Sting isn't "ready to die".

Sting

Sting

The 'Shape of My Heart' hitmaker has been reflecting after the tragic passing of many musicians including David Bowie, Prince and Leonard Cohen in 2016 but insists he is not ready to go as he's "still got work to do".

He said: "There's a child in all of us that looks at cultural icons and goes, 'How could they die?' Because we've invested this sort of godlike immortality to them. 50,000 is from the point of view of someone who's been there watching his friends die and facing his mortality.

"Mortality is something that once accepted, it's not morbid. If anything, it makes your life richer - at least, that's the philosophy I'm developing as I speak to you. I'm not ready to die at all; I've still got work to do. But an acceptance of it for all of us is a useful thing, because that's the reality."

And the 65-year-old singer likes the "regimented" nature of touring and treats it a bit like a "holiday from the mind".

He added to USA Today: "I'm a little deaf and I wear reading glasses, but you know, I'm wearing pretty well ...

"Touring is very regimented. One of the reasons I like it is because you don't have to do much thinking; it's kind of a holiday from the mind. Then when I finish touring, I have to face the blank page again."

Meanwhile, Sting - real name Gordon Sumner - previously admitted he doesn't like to wear his hearing aids as he heard a lot of "s**t".

He said: "I tried wearing a hearing aid, but I heard more than I wanted to hear! People talk a lot of s**t!"