Billy Joel und Sting

Billy was born into a musical family, his Father being a pianist encouraged him to learn the piano at an early age and was taught by American pianist Morton Estrin and musician Timothy Ford.

The New York born musician decided to pursue a music career after being inspired by The Beatles. He went on to find a group named 'The Echoes' who were similar to The Beatles and specialised in British Invasion covers. The band started to record in studios in 1965, but Billy was unfortunately kicked out of the band as he refused to wear the matching outfits worn by the other members. However, Billy went on to play the piano solo for various productions and recordings.

Eventually he recorded his first solo studio album, released in 1971, named "Cold Spring Harbour". This was not as successful as he had hope however, and later signed with Columbia and released another album with them in 1973, named "Piano Man".

Finally a breakthrough for the talented pianist, since the release of his first hit song, "Piano Man", Billy Joel famously became the 6th best selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in America.

He has impressively been included into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in his music career.

Sting was born in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. In 1977 Gordon moved from Newcastle to London and met Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani to form a new wave band called The Police. They enjoyed success from the late 70's to early 80's, releasing five albums, four of which topped the charts in the UK and one that topped the charts in the US also. They enjoyed huge success with their punk inspired sounds which developed into a minimalist reggae tinged rock/pop and had a plethora of hit singles including 'Message In A Bottle' 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Walking On The Moon'.

The band unofficially parted after their final release 'Synchronicity' to focus on their solo careers. Sting's first solo gig was at Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Other Ball where he performed solo versions of tracks such as 'Roxanne' and 'Message In A Bottle'. In 1985, Sting finally released his debut record which featured a heavier lean towards jazz including the musicians Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim and Branford Marsalis. Once again, he enjoyed a number of hit singles from the record and within a year it had been awarded triple platinum. To add to the accolades Sting also received four Grammy nominations for 'The Dream Of Blue Turtles'.

Sting was part of the iconic Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' charity single which raised money for famine victims in Ethiopia and took part in the live aid concert the following year, playing a selection of The Police hits. His next album '...Nothing Like The Sun' mirrored the successes of his first, more hit singles, more Grammy Nominations and this time a Brit Award for Best Album. The following four releases all reached the top five of the UK charts and have now been certified as platinum selling. In 2007 he reunited with his Police bandmates as the introductory act for the 2007 Grammy Awards, singing 'Roxanne' and subsequently announced a huge worldwide tour which sold out almost instantly.

Sting has had multiple successes both with his band and as a solo artist. He has accumulated a total of sixteen Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards and several Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. He is known for his musical abilities but also his activism, becoming patrons for several charities including Elton John's AIDS foundation. He has sold over 100 million records to date.