Sting Gives Dave The PG-Version Of How He Got His Name | Letterman

Sting talks about acting, what it's like to be first rock band to play in Bombay and how he got his name. (Air date: 11/10/82)
#Sting #Letterman
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Welcome to the Letterman KZbin Channel, home to all your favorite clips from Late Night and Late Show - as well as conversations with the writers, producers and performers who helped make it all happen. These highlights have been artisanly-produced, carefully-curated, and chosen completely at random by an old computer that used to pick numbers for the New York Lotto back in the 90’s.

[@mikelbell5419]

I really don't understand the audience's non-reaction to Sting's amazing sense of humor. It seems that it took about three minutes before they realized he was hilarious.

[@jta1973]

40 years ago the dry, self-deprecating sense of humor the British are known for had not yet caught on.

[@Blackzxx.82]

Dude he is British , that's says a lot xD

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

What non reaction?

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

@@jta1973 people are laughing, did they change the video? Where is this non reaction?

[@v-town1980]

@@jta1973 There were laughs, but it is British humor; surprise! In other countries it doesn't translate well. Not just in America.

[@lynnturman8157]

One of the great singer songwriters. And nobody had a sound like the Police. One part jazz, one part punk, one part reggae.

[@mediamannaman]

Dave: "What was it like in Bombay?" Sting: "Nothing like Peoria." They played off of each other perfectly.

[@johnb1150]

A joke lost on any non American as I'd never even heard of that place til this interview

[@joelanning4322]

Incredible talent. A voice terribly unique. I’ve heard him many times in concert and never been let down.

[@piotrkanarek]

I've got the same thought. I've seen Sting 4 times (once it was The Police). Last time I saw him one mont ago in Kraków. It's always been so emotional for me, my wife and my daughters. Turning back in my car in the night to hotel I put some music on, the ladies protested saying WE WANT STING AGAIN! I wait his next gig in Poland. We will be there. Regards from Poland!

[@TheGlendrum]

4:54 "we don't need any money" Sting's referring to the deal they had with the record company where they didn't take a large advance for the recording. However if the record charted- the deal was structured so they would get a huge payout .

[@digitalportraitist]

Saw him and his son at Wolf Trap a few years ago and he was amazing! i also met Stewart Copeland at a polo match in Maryland back in the mid 80s. Stewart stills rides and plays polo. He was a great gentleman and shook my hand.

[@MalcolmDesigns]

Those were the days in the early eighties, the music scene was so exciting and in '82 I was 19 and a freshman in college... Time and life go by much too fast!

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

it was kinda exciting to see new wave and new romantic emerge from the ashes of punk

[@caprise-music6722]

Ain’t that the truth. Make the most of the time you have here on earth

[@ronzombie6541]

College radio and alt rock still going strong '85-88.

[@mitgift167]

This is centuries ago. How old was Sting in 1984? Thirty-three. He is 73 today and has gained refinement in every aspect. Here you see a diamant roughly cut out of rocky attachment. Today Sting is a well-tested jewel with unfathomable depth. He tried every possible alley to find success and chose the hard way - riskng unemployment rather than the security of an established job as a teacher. He came across an alley that opened and is hard working up to this day, touring the world. It's performing that means happiness to him.

[@SJUCityBoy]

Diamond

[@Chi_Pensi]

If you want.🥱

[@bdbdthatsallfolks]

6:06 Sting politely gives the crowd the finger 🤣

[@SJUCityBoy]

I caught that.

[@sleepydragonzarinthal3533]

Now watch his recent interview with Beato and you'll understand this interview and his younger persona much better

[@taketheredpill1452]

he took a test, as a child, that marked him as intellectually gifted. He is also very well read.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

But why he became a political freak ? Sting in the Police was good, as an old man, he became this lame political joker ...

[@mikeh.8155]

@@lucasRem-ku6eb yeah saving the planet is so blasé

[@BC08]

@@mikeh.8155 "Saving the planet" aka power/money grab in the name of something that sounds altruistic

[@danielstevenson2772]

I think he read a book by Nabokov among many others. He references literature quite often in his lyrics.

[@vintagetrikesandquads4012]

Watching Dave and old Carson interviews, it just seems they had more interesting and articulate conversations back then.

[@nilpoints]

People used to use words instead of emojis.

[@babyboy1971]

I met him once, wonderfully quiet kind of guy. Very cool and grounded in his own mind.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

We met him more then once, but never when he was any good. I would love to see him in the early Police days, as a rebel, not as some old political freak he became ....

[@nilpoints]

I worked for his dad delivering milk, nobody who grew up with that father could fail to be a grounded human.

[@TheMICMusicInspirationChannel]

I think he was embarrassed to admit that they bleached their hair for a chewing gum commercial.

[@joniroxanne96]

That "mysteriously" vanished. 🤨

[@penguinista]

Dave is amazing. He took the interview format and shifted it by several degrees, just with the power of his personality.

[@ErikPortland]

Dave listens intently. You can see that here. He always has.

[@JM-db8ez]

It was kind of his job, so yeah, I guess you're right. lol

[@wlouisharris]

To me Sting is the character he was from Quadraphenia. Smug and mysterious. Great artist. He could have accomplished a lot more I think with the Police but he was tired of the formula went more in a jazz direction. He didn't have any interest in writing more hit rock albums. The Police could have done what Bono and U2 did cranking out more hit albums and huge arena tours but just not where Sting wanted to go.

[@steelyman08]

I'm glad of that. The man's a genius & has tackled just about everything. "Ten Summoner's Tales" is worth it alone. I don't dig into personal lives too much. You can tell from the comment section that the music's being eclipsed by how people feel about him on a personal level. Tends to spoil the music for me! Certain YT channels make a killing dragging artists through the muck. I'm glad I don't enjoy them. (And I did not perceive your comment to be negative at all).

[@mcphersoncompany2126]

I heard him give a solo concert a few years ago. He's grown a lot as a person and performer since this long-ago interview. Quite intelligent, generous, talented, all which conveyed a touch of self-deprecating humor.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

Without the Police he is nothing !

[@3ver4fter53]

@lucas Rem You're right, Einstein, without his life, talent and work, he is nothing.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

@@3ver4fter53 now became nothing, go back in again, guess not.Great family guy now i guess, why go back ?

[@3ver4fter53]

@@lucasRem-ku6eb I don't understand when you try to express yourself.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

@@3ver4fter53 old people can't understand normal things, you have issues.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

We had a very dirty smelly man at work that some ignorant people nicknamed stink. He was a bit deaf and thought they were calling him sting. That name stuck. They also called him dirt and again he miss heard and thought they were calling him Dirk. That name also stuck and he answered to both. It turned out that he had been in the Falklands war in the artillery and this is how he had damaged his hearing. When they found out he was treated with respect and was called by his real name Ian. He was a lovely inoffensive bloke who was a pleasure to work with.

[@majortom4543]

He probably knew from the start but some people decide not to complain. Perhaps it hurted him, or it couldnt bother him at all. Who knows.

[@Dancatspoolschool]

I'm glad that Stewart and Andy have recently told the actual stories of their origins on long form podcasts rather than the enigmatic half-truths from Sting here.

[@ThinkerThunker]

I would've sworn the name came from the sword of the same name, given to Frodo by the Elves.

[@SummerofKittyLove]

Wow he was so cute

[@artisaprimus6306]

Great singer, song writer, actor, musician. He lead The Police to worldwide acclaim and seventeen Grammys and numerous other awards later, hes still performing. Amazing.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

He just stopped being a teacher here, i have seen his school, 'don't stand so close so my' school girls, it was all real... Sting, his shirt, his attitude ! That was his childhood name. Who loves the Police, peace guy ?

[@DelightLovesMovies]

"that was more fun than I thought it was going to be.." haha

[@flowerbedmusic2674]

7:03 Like all the other moments of scratching, itching, rubbing his nose and whatever....he HASN'T got an itch. Why does he insist on trying to make himself seem so cute??? Be yourself, kids out there!

[@dianewinters8628]

Saw one of the last Police concerts with Roy Orbison in New York. They played, told jokes, and we all tossed around giant beach balls. One of my best memories.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

Hello Diane Winters, Roy Orbison was forgotten, friends in the industry, R&D people all were aware that we needed to support Orbison, sting was one of these people. Re Releasing all the material, touring Europe, i saw him too, the Hero of my Fathers generation, alive and kicking, he past away 2 month after that, but in the he became what he never was, a true rockstar, thanks to the traveling hillbillies, sting and all his friends in the industry

[@dianewinters8628]

@@lucasRem-ku6eb thanks for that info. Yes he will be forever cool.

[@jhchooo]

Huh? Last Police Concerts were in 2008. Roy Orbison passed away in 1988.

[@pabloapostar7275]

@@jhchooo Bands break up and then put on nostalgia shows decades later. The Police broke up in 1986.

[@chrishill6915]

roy opened for police?

[@kim.chaeyoung1765]

He's just so handsome

[@3UZFE]

He is so mysterious

[@catherinewilliams9680]

I had no idea he promoted Brimstone and Treacle in the US.

[@andrewcarpenter9222]

One of the best, maybe the best concerts I have ever seen, The Police.

[@MultiPetercool]

I still love hearing Toyah Willcocks and Phil Daniels tell stories about Sting on the set of Quadraphenia. “Gordon is a Moron” 😂😜😉

[@MultiPetercool]

@@DameTremonti Toyah is treasure. Fripp has great taste.

[@ProfessorZoom2140]

He has a really cool voice!

[@Sand-Walker13]

Yes he does.

[@thewomble1509]

Nothing like his real voice. He altered his accent when he became famous.

[@TheBlissMagnets]

You should hear him sing

[@ROOKTABULA]

Sting didn't work as hard to hide his rather large ego back then.

[@baantalingngam]

A very intelligent person with an ego.

[@Танямерлина-у8х]

It is not EGO. Это необыкновенная уверенность в свои возможности, как музыканта.

[@roballen6449]

He earned his right to have as large of an ego as he wants.

[@EKL-qu7ih]

What makes you say a large ego?

[@brunodavidferreira5781]

He looks like Mcguiver...ir Mcguiver looks like Sting?!?🤔🤣🤔😂

[@Gibberishus]

In short. Someone called him Sting. And it stuck.

[@trapdoorfloyd]

Once again for the record. Gordon Sumner, Steve Borden and Pete Stanichick all WINNERS 🏆

[@TheShaneBot]

This was great to see - thank you. And - I don't think he was an ass or scoffing at anything - I think he was taking it all in good humor and having a laugh with it all - but in a cool, conserved kinda way. I really enjoyed it.

[@manuelceballos11]

yeap. I agree. Is just the way he was that could come across as arrogance.

[@HughGenvoenni]

I think it’s just the subtle yet mildly self-deprecating humor thats very British and might rub Americans who aren’t used to it the wrong way

[@dogmart]

"...but in a cool, conserved kinda way." That is, being English. :)

[@v-town1980]

@@HughGenvoenni SOME Americans. We're a big country. There are tons of different people here.

[@tomitstube]

their first album took the u.s. by storm if you aren't familiar, roxanne a massive hit, they get called a lot of things but they were kind of forerunners to alternative rock for me.

[@kristinemunholland8980]

Late to seeing this, but what strikes me most is how nervous Dave appears as the interviewer here. Nervous may not be the best word choice, but you get the gist - sort of supplicating, deferential. Yet he became the most confident and important late night interviewer ever. Hell, he hosted POTUS #44 repeatedly and did so with aplomb. No one he couldn't have an informed, confident exchange with. Appreciate how instructive this 40 year old (!!!!!!) video is....

[@allendracabal0819]

Well said, and I agree with all of your observations. I once read a description of POTUS #44 as being "preternaturally confident". I feel the same way about Dave starting just a few years after this interview was taped.

[@v-town1980]

I love that early "nervous" Dave. Most of his best interviews, skits etc are from that era.

[@nilpoints]

Sting is a very confident and articulate intellectual, he intimidates people even though he's usually very pleasant.

[@krisscanlon4051]

I think he is being droll not cocky or rude. Is that jean jacket a Lee???

[@RichV20]

It looked like he did a little New York toot toot backstage.

[@Pedro_Cardoso]

MacGyver is really good pretending to be Sting.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

The A-Team, MacGyver ?

[@angeladoll5444]

You're so right lol

[@daveg1431]

he was great, really funny 💛🤟

[@Cerph]

He cuts through the b.s. of this world, and shines brightly.

[@BiggusDiggusable]

Oh c'mon. He did a whole album with a lute. That is peak pretension

[@Dan-nt2yb]

The first 2 Police albums.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@BabaBest2000]

This is the best interview I've ever seen from either one.

[@exessex3522]

So what's the non-clean version?

[@joadbreslin5819]

It's the exact same story, but with the word "fookin" sprinkled in a few times.

[@Dutcharmytent]

You cannot beat the subtle English humour which we are famous for.

[@wordup897]

or the humility

[@elkalabaw7665]

@@wordup897 now that was subtle.

[@markpalmer8083]

I wasn't rolling on the floor.

[@thewomble1509]

@@markpalmer8083 That's the humble part of the humour at work................

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

What jokes am I missing? Please point them out

[@steelyman08]

Peoria!! Nailed it. I lived there & can't imagine The Police playing there. Wow!

[@janvondrak1641]

Wow, interesting… He must be bullshitting a bit, though. It’s not like nobody in India had heard any rock music before the Police in the 1980s. (Correct me if anybody from India is here.)

[@elquixotedelascanarias]

Letterman's fashion sense was sending out an SOS.

[@just-sayin67]

41 years later, look at all he's done! (He was my first love, before Morten Harket)

[@catherine5090]

Great voice iv seen him twice and brilliant each time,plus still a hunk😛

[@deanl0]

Yeah so that was edited out.. was just wondering what came out of his Jean Jacket Pocket .. Pen

[@longlivebytor]

Interesting interview. How well did Sting know his bandmates at this point? Stuart Copeland is not from Washington (State or DC).

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

He was born in Virginia, which is literally across the bridge from D.C.

[@v-town1980]

@@OMGWTFLOLSMH Still not the same.

[@jimimurti]

Knowing people has not so much to do with the exact location they come from.

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

Larry Massengale, Sting is a loner, it's his will, or he is out, they all needed to follow him. Somerset, Stuart Copeland too ! Only his daddy was CIA spy guy in Libanon, Copeland was not American at all ! Know your band, why you cry that, he was a lonesome rebel !

[@maltmustang5075]

Sting may not have known exactly where his bandmate was from, but I'll bet he knew how to spell his first name correctly! Just funning with you man, great channel name!

[@fleeb]

Rather amusing that a band named Police got its start stealing equipment, heh.

[@josephgodfrey8468]

Soooo.... that's the G-Rated version of Sting's origin story. I wonder what the UNABRIDGED version is..?!

[@neuvocastezero1838]

I sort of figured "Sting" was a play on words for fronting a band called "The Police", with a drummer that might be called "Perp Walk", and a guitarist named "The Bracelets".

[@marcweissman5752]

Nope, but the whole bumblebee reference is true. However it was the trombone player member in the Phoenix Jazzmen who coined the name, not someone from school.

[@EM-fd8xe]

I remember when this first aired.

[@davegarciaofficial]

In the process of changing the nose :)

[@5milessep]

A very good interview by Letterman. But I’ll never forget how one Australian Sixty Minutes interviewer conducted himself with Sting, trying to make a big point of calling out his real name a number of time during the segment, all I could think at the time was what a dill. But I shouldn’t have been surprised because that program hardly ever produced mind provoking material.

[@freebee8221]

Iv always been a huge fan of MacGyver 😀😀

[@ernie316]

He nearly slips back into Geordie a few times

[@markpalmer8083]

This was pretentious RP.

[@MrMjolnir69]

Well spotted. But that's the only (smart) approach when you get a shot at a us audience.

[@tcrijwanachoudhury]

@@markpalmer8083 apparently true RP doesn't actually exist 🤔

[@andybeavis65]

I once told someone that Sting got his nickname because his real name is Michael Wasp. They believed me.

[@angelagoodwin5758]

Love this man❤❤❤

[@lethiapage4767]

I thought Sting.....a former English teacher and an avid reader..... had taken his name from Bilbo's sword.

[@whitebirchtarot]

Me, too!

[@johnpandolfino8663]

He dressed like a bumblebee....

[@johnmulhausen2322]

Nice pen, Sting!

[@marcweissman5752]

that he gave to Phoebe 😂

[@preesi1403]

The first time Sting met his hero, Elton John, Elton was wearing a Minnie Mouse Costume

[@whitebirchtarot]

@@pashadyne I’ll never think of Mickey Mouse the same way again. 😁

[@v-town1980]

Well, he IS a fruit.

[@whitebirchtarot]

@@v-town1980 Who, Mickey? Nah!

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

Elton John is a very ugly guy, so he needed costume outfits...

[@whitebirchtarot]

@@lucasRem-ku6eb Beauty comes from within, but I guess you wouldn’t know that.

[@peterhaslund]

Always weirdly detached from our world, yet writing great songs about it...

[@Foma_USA_White_Dragon]

Sting real man ,real people ....

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

Sting is not that, sorry..... He is a Rebel only !

[@fboomerang]

PSA: Letterman is five years older than Sting

[@omnipop4936]

What's the R-rated version?

[@Ludfortress]

若い　カッコいい　知的

[@smartbart80]

7:20 the nickname question

[@merlomusic007]

One of the greatest rock singers with the great Dave Letterman. Letterman still cracks my ass up. You can tell that Sting was amused by him as well. Both are among my favorites at what they do which means I have great taste of course. 😂

[@babthooka]

McGyver played in The Police???

[@Helen-jv9mq]

What was in his pocket? We’ll never know

[@danielstevenson2772]

What is the R rated version of how Sting got his name?

[@escuipo]

it better sting than stink!!....🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@felixthelmocevallosmorales41]

David Michael Letterman (12 de abril de 1947) es un presentador, comediante, escritor y productor de televisión estadounidense.

[@v-town1980]

Yeah, Sting's a typical cocky, arrogant limey in the US here. But his limey humor is clear and present. That we love. Dave, of course, was fantastic and raw back then. Nervous and sarcastic. Love it!

[@joey_bonin]

I call him Stink. He has a low opinion of American pop music, and when I was playing standup bass in a 50s band back when he did a video pretending to do so. The only decent music he ever did was with the Police.

[@areaman2060]

Peoria.

[@steelyman08]

My thoughts exactly!

[@morbidmanmusic]

Lies about the name. Different every time

[@kmm2442]

He’s like a magical leprechaun.

[@MichaelLabriola-f8s]

When i met him he was devoid of personality! Great looking guy. Educated, can write, play he does it all. I guess arrogance comes the talent.

[@ijustwannaleaveacommentony6511]

i asked chatgpt about it: i heard the sweater story was the "Clean" family friendly version of a more raunchy story? Yes, there are also rumors that the "sweater story" about how Sting got his nickname is a sanitized version of a more provocative story. According to this alternative story, the nickname "Sting" was given to him by his bandmates because of his sexual prowess, likening his lovemaking abilities to the sting of a bee. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this alternative story, and Sting himself has not confirmed or denied it. It is possible that this story is just an urban legend or a rumor that has circulated over the years. In any case, the most widely accepted and commonly cited explanation for Sting's nickname is still the bee-like sweater story. are bees good at lovemaking? As an AI language model, I do not have personal opinions or beliefs, but I can tell you that bees do not engage in sexual intercourse in the way that humans do. Bees reproduce through a process called "mating," which involves the male bee transferring sperm to the queen bee through a specialized organ called the "endophallus." The endophallus is then detached from the male bee's body and left inside the queen, where it eventually disintegrates. So, it wouldn't be accurate to say that bees are good or bad at lovemaking since they don't engage in it in the same way humans do. Rather, their reproductive process is more of a biological function that ensures the survival of the species.

[@PhillipPahinui]

This guys sense of humor is so far foward.

[@gh-vi9tk]

On another video interview, Sting gave Bernard "Benny" Green, a British jazz saxophonist, as the reason for the nickname.

[@riproar11]

In an SNL skit when Sting was the show guest, Chris Kattan auditioned as a dancer, even though they were only auditioning women. Kris addressed Sting's wife as "Mrs. Sting".

[@lucasRem-ku6eb]

SNL, thanks, yeah, that was great ! He should do more SNL, the best political comedy sketches are on SNL, wow, i love that show !

[@riproar11]

@@lucasRem-ku6eb Remember Steve Martin as James Bond and sting was the wealthy villain "Goldsting"? "The pretzels are no longer complimentary Mr. Bond!"

[@aarondavid5866]

"the bass player"

[@animalinho1983]

He is trying hard to be cool

[@RoboticDragon]

Interviews were awful in the past.

[@animaltvi9515]

If he wore a jumper colourEd like a bee, wouldn't they have called him Bee ? Not what a bee reluctantly does .

[@markjusticevipond6642]

I enjoyed learning about The Police from Sting, a gracious Knight!

[@TheAgentAssassin]

At least he's humble. -_-

[@drexlspivey5828]

Viddy Well Little Brother, Viddy Well Come and get one in the yarbles, if you have any yarbles

[@Glicksman1]

I thought he got that name from what some girl said it felt like when he was making love to her with his oversized member, but I may be wrong. True or not, he would like that explanation, I'm sure.

[@ziggyustar3137]

Back Stage at the Max Bell Arena back stage passes/// I get to see the concert from the stage I was early 20' now almost 64/ Roxanne/ I have every album still of course autographs from all three