where does he fall among the siblings?

Answer: Oldest of four

Sting has a younger brother, Philip, and two younger sisters, Angela and Anita.
3. Because he was born in Wallsend, Sting is seen as a "Geordie" by many British. ("Geordie" refers to those citizens from Northeast England, usually Tyneside, Northumberland and Durham). Which of the following British celebrities is NOT a Geordie?

Answer: Sean Bean

Sean Bean (Richard Sharpe in the "Sharpe's..." series of films, "Patriot Games", "National Treasure") was born in 1959 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Rowan Atkinson ("Black Adder", "Mr. Bean", "Four Weddings and a Funeral") was born in Consett, County Durham, in 1955.

Catherine Cookson (1906-1998) was born in Shields, Tyneside. A prolific author, her novels such as "That Mallen Girl" and "The Cinder Path" honestly depict Geordie life, culture and language. Many of her books have been filmed, including 1989's "The Fifteen Streets" starring Sean Bean and 1995's "The Gambling Man" starring Robson Green.

Robson Green ("Touching Evil", "Wire in the Blood") was born in Hexham in 1964 and started his career as a musician.

The term "Geordie" has existed for many years and its etymology is disputed.
4. About what did Sting make this statement in his autobiography "Broken Music"? "It cost me sixteen guineas, which is a large amount of money, but I'm in love for the very first time."

Answer: An acoustic guitar

Sting had saved up this money from assisting his father on milk rounds. He'd gone to look at it every day for three months hoping nobody would buy it. Considering what was to come, I'm glad he got his hands on it!
5. What was the first Beatles tune Sting ever heard, according to "Broken Music"?

Answer: Love Me Do

It was while he and some mates were drying off after swimming. In "Broken Music" he comments: "...I recognised something significant, even revolutionary, in the spare economy of the sound, and the interesting thing is, so did everyone else."
6. From where did Gordon Sumner get the nickname 'Sting'?

Answer: While performing with the Phoenix Jazzmen

Sting once performed with the Phoenix Jazzmen wearing a black and yellow jersey with hooped stripes that bandleader Gordon Solomon had noted made him look like a bumblebee.

Now he uses Sting almost exclusively except for legal documents. He once told a reporter: "My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?"
7. Who was Sting's first wife, whom he married in 1976?

Answer: Frances Tomelty

Sting and Frances, an actress, were married from 1976 to 1984. They had two children Joseph (1976), who is also a musician and member of the band Fiction Plane, and a daughter Fuchsia Katherine (Kate) in 1982.

Actress and producer Trudie Styler is Sting's second wife. They have been together since 1982 and married since 1992. They have four children, Bridget Michaela (1984), Jake (1985), Eliot Pauline (Coco), born 1990, and Giacomo Luke (1995).

Felicity Kendal is a British actress ("The Good Life", among others), as is Jane Asher ("Brideshead Revisited", "Rumpole of the Bailey"), who also achieved notoriety in the '60s as Paul McCartney's girlfriend.
8. At what school was Sting a teacher?

Answer: St. Paul's First School

After trying his hand at being a a bus conductor, a construction labourer, and a tax officer, Sting attended Northern Counties Teachers' Training College. Afterward, he taught at St. Paul's First School in Cramlington, Northumberland, for two years.

St. Cuthbert's Grammar School is in Newcastle; Sting attended this school as a boy. Stonelaw Middle School is also in Cramlington. St. Saviour's is the name of a number of English grammar schools.
9. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is based on a true incident from Sting's life as a teacher.

Answer: False

According to songfacts.com, "This song is about a teacher who lusts after one of his students. Sting was a teacher before joining The Police. After a lot of speculation, Sting denied that this came from any personal experience on the DVD for his 2001 "All This Time" album."
10. Which of the following is NOT a band in which Sting was a member before The Police?

Answer: Tyneside Jazz ConnEXtion

The Newcastle Big Band and Last Exit were all local jazz bands.

Strontium 90 was the name of a short-lived 1977 British band with members Mike Howlett (bass, vocals), Sting (bass, vocals), Stewart Copeland (drums), and Andy Summers (guitar). The band introduced Summers to Sting and Copeland, and this trio would eventually go on to unparalleled success as The Police.

Tyneside Jazz ConnEXtion is just something out of my warped brain...
11. In 1977, Sting moved to London and joined the New Wave band The Police. Who among the following was not an original member of The Police?

Answer: Andy Summers

The band began without Summers. Briefly, The Police performed as a four-piece band with Padovani and Summers on guitar. Following an aborted studio session, producer John Cale asked Padovani to leave. After leaving The Police, Padovani joined Wayne County and the Electric Chairs and has been involved in the music business ever since.
12. These lyrics are from Sting's beautiful and romantic song "Sister Moon" "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun My hunger for her explains everything I've done To howl at the moon the whole night through And they really don't care if I do I'd go out of my mind, but for you." What poet inspired the first line of this verse?

Answer: William Shakespeare

It's from the opening line of Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130":

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare."

One of my favorite Sting songs; one of my favorite Shakespearean sonnets! Doesn't get much better than that!
13. Sting has appeared, to mixed reviews, in several movies. In which of the following films did he NOT appear?

Answer: Brazil

Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" is a futuristic, black comedy released in 1985, and starring Jonathan Pryce, Michael Palin and Robert DeNiro.

In "Stormy Monday" (1988), Sting portrayed Finney, owner of a Newcastle jazz nightclub. Also starring were Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith and Sean Bean.

As "Heroic Officer" in 1988's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", Sting only appeared in the first few minutes of the film, but it was a hoot anyway!

As the evil Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in "Dune" (1984), Sting, in my opinion, stole the show from a long cast of well known actors including Patrick Stewart, Francesca Annis, and Kyle MacLaclan.
14. Did Sting ever appear on the TV series "Ally McBeal"?

Answer: Yes

He appeared as himself on the 2001 episode "Cloudy Skies, Chance of Parade."
15. According to the website "Sting.com", "Moon Over Bourbon Street", from Sting's album "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was inspired by which book by Anne Rice?

Answer: Interview With a Vampire

Sting had this to say about "Moon Over Bourbon Street" and its inspiration:

"It was one of those books I read in one sitting, I was totally enchanted by this story. Not so much by the character Lestat who everybody seemed to like, but by the other character. The Louis character interested me far more, he seemed to be much more reflective and much more interesting in a way, and I wrote 'Moon Over Bourbon Street' based on that one reading."
16. After seeing which band did Sting say, in his autobiography "Broken Music": "I lay in bed with my ears ringing and my world view significantly altered."

Answer: The Jimi Hendrix Experience

The concert took place in a small, crowded venue. This, however, did not keep Jimi Hendrix from becoming one of Sting's musical role models. Sting covered the Hendrix song "Little Wing" on his fabulous 1987 album "Nothing Like the Sun."
17. Did Sting ever appear on "Friends"?

Answer: No

No, he didn't. But Trudie did in the season eight episode "TOW Monica's Boots". Ross' son Ben goes to the same school as Sting and Trudie's son Jack. Phoebe visits Trudie pretending to talk about Ben and Jack, when she's actually trying to get tickets to Sting's concert.

When Trudie threatens to call the police, Phoebe exclaims: "Oh, my God! A reunion!" Needless to say, a restraining order against Phoebe ensues.

Another highlight of this episode features Ross and Phoebe redoing "Roxanne" as "Ross Can".
18. What American actress starred opposite Sting in the movie "Julia and Julia"?

Answer: Kathleen Turner

Released in 1987, this Italian drama also starred Gabriel Byrne and concerns an American who is widowed on her wedding day. She returns six years later to find her husband and son living in their home as if she'd never left. Later on, she finds herself widowed again. In the midst of this, she's taken a British photographer (Sting) as a lover. Of course she starts doubting her sanity.

Very confusing, slipping from world to world, but Roger Ebert said he found it "...perversely entertaining."
19. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers appeared together as The Police after 23 years. Sting, of course, has been a busy solo artist, actor, producer and activist, and Andy has also stayed busy as an actor and collaborating with musicians such as John Etheridge, Ginger Baker and Deborah Harry. Stewart Copeland has released several solo albums and provided the musical score for a number of T.V. shows and movies. For which of the following did he NOT compose the music?

Answer: Twelve Monkeys

"Twelve Monkeys", released in 1995, is a Terry Gilliam-directed sci-fi film starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.

"Dead Like Me" was broadcast on the Showtime network on 2003-2004 starring Mandy Patinkin and Ellen Muth about a dispirited 18-year-old (Muth) who dies and becomes a "Reaper", meaning she must take souls from the living just before they die. A great series and the theme music and opening credits were funky and funny (thanks, Stewart!). I miss that show ;(

Airing on CBS from 1985-89, "The Equalizer" starred British actor Edward Woodward as a former secret agent offering his services as a "troubleshooter" with the newspaper ad: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer."

Directed by Oliver Stone, "Talk Radio" (1988) starred Eric Bogosian as an opinionated, insulting, acerbic Dallas talk-radio host whose show is about to receive national play despite serious threats to his life.
20. According to the album's liner notes, Sting's song "Englishman in New York" from "Nothing Like the Sun" was written about whom?

Answer: Quentin Crisp

Quentin Crisp (1908-1999), a writer, actor, artist's model and activist is most famous for his memoir "The Naked Civil Servant" which brought to public attention his refusal to remain "in the closet". Sting wrote the song after Crisp had moved from London to New York's Bowery.

The words to the song make a nice ending to this quiz:

Englishman in New York

I don't take coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on one side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York

See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking cane here at my side
I take it everywhere I walk
I'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

If, "Manners maketh man" as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety
You could end up as the only one
Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society
At night a candle's brighter than the sun

Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than a license for a gun
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can
A gentleman will walk but never run

If, "Manners maketh man" as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

I would like to thank "Wikipedia", "IMDb", sting.com and Sting's autobiography "Broken Music" for help researching this quiz.
Source: Author woboogie

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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