North Shields rockstar Sting returns home to receive award

Wallsend-born rockstar Sting, has returned to the North East to accept the prestigious Freedom of the Borough from North Tyneside Council. 

Sting, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, found fame as the frontman for The Police in the late 70s, achieving superstardom with number one hits such as Message In A Bottle, Walking on the Moon, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic and Every Breath You Take. 

During his music career with The Police and as a solo artist, Sting has been recognised for his talent in the industry, achieving various accolades including a CBE, BRIT awards and was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Now, the 72-year-old has been recognised by his hometown of North Tyneside, as he received the Freedom of the Borough award at a ceremony held at The Exchange 1856.

He is said to have performed at the ceremony with the North Tyneside venue writing on their Facebook page: “Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating a wonderful musician who has done so much for the North East, and we can’t wait to fill our stage with many more talented people throughout the next year, performing in the exact same spot as Sting himself!”

In an iconic move from the global rockstar, his transport of travel to the ceremony was the beloved Tyne and Wear metro. 

According to Nexus, who operate the public transport provider, Sting boarded a metro train to the venue, travelling from Newcastle’s Monument station to North Shields - although he did almost get lost along the way!

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Sting’s official Instagram account, shared images of the musician on the platform and on the metro, and wrote a caption detailing the journey. 

The caption read: “A visit to Newcastle to celebrate Sting picking up the freedom of North Tyneside - he has received many accolades in his life, but this was important to him as it came from his hometown.

“We decided to take the tube (metro) to the event so that he could show me his local station and the route he took to school every day - there was a little concern from home that we weren't going to make the award ceremony which was silly because I had taken control of the adventure!

“I admit there was one minor hiccup, though, when we discovered we were on the wrong train going in the opposite direction! Quickly put right by getting off and going to another platform - it was a wonderful day.”

Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “It was fantastic to see that Sting chose Metro on his most recent visit back to his native North East England.

“He was here to collect the Freedom of the Borough of the North Tyneside, so hopped on the Metro in Newcastle city centre for the short journey up to North Shields. 

“He may even have noticed he features in the Famous Faces artwork at Monument Metro station alongside other iconic figures from the region.”