Sting stole ideas for some of The Police’s biggest hits from Nevada singer Roy Smith, it has been claimed.
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In a filed police report, Smith claims Sting wrote Roxanne and Message In A Bottle after they had a lengthy conversation in the 70s about his life – including his friendship with a prostitute called Roxanne – but has since failed to honour his agreement to give him royalties for the tracks.
A police spokesman said: “The initial review of the report indicates that the statute of limitations of any potential crime in this matter has expired. The alleged victim may have to pursue the matter through civil litigation.”
Lawyers for Sting, real name Gordon Sumner, have denied all the allegations against the singer.
Smith says Sting heard him singing in Molly’s Garden Restaurant in Reno in 1977, and asked him if he wanted to go for a drink.
After getting a beer in a local 7-Eleven convenience store, the pair went back to Sting’s basement where Smith regaled the singer with stories of his past including how following his father’s death, he wrote his mother messages which he put in a bottle.
