Sting and a Police cadet: Lookalike son shares the stage

And while 25 years separate these two generations of the Sting musical dynasty, the likeness is striking.

Joe Sumner, 30-year-old product of Sting's first marriage to actress Frances Tomelty and now a professional musician in his own right, opened the first night of the reunion tour by The Police.

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Grimacing with concentration, pursing his lips, and driving out a rhythm on bass - the same instrument as his father - he did an impressive impersonation of the man who found world fame when Joe was still in his cot.

The full head of hair, compared with Sting's receding hairline, was perhaps the most obvious distinction.

Joe's appearance with his band Fiction Plane took fans at the concert in Vancouver by surprise.

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Indeed, few knew who he was when he took to the stage.

"But after pulling a few Sting-esque moves, word quickly spread and people began cheering," said an audience member.

"Deliberate or not, Joe really does look like a chip off the old block."

Sting himself, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, put on a performance that belied his 55 years.

Joining his old Police colleagues guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland and covering hits including Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Roxanne and Message in a Bottle, he threw himself around the stage with a series of high kicks and energetic knee jumps that whipped up a frenzy among the 20,000 fans.

The younger Sumner has been struggling for a number of years to find success in the music industry, both as Fiction Plane's frontman and as a songwriter.

The band's latest album, Left Side of the Brain, which was released earlier this month, has so far failed to make a mark in the charts.

Speaking recently about the burden of being a rock star's son, he said: "It's kind of just there. It's like a big mole on the middle of my face.

"Everyone might continue to say 'mole' for the rest of eternity, but I'm just trying to take advantage of it now instead of hiding away in the dark."

It is not the first time he has toured with his father.

In 1993, he joined Sting on a series of solo concerts - as a roadie.