Stewart Copeland

Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a professional American musician. He was the drummer for the band The Police and is an influential drum stylist. Since the band's breakup he has played in other bands and composed soundtracks.

Career

Copeland was born in Alexandria, Egypt, the youngest of four children. His father was Miles Axe Copeland, Jr., a CIA agent and for many years the bureau chief in Beirut, Lebanon. Copeland spent his formative years in the Middle East, attending high school at the American Community School in Beirut, where he played drums at school dances. Copeland attended college in California and came to England in 1975, playing drums for the progressive rock band Curved Air.

Related Topics:
Alexandria - Egypt - CIA - Beirut - Lebanon - Middle East - California - England - 1975 - Curved Air

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Drumming

Copeland is known for a blend of precise, energetic, and creative rock drumming along with a reggae-influenced style (back beat with bass drum, instead of snare drum). His distinctive sound centers around a hard, high-pitched crack on a snare drum or rimshot, subtle hi-hat work with understated flourishes, while often playing only hi-hat with bass drum. His drumming has influenced two generations of drummers.

Related Topics:
Reggae - Back beat - Bass drum - Snare drum - Hi-hat

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The Police

In 1977, Copeland founded the Police with singer/bassist Sting and guitarist Henry Padovani (who was promptly replaced by Andy Summers), which became one of the top bands of the 1980s.

Related Topics:
1977 - Sting - Henry Padovani - Andy Summers - 1980s

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Frequently cited recordings with the Police include:

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• Outlandos d'Amour: "So Lonely", "Roxanne"
• Regatta de Blanc: "Message in a Bottle", "Bring on the Night", "Walking on the Moon", "The Bed's Too Big Without You"
• Zenyatta Mondatta: "Driven to Tears", "Voices Inside my Head", "Man in a Suitcase"
• Ghost in the Machine: "Every Little Thing", "One World (Not Three)"
• Synchronicity: "Synchronicity", "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "Every Breath You Take", "Synchronicity II"

Copeland also recorded under the pseudonym Klark Kent, releasing several UK singles in 1978 with one, Don't Care, entering the UK charts that year) along with an eponymously titled 10-inch album on green vinyl released in 1980. He also released The Rhythmatist in 1985, the result of a pilgrimage to Africa.

Related Topics:
Klark Kent - 1978 - Vinyl - 1980 - 1985 - Africa

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Stewart's older brother Miles Copeland III, was the Police's manager who later founded I.R.S. Records. Stewart's other brother Ian was their booking agent.

Related Topics:
Miles Copeland III - I.R.S. Records

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Later career

After The Police's demise in 1986 Stewart 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 sold poorly, and the band did not continue.

Related Topics:
1986 - Animal Logic - Jazz - Bassist - Stanley Clarke - Deborah Holland

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Copeland proceeded to write soundtracks for movies (Talk Radio), (Wall Street), television (The Equalizer), and video games like Spyro the Dragon, along with operas and ballets. In 1983 he earned a Golden Globe for his scoring of Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish. Copeland wrote the original score for the Babylon 5 television pilot, "The Gathering". When the show became a weekly series, Copeland was not available, so Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream was hired. When a writer's edition of the pilot was released, the original Stewart Copeland score had been replaced with a one by Franke.

Related Topics:
Soundtrack - Talk Radio - Wall Street - The Equalizer - Video game - Spyro the Dragon - Opera - Ballet - Francis Ford Coppola - Rumble Fish - Babylon 5 - Television pilot - Series - Christopher Franke - Tangerine Dream

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Copeland has occasionally played drums for other artists such as Peter Gabriel. In 2000, he joined with Les Claypool of Primus and Trey Anastasio of Phish to create the jam band Oysterhead. In 2002, Copeland was hired by Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors to play on a new album and tour, but after an injury sidelined Copeland, the arrangement ended in mutual lawsuits. In 2005 he started Gizmo, a new project with avant-garde guitarist David Fiuczynski.

Related Topics:
Peter Gabriel - 2000 - Les Claypool - Primus - Trey Anastasio - Phish - Oysterhead - 2002 - Ray Manzarek - Robby Krieger - The Doors - 2005 - Avant-garde - Guitar - David Fiuczynski

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