Stewart Copeland 101
A person might deduce from this scene that Stewart Copeland and Sting were like a match to a tinderbox, a moth to a flame, a very destructive pair. Both men, however, insist that they were and still are very close. They talk frequently. Stewart was even filmed bantering with his former bandmate during the early leg of Sting's Brand New Day tour late last year. It's no wonder that after the recent airing of VH1's Police: Behind the Music, reunion hopes are at a fever pitch.
So let's look at the man who got The Police together in the first place: Stewart Copeland.
The Copeland brothers, Ian, Miles III, and Stewart.
Born in Alexandria, Virginia (USA) on 16 July 1952, Stewart Armstrong Copeland was the youngest of three Copeland boys. His brothers, Ian and Miles III, are also in the music business: Ian runs a booking agency and Miles provides managing expertise, formerly as The Police's manager and today as Sting's. Miles Copeland II, Stewart's father, worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and has authored several out-of-print books on the subject. For more information, see ABE Books.
Ian Copeland is credited with getting Stewart his first gig. The Copelands were living in Beirut, and Ian had landed a replacement drummer gig in a local band called the Nomads. Ian practiced the drums but found his kid brother sitting "in the background like a vulture waiting for me to get tired. Pretty soon I got bored with it, and Stewart took over from there. I guess you could say I got Stewart his first job."
"Drums are an accompanying instrument," says Stewart, a consummate drummer. "On the career level you don't get anywhere until you have found a singer, guitarist or lead instruments that you have to get hooked up with. It's not enough to be good at playing drums. You have to find the rest of the band."
Some of Stewart's early work includes the one-man band Klark Kent, in which he played all the instruments, and as drummer for the mildly successful Curved Air (CDNow has a good selection). Then Stewart met Sting in Newcastle, England in 1976 while the singer was performing with local band Last Exit. After a few performances with punk guitarist Henri Padovani, Sting and Stewart connected with Andy Summers via Mike Howlett and the resulting Strontium 90 release (also available at CDNow). Padovani was quickly phased out once sophisticated guitarist Andy Summers signed up with The Police.
The lean, gangly Stewart and his bandmates.
Stewart performed in another pop trio, Animal Logic, but he's probably better known as a composer of film scores. He's worked with major film directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone, and John Hughes. Two of his composing credits include Wall Street and Talk Radio. He's also written symphonies, operas, ballets, and more--some of it unreleased. Stewart's solo efforts, beginning with the Rumblefish film soundtrack in 1983, are diverse.
"Every film is different," Stewart said in a 1997 chat. "One movie will be about Roman gladiators, the next will be about a stockbroker in New York, the next will be a cowboy movie. Film composing takes you into every aspect of life, culture, time, so the most varied musical life for any kind of musician is the life of a film composer.
"I write a lot of music for small ensembles. Occasionally I'll play with an orchestra and...it's very cool because an orchestra with drums is very powerful. It's pretty heavy metal.
"I find [opera] very challenging and very rewarding. Operatic singing style is an earache for most people but I kind of like it myself."
What Stewart would like even more is a Police reunion. "I always hoped that we would get back together," Stewart said in 1997. "I figured if we let the group go, that eventually we would get back together again." For Police: Behind the Music, Stewart suggested doing a tour and giving all the money to charity, to build a hospital or save the whales. "We could redeem ourselves."
Stewart and his wife, Sonja. Circa 1983.
"I'm the one member of [The Police] who is the biggest fan of the group," Stewart told CNN in March 1999. During last fall's appearance on VH1's The List, Stewart humbly listed "Every Breath You Take" as the Number Two song of the 1980s.
Stewart, at 48, manages to exude the same energy, charm, and swagger that he had twenty years ago. He's no slouch and can bang away at those drums like nobody's business. Hopefully Stewart, the man who united The Police, may someday reunite them. But in the meantime, we can enjoy the work of this prolific musician.
Resources
Buy copies of Stewart's Klark Kent recordings, film scores, and music for the television show The Equalizer (and more) at Kryptone Records, Stewart's own record label. Be sure to check the Press section as well, there are some bittersweet, info-packed articles about Stewart's father, spy, and accomplished musician.
Kryptone told Suite 101 that "StewartCopeland.com will be up and running in a few weeks (maybe months...though I hope not!). It is being managed / designed by the friendly folks at sounddogs.com. So watch for us soon!"
Read more about how Stewart has found balance in his life since he and his bandmates took their different paths at the CNN website.
By using Apple Quick Time, you can view Stewart's home movie, The Thing That Ate Century City, at the Sound Dogs site.
Check out the extensive Discography and a lyrics library at this very impressive fan site on all things Klark Kent.
Find out what Deborah Holland had to say in an interview about her days with Animal Logic.
The Internet Movie Database is a terrific, authoritative source on Stewart filmography, trivia, and other tidbits.
Read the article "The Oysterhead Enigma" and Stew's recent rock 'em, sock 'em performance in New Orleans at the Iron Minds site. Download the set of MP3s at a fan site.
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