10 Artists Who Left Amazing Bands To Create Something Better

4. Sting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLVq0IAzh1A Gordon Sumner, better known by his stage name, Sting, has touched nearly every corner of the pop culture landscape: instrumentalist, vocalist, activist, actor and philanthropist. He first made it big as the bassist and lead vocalist for the revolutionary rock band, The Police. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, they were both critically and commercially successful, known for their virtuosic instrumental performances on such top 40 hits as Every Breath You Take, Roxanne, and Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. Dissension in the group caused Sting to break out on a solo career in 1983. His solo success has spanned more than a dozen albums and notable singles, such as Field of Gold and If I Ever Lose My Faith in You. He achieved his first post-Police number one record in the U.S. (No. 2 in the U.K.) with the 1993 single, All For One, which he performed with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart. Over his career, Sting has sold more than 100 million records. Additionally, Sting has performed in dozens of films and was part of a wave of entertainers in the 1980s who chose to use their fame to help those less fortunate. He was part of the groundbreaking Band Aid and Live Aid events in the 1980s, and a pioneering member of many of Amnesty International concerts during the same timeframe. He continues to be one of the world€™s biggest activists, participating in events benefitting disaster relief, AIDS research, environmental preservation, and other worthy causes.