It's been five decades since The Police burst onto the music scene as a trio. With Sting on vocals, Stewart Copeland on drums, and Andy Summers strumming guitar, the group climbed the charts with their hits Roxanne, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Can't Stand Losing You and many more, cementing their status as one of the most legendary rock groups of all time.
While Sting went on to have a solo career with smashing success when the band split in 1984, his former bandmate Andy, 83, has stayed busy on the music scene, but has also ventured away from the stage with a surprising passion. Read on for all you need to know about the guitarist and what he's doing five decades on from the band's history-making launch.
He's still performing
© Instagram/ @andysummers_officialMore than 40 years on from The Police's split, Andy is still prevalent in the music scene and has produced more than a dozen albums. While he went on to briefly form another band called 'Circa Zero' with Grammy-winning singer Rob Giles in 2014, he returned to his Police routes in 2017 with a new South American-based tribute band named 'Call The Police' –– and they're still touring today.
As of early 2026, Andy and his current bandmates, drummer Joao Barone and Brazilian bassist and vocalist Rodrigo Santos, are still performing The Police's biggest hits to crowds across South America.
He's a passionate photographer
While it's his guitar skills that put him on the map in the '70s, Andy discovered another passion of his during his days in The Police: photography.
"In 1979, when I was relentlessly on tour with The Police. We were surrounded by photographers all the time. Pretty much all of them women. I started to get interested in their cameras and gear. It was all very groovy and hip. They’d all turn up dressed in black, shouting instructions," the star revealed how he got into the art during a 2023 interview with Louder Sound.
"I started when we arrived in New York. It gave me something to do. Even at that point, I told myself: “I’m going to get good at this. I had no idea I’d any talent for it, but I became quite fanatical. It’s like playing music, you get better at it if you do it a lot and if you study."
He's since had his photographs in exhibitions around the world and featured in magazines.
© Getty ImagesFamily life in California
These days, the guitarist reportedly lives in Santa Monica, California, with his long-term wife and their kids. Andy first tied the knot with Kate Summers in 1973 and remarried her in 1985 after their brief divorce in 1981.
"Proper partnerships and marriages don’t go with a band at the fantastical point we were at. The happy part for me is Kate and I got back together four years later, once the insanity was all over," the musician said of their reunion.
© Patrick McMullan via Getty ImageThe couple have stayed together over the decades and welcomed three kids: daughter Layla, and twin sons Maurice X. and Anton Y. Andy's kids are now all grown up, with Layla aged around 47 and his sons 38 now. While their dad is a famous rock star, it wasn't until The Police reunited for a 30th anniversary tour in 2007 that they got to see just how big a deal their dad is in rock history.
"It was kind of pathetic; to impress them, I’d say I was part of a rock band, and they’d say, “Yeah, yeah, sure dad," Andy recalled in an old interview with Pop Dose. "Fortunately for me the reunion tour happened, not just in a few clubs but in massive stadiums."
"Before our first show my wife Kate said to them, "Kids, you’re about to see Dad as you’ve never seen him before. It was gratifying for me that they got to see it, to know that The Police really were a thing."
