Sting has a new hobby, tightrope walking. The 56-year-old singer, who is married to Trudie Styler, has had a high wire installed in his garden so that he can emulate his idol, tightrope master Philippe Petit.  Sting revealed his bizarre new pastime at the premiere of Man on Wire a feature-length documentary about Petit, at the Tribeca Film Festival.

He said, "Everything I know about wire walking, Philippe taught me."  Frenchman Petit made history when he walked from one Twin Tower of New York’s World Trade Center to the other in 1974, while suspended on a wire 110 storeys up.

He has also performed similar stunts on France’s Notre Dame Cathedral and Australia’s Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Sting is famous for his athleticism, and has previously admitted to enjoying tantric sex, which involves meditating during sex to heighten pleasure, with Styler.