Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Police, he played drums with English rock band Curved Air from 1975 to 1976. As a composer, his work includes the films Wall Street (1987), Men at Work (1990), Good Burger (1997), and We Are Your Friends (2015); the television shows The Equalizer (1985–1989), The Amanda Show (1999–2002), and Dead Like Me (2003–2004); and video games such as the Spyro series (1998–present) and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001). He has also written various pieces of ballet, opera, and orchestral music.
According to MusicRadar, Copeland's "distinctive drum sound and uniqueness of style has made him one of the most popular drummers to ever get behind a drumset".[2] He was ranked the 10th best drummer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2016.[3] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Police in 2003, the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.[4][5][6]
Early life
Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 16, 1952,[7][8] the youngest of four children of Scottish archaeologist Lorraine Copeland (née Adie; 1921–2013) and American CIA officer Miles Copeland Jr. (1916–1991). His mother was born in Edinburgh, while his father was from Alabama. His father was, according to his own 1989 biography[9] and files released by the CIA in 2008,[10] a founding member of the OSS and the CIA.
Returning to England, Copeland worked as road manager for the progressive rock band Curved Air's 1974 reunion tour, and then as drummer for the band during 1975 and 1976. The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly.[12] Band leader Darryl Way, a notorious perfectionist,[13] grew impatient with the struggling of his bandmates, especially novice drummer Copeland.[12] Then, for reasons no one could pinpoint, the musicians suddenly "clicked" with each other and the band caught fire, quickly becoming a popular and acclaimed live act.[12]
Eventually, Way left the band and after months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by singer Sonja Kristina's recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band's absence as a "sabbatical". Copeland formed the Police and Kristina and Way both pursued solo careers. Kristina and Copeland maintained the close personal relationship they'd formed while bandmates and were married in 1982.
In early 1977, Copeland founded the Police with lead singer-bass guitarist Sting and guitarist Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers), and they became one of the top bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Copeland was the youngest member of the band. The Police's early track list (before their album debut) was largely Copeland compositions, including the band's first single "Fall Out" (Illegal Records, 1977) and the B-side "Nothing Achieving". Though Copeland's songwriting contribution was reduced to a couple of songs per album as Sting started writing more material, he continued to co-arrange all the Police's songs together with his two bandmates. Amongst Copeland's most notable songs are "On Any Other Day" (where he also sang lead vocals), "Does Everyone Stare" (later to be used as the title of his documentary on the band Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out), "Contact", "Bombs Away", "Darkness" and "Miss Gradenko". Copeland also co-wrote a number of songs with Sting, including "Peanuts", "Landlord", "It's Alright for You" and "Re-Humanize Yourself".
Copeland also recorded under the pseudonym Klark Kent, releasing several UK singles in 1978 with one ("Don't Care") entering the UK Singles Chart that year, along with an eponymous 10-inch album on green vinyl released in 1980. Recording at Nigel Gray's Surrey Sound Studios, Copeland played all the instruments and sang the lead vocals himself. Kent's "Don't Care", which peaked at No. 48 UK in August 1978, actually predates the first chart single by the Police by several months ("Can't Stand Losing You", issued in October 1978) as "Don't Care" was released in early June 1978.
In 1982, Copeland was involved in the production of a WOMAD benefit album called Music and Rhythm. Copeland's score for Rumble Fish secured him a Golden Globe nomination in 1983. The film, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola from the S. E. Hinton novel, also had a song released to radio on A&M Records "Don't Box Me In" (UK Singles Chart n. 91)—a collaboration between Copeland and singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway, leader of the band Wall of Voodoo—that received significant airplay upon release of the film that year.
The Rhythmatist record of 1985 was the result of a pilgrimage to Africa and its people, and it features local drums and percussion, with more drums, percussion, other musical instruments and occasional lead vocals added by Copeland. The album was the official soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which was co-written by Stewart. Copeland is seen in the film playing the drums in a cage with lions surrounding him. The band attempted a reunion in 1986, but the project fell apart.[14]
Copeland also occasionally played drums for other artists. Peter Gabriel employed Copeland to perform on his song "Red Rain" from his 1986 album So because of his "hi-hat mastery".[2] He has also performed with Mike Rutherford and Tom Waits. That year he also teamed with Adam Ant to record the title track and video for the Anthony Michael Hall movie Out of Bounds. In 1989, Copeland formed Animal Logic with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. The trio had success with their first album and world tour but the follow-up recording sold poorly, and the band did not continue.[citation needed]
He was commissioned by Insomniac Games in 1998 to make the musical score for the hit PlayStation game Spyro the Dragon.[17] Copeland would play through the levels first to get a feel for each one before composing the soundtrack. He also stayed with the project to create the musical scores for the remaining Insomniac sequels Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. The franchise shifted over to Universal for the fourth title,[18]Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, which would be Copeland's last outing with the series. While the soundtracks never saw commercial release, the limited edition of the fourth game came packaged with a bonus CD, containing unused tracks.[19] The soundtracks were very well received,[20] and one track would later appear on the 2007 compilation album The Stewart Copeland Anthology. Copeland composed a new title theme for Spyro Reignited Trilogy.[21]
In 2005, Copeland released "Orchestralli", a live recording of chamber ensemble music which he had composed during a short tour of Italy in 2002. Also in 2005, Copeland started Gizmodrome, a new project with avant-garde guitarist David Fiuczynski, multi-instrumentalist Vittorio Cosma, singer Raiz and bassist Max Gazzè. The band made their U.S debut on September 16, 2006, at the Modern Drummer Drum Festival. In January 2006, Copeland premiered his film about the Police called Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out at the Sundance Film Festival. In February and March, he appeared as one of the judges on the BBC television show Just the Two of Us (a role he later reprised for a second series in January 2007).
At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting performed the song "Roxanne" together again as the Police. This marked the band's first public performance since 1986 (they had previously reunited only for an improvised set at Sting's wedding party in 1992 and for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003). One day later, the band announced that in celebration of the Police's 30th anniversary, they would be embarking on what turned out to be a one-off reunion tour on May 28, 2007. During the tour, Copeland also released his compilation album The Stewart Copeland Anthology, which was composed of his independent work.
In 2007, the French government appointed Copeland (along with Police bandmates Summers and Sting) a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[23]
The group performed 151 dates across five continents, concluding with a final show in August 2008 at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Projects (2008–present)
In 2008, RIM commissioned Copeland to write a "soundtrack" for the BlackBerry Bold smart phone. He created a highly percussive theme of one minute's length from which he evolved six ringtones and a softer 'alarm tone' that are preloaded on the device.[24]
In March 2008, he premiered his orchestral composition "Celeste" at "An Evening with Stewart Copeland", part of the Savannah Music Festival. The performance featured classical violinist Daniel Hope. His appearance at Savannah included a screening of Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out and a question and answer session. Also in 2008, he was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to create a percussion piece involving primarily Indonesian instruments. "Gamelan D'Drum" was first performed in Dallas on February 5, 2012, and had its European Premiere at the Royal Academy of Music in London in July 2012.
On August 21, 2009, at SummerFest 2009, Copeland unveiled the composition "Retail Therapy", which was commissioned by the Music Society. He performed three more original works: "Kaya", "Celeste", and "Gene Pool", the last accompanied by San Diego-based percussion ensemble red fish blue fish.[25] He attended a composer's roundtable and a question and answer discussion in conjunction with the festival. Copeland wrote the score for a theatrical presentation of Ben-Hur, which premiered on September 17, 2009, at the O2 Arena in London. He provided English-language narration of the production, which is performed in Latin and Aramaic.[citation needed] His memoir Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies was released by HarperCollins in September 2009.[26] The book chronicles events in his life from childhood through his work with the Police and to the present.[27] In October 2009, he was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion program on BBC Radio 3.[28]
On May 24, 2011, he started a YouTube channel devoted to his videos and project updates.[29] On this channel, he uploads performances with various musicians, including Primus, Andy Summers, Jeff Lynne, Snoop Dogg, and others in his home studio, which he refers to as the Sacred Grove. On August 24, 2011, he was a featured soloist on the Late Show with David Letterman, as part of their second "Drum Solo Week".
On January 10, 2012, he appeared on an episode of the A&E reality series Storage Wars to appraise a drum set for Barry Weiss, buying a Turkish cymbal from the set for $40. In July he reunited with former Animal Logic bandmate Stanley Clarke for a European tour.
Ricky Kej and Stewart Copeland had worked together on a song in 2016 and so with a pause in concerts and activity due to the pandemic, Kej reached out to Copeland to collaborate on a new album that came to be called Divine Tides. Released in 2021, the album includes nine songs and eight music videos that were shot in locations ranging from the Himalayas in India, to forests in Spain.[33] In April 2022, the album scored Copeland his sixth Grammy Award, and Ricky Kej his second Grammy Awards, in the category of Best New Age Album.[34]
In 1974, Copeland became romantically involved with Curved Air vocalist Sonja Kristina, and they were married from 1982 to 1991.[38][39] He adopted her son from a previous relationship, and they had two sons of their own.[39][40] In 1981, he fathered a son with Irish author Desmond Guinness' daughter Marina.[39][41][42] He currently lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, with whom he has three children.[39][43]
Copeland's hobbies include rollerskating, cycling along the beach in Santa Monica, filmmaking, and playing polo.[39] He is also active on his YouTube channel, where he uploads videos of himself and other musicians during jam sessions in his studio, the Sacred Grove.[44][45]
Drumming style
Copeland grew up listening to a combination of Lebanese music, rock and roll, jazz, and reggae, but he selected from these styles what he needed rather than imitating them. In the 1980s, when many musicians were looking for bigger sound from bigger drums, he added Octobans. Invented by Tama Drums in 1978, Octobans consisted of eight six-inch drums in the shape of narrow tubes. He used another innovation, a splash cymbal based on a toy that he owned and that he helped Paiste design. He relied heavily on his 13" hi-hats.[46]
Despite being left-handed, Copeland plays a right-handed drum kit, placing the hi-hats on his left and ride cymbal and floor toms on his right. He uses a wide dynamic range and demonstrates a proficiency of jazz-style articulation in his snare drum playing, interspersing strong back-beats with soft rim comping. During his years with the Police, he became known for engaging only the hi-hat with the bass drum to keep the beat.[citation needed]
In an interview with Modern Drummer, Copeland has cited Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience as a prime musical influence. He states that as a child, whenever he had a song or melody pop in his head, he would walk around wondering how Mitchell would drum to that particular tune. He also named Sandy Nelson and Ginger Baker as other fundamental influences in the youth years.[47][bettersourceneeded] He has stated that due to his "enforced listening" of Buddy Rich, he considers himself "allergic" to jazz.
He is noted for his strong emphasis on the groove as a complement to the song, rather than as its core component. Nonetheless, his playing often incorporates spectacular fills and subtle inflections which greatly augment the groove. Compared to most of his 1980s contemporaries, his snare sound was bright and cutting. He is also one of the few rock drummers to use traditional grip rather than matched grip. He is also noted for syncopation in his drumming.
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting, Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland, and remained unchanged for the rest of the band's history. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s. Emerging in the British new wave scene, they played a style of rock influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz.
Stanley Clarke is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fusion bassist to headline tours, sell out shows worldwide and have recordings reach gold status.
Reggatta de Blanc is the second studio album by British rock band the Police, released on 5 October 1979 by A&M Records. It was the band's first release to top the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon". In early 1980, the album was reissued in the United States on two 10-inch discs, one album side per disc, and as a collector's edition with a poster of the band.
Andrew James Summers is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated with other musicians, composed film scores, written fiction, and exhibited his photography in galleries.
"Roxanne" is a song by British rock band the Police. The song was written by lead singer and bassist Sting and was released as a single on 7 April 1978, in advance of their debut album Outlandos d'Amour, released on 3 November. It was written from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute. When re-released on 12 April 1979, the song peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a hit song by the British rock band the Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third studio album Zenyatta Mondatta. It concerns a teacher who has a sexual relationship with a student, which in turn is discovered.
Animal Logic is a band formed in 1987 by drummer Stewart Copeland, bassist Stanley Clarke, and singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. The group recorded two albums under the auspices of manager Miles Copeland III before disbanding.
Klark Kent is the debut solo album of Stewart Copeland, and the first solo album recorded by any band member of The Police. The album was released in 1980 as a 10 inch EP on green vinyl. It was later re-released on black vinyl as a 12 inch with a grey and black sleeve. It includes the song "Don't Care", which had entered the UK Top 50 two years earlier.
HenryPadovani is a French musician noted for being the original guitarist of English rock band The Police. He was a member of the band from January 1977 to August 1977 and was replaced by Andy Summers, who had originally been part of the band as a second guitarist. Following his departure from the band, Padovani was handed the rhythm guitar spot with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, before forming his own band, The Flying Padovanis.
"Next to You" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police as the opening track on their debut album Outlandos d'Amour in 1978.
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by the British rock band the Police from their fourth studio album, Ghost in the Machine (1981). It was a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981 and hit No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.
"The Bed's Too Big Without You" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the final single from their second studio album Reggatta de Blanc (1979). It was written by lead vocalist and bassist Sting. An alternate version was released as a single in the UK in 1980 in the set Six Pack in conjunction with the re-release of the Police's earlier singles "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", "So Lonely", "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon".
"Spirits in the Material World" is a song by the British rock trio The Police, written by Sting. It is the opening track for their 1981 album Ghost in the Machine. It was released as a single in 1981 and reached No. 12 in the United Kingdom and No. 11 in the US in early 1982.
Brimstone & Treacle is the soundtrack for the 1982 film adaptation of the play Brimstone and Treacle directed by Richard Loncraine and starring Denholm Elliott, Joan Plowright and Sting. Sting and The Police wrote most of the original material on the album. The rest of the soundtrack was made of songs by other acts signed to A&M like The Go-Go's and Squeeze and a couple of traditional songs performed by the Finchley Children's Music Group and the ad-hoc formed Brimstone Chorale.
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song by the Police, released as a single in 1980. Released as the British second single from the album Zenyatta Mondatta, the song was written by Sting as a comment on how people love simple-sounding songs. The song was re-recorded in 1986 as "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86" but not released until 1995.
"Wrapped Around Your Finger" is the second single in the UK from the Police's 1983 album Synchronicity. Written by Sting, it was released worldwide by A&M Records and featured the non-album track "Someone to Talk To" as the B-side in the UK, while a live version of "Tea in the Sahara" was the B-side in the US.
"Fall Out" is a song by British rock band the Police. It was released as their first single in May 1977 with "Nothing Achieving" on its B-side. It was re-released in 1979. A non-album track, it has appeared on a number of compilation and live albums including Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings, The Police and Live!
Airborne is the sixth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1976. Like their last few releases, it was not a significant commercial success. After a follow-up non-album single, "Baby Please Don't Go" b/w "Broken Lady", the group disbanded. Drummer Stewart Copeland went on to form The Police, while violinist Darryl Way and lead singer Sonja Kristina both pursued solo careers. Bassist Tony Reeves and guitarist Mick Jacques both later became members of the semiprofessional band Big Chief.
Ram Gyan "Ricky" Kej is an American music composer and environmentalist of Indian descent and a three-time Grammy Award winner. He has performed at venues in over 35 countries including at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva. In October 2023, Kej was announced as a UN "Goodwill Ambassador" (UNCCD) at the United Nations General Assembly by then President, Csaba Körösi.
Gizmodrome is the self-titled debut album by supergroup Gizmodrome, released in September 2017. It features Stewart Copeland, Vittorio Cosma, Mark King, and Adrian Belew.
↑ Copeland, Miles (1989). The game player: the confessions of the CIA's original political operative. London: Aurum Press. ISBN0948149876. OCLC21874352. Later, I was one of the 200 employees who were on the original list of career members when the CIA became official in July 1974.
↑ Lyons, Timothy (October 1, 1996). "'The Leopard Son' from the Discovery Channel: From the Theatre to Cable". International Documentary Association. Retrieved April 30, 2021. On September 27th, in movie theatres across the country, Discovery Channel Pictures opened its first commercially-released full-length 35mm feature film, The Leopard Son.
↑ "Archived copy". www.myheritage.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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