It's January of 2012 and Stewart Copeland is busy completing a year that saw two major premieres for the versatile composer/performer having spent much of 2011 in London rehearsing then supervising the premiere of his second Edgar Allen Poe-inspired short operas:'The Tell-Tale Heart," which premiered under the direction of Jonathan Moore at the world-famous Royal Opera House on April 8, 2011. With book and music by Copeland. A vital collaborator on his first Poe composition: "A Casque of Amontillado" as well as his 'Horse Opera'--a piece composed directly for UK's Channel 4. The world premiere of Mikrocosmos for Percussion, a number of percussion Quartets and Quintets took place at the Tromp Percussion Festival in Eindhoven, Holland, together with performances by Elbtonal Percussion, Ethel, Forro in the Dark, Beam, and Copeland himself in a stellar "Evening with Stewart Copeland." Following right after was the rollicking "Evening with Stewart Copeland" at the Grammy Museum at Nokia LIVE, in downtown Los Angeles, where the author, composer, performer, and filmmaker read an excerpt from "Strange Things Happen," his audio and written memoir of many tales from the road. Along with a hugely entertaining Q & A, he showed clips of footage that were not included in the 2007 documentary: "Beyond Therapy," (from the Police's "Certifiable" platinum CD/DVD release).
Also celebrated was the premiere on February 3, 2011 of Stewart's Concerto for Gamelan and Orchestra at the Dallas Symphony's Meyerson Hall: 'Gamelan D'Drum', a thirty-five minute three-act piece performed by the Symphony's world famous percussion quintet D'Drum. With an extraordinary series of ice-storms that denied all but one performance, the piece was received rhapsodically.
All this activity is a very substantial transition from the famed drummer's origins as a roadie then drummer for "Curved Air" an early 70's fusion rock band, and the early days of the pioneering punk rock trio The POLICE.
Stewart's autobiography: "Strange Things Happen: a life with The Police, Polo and Pygmies" was released in October 2009 in the UK and the US and recently appeared as an audio book by Harper Collins imprint Harper Studio. Reunited after 23 years with his bandmates in the The POLICE when they opened the Grammy Awards on February 11th of 2007, Stewart Copeland counts himself fortunate to have been the founder of the most played and successful trio of the 1980s. The POLICE's 2007 and 2008 reunion tour went on to be the biggest of the year, and by the end of all the stops throughout the world in early August 2008 it had grossed more than $387,000,000.00. The tour encompassed appearances throughout the US and Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia, and returned again for a Victory Lap in the US in July and August 2008. Triggered by a happy confluence of events when Sting, Stewart and Andy all found themselves at the Sundance Festival in 2006, the night that Stewart premiered his film "Everyone Stares, The Police Inside Out", the reunion tour took shape in unexpected ways, and served as a triumphant reminder of the quality of Sting's songwriting together with the incredible musicianship and mastery of their instruments that each member of the band possesses, proof that the Police's celebrated status as one of the greatest bands of the past 30 years is more valid than ever.
Recipient of the Hollywood Film Festival's first Outstanding Music in Film Visionary Award, and a 2003 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Copeland has in addition been responsible for some of the film world's most innovative and groundbreaking scores. His career includes the sale of more than 60,000,000 records worldwide, and has won him five Grammy Awards. Meanwhile, his travels in search of exotic rhythms and musical celebration have taken him around the world from mysterious Easter Island to Mozambique, and from the outback of Australia to the remotest regions of the Congolese jungles.
During his film composing career Copeland has enjoyed successful collaborations with some of Hollywood's most acclaimed and eclectic directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone, Kevin Reynolds, Bruce Beresford, Ken Loach, and the late John Hughes. In the fall of 2000, Copeland teamed up with Primus' vocalist and bass player Les Claypool, and guitarist and vocalist Trey Anastasio of PHISH to form OYSTERHEAD, with whom he recorded a sparkling album produced by Elektra Records, and with whom he has performed and toured to sold-out houses.
His ORCHESTRALLI ensemble, comprised of Copeland, a four piece percussion quartet and a chamber orchestra performing Stewart's blend of energetic original compositions appeared during 2004 in several Northern European cities in addition to the Southern Italian version of that ensemble: 'LA NOTTE DI TARANTA'.
It was in 1984 that Copeland began his move beyond the rock arena, creating the memorable score to Francis Ford Coppola's 'RUMBLEFISH'. Featuring a strikingly original mixture of traditional percussion, electronically sampled car horns and ticking clocks, Stewart's unique and daring soundtrack pioneered the field of sound-designed scores, and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Score. Soon afterwards, Oliver Stone called on him to write the score to 'WALL STREET,' in which he wove in eerie howls and ringing bells to help create the tone of Stone's dog-eat-dog world. The score to Stone's tale about a doomed disc jockey,'TALK RADIO,' became another Copeland tour-de-force. Subsequent assignments have included DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; a two-year stint on the quirky, critically acclaimed Showtime series DEAD LIKE ME; LOVEWRECKED, starring Amanda Bynes for director Randall Kleiser; and I AM DAVID, Walden Media's initial production starring Jim Caviezel and Dame Joan Plowright, written and directed by Paul Feig (creator and executive producer of the much acclaimed 'Freaks and Geeks' ). Copeland also composed the music for Miramax's teen smash SHE'S ALL THAT, for Sam Shepard's taut drama SIMPATICO (with Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone and Nick Nolte), and for Brazilian auteur Bruno Barretto's FOUR DAYS IN SEPTEMBER (which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film in 1998).
The "serious" music commissions follow upon the heels of the release of "The Police: Certifiable" live album, which chronicles one of the band's incendiary performances recorded on Dec. 1 and 2, 2007 when they played to a record crowd that packed the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires. Featuring favorites including 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', 'King Of Pain', and 'So Lonely', the 19-track, one-hour and nine-minute album was given 4 stars by the All Music Guide.
Initially released on Nov. 11, 2008, 'Certifiable' is a 2 CD, 2 DVD set. The first and second CDs contain the concert itself, while the first DVD contains the 109-minute wide-screen concert presented in Dolby Surround and Stereo. The second DVD contains the 50-minute bonus feature: "Better Than Therapy" directed by Jordan Copeland, detailing The Police's historic reunion with exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews from the band and road crew, plus two photo galleries of The Police on tour; one series photographed by guitarist and photographer Andy Summers and one by photographer Danny Clinch.
Copeland's ANTHOLOGY, a first "Best Of" collection of solo material, was released in August 2007 by Koch Records. Among the Anthology's 21 tracks were those covering Stewart's solo career, and there are 10 new tracks that have never before been released in the US or Canada. This collection includes compositions from Francis Ford Coppola's RUMBLE FISH as well as work from WALL STREET, THE PALLBEARER, THE LEOPARD SON, DEAD LIKE ME and METROPOLIS. Other notable tracks include the Trey Anastasio/Les Claypool collaboration: Oysterhead, as well as key tracks from the Notte Della Taranta and GIZMO ensembles along with a seminal track credited to the multi-instrumentalist Klark Kent. Copeland says, "Contained on this album are some of the many musical adventures that I've had. Roughly chronological, the Anthology starts with the callow charm of Klark Kent, and ends up with some of the slicker things that I have figured out after four decades of my obsession with music."
Copeland's compelling film EVERYONE STARES: THE POLICE INSIDE OUT was a hugely absorbing and largely full-time assignment for the director, editor, narrator and producer: Stewart Copeland! Premiering to an enthusiastic reaction at the 2006 Sundance Festival, the film's genesis has been completely unique originating as it did from Stewart's 8mm camera. Shot backstage, offstage and on-stage between 1978 and 1982, it is an intimate portrait of the formation and rise to success of the definitive and most played rock band of the 1980s.
Comprised of footage of the Police's most fervent fans, with intimate portraits of Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and band-founder Copeland himself, as well as a crew of managers, agents, roadies and record company personnel, EVERYONE STARES deals with some fascinating and historic backstage content. Created from 50 hours of 3 minute rolls of 8mm film , there was originally of course no plan to release a film from this material until Sundance called 23 years later, so 99% of the on-camera sounds and images required current permissions and clearances. The process took on a forensic and archaeological tone, creating the need to diligently dig up and find people all over the world who were casually caught on camera some 28 years before. Copeland's former band mates have been kind and cooperative in their assistance in bringing the film into existence outside of the Festival circuit, and it was commercially released by both Showtime, and Universal Music Enterprises, worldwide. Miles Copeland and Derek Power are the film's Executive Producers.
Not long after his Sundance premiere in 2006, Stewart left for the UK and took up his duties as a judge on the BBC 1 show JUST THE TWO OF US. Gently deriding and--more often than not --applauding the talents in the Pro-Am match up of duetting couples, Stewart enjoyed a hilarious three weeks in London as a new prime time TV star. As a consequence of this successful appearance he repeated this task again as a judge in January 2007. A bonus to all this activity was Copeland's 2006 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental for a track from his 'Orchestralli' album: 'Birds of Prey'. This is one of Copeland's more symphonic tracks but it still features his signature propulsive and blistering beat.
Stewart Copeland was born on July 16, 1952, in Alexandria, Virginia, but soon after moved with his family to Beirut, Lebanon. In this Middle Eastern city on the Mediterranean, Stewart grew up and learned to play the drums. Stewart's older brother Ian had started playing drums in a local band. Following in his brother's footsteps, Stewart picked up a pair of sticks and began to play, but his knack for the instrument distinguished him from his sibling almost immediately. While Ian quickly gave up the drums, Stewart found his aim and purpose in them.
Encouraged and assisted by his father, once a trumpeter in The Glenn Miller Band, Stewart's first teacher was an old jazz drummer in Beirut, where his father was in fact now the Mid-East station chief for the CIA! Copeland was a quick study with a good ear, and he scored his first real gig playing drums while still barely in his teens.
A sudden family move to England opened new opportunities for Stewart pursue rock 'n' roll, first as a journalist for a drummer magazine, then as a roadie, for, among others British prog-rock group Curved Air. In 1974/1975, when the band found itself in need of a new drummer, Curved Air hired Stewart and he made his recording debut on two successful albums, Midnight Wire (1975) and Airborne (1976). In addition, Curved Air introduced him to vocalist Sonja Kristina, who would later become his wife and mother of three of his sons.
Restless, Stewart decided to form a new band fashioned on the vibe and energy of punk music. He created a trio with guitar, drums, and bass. The guitar player, a Corsican named Henry Padovani came first. Stewart called his new project The Police, a provocative name in its time that capitalized on the everyday brawls that broke out between punks and law enforcement: a regular police presence in the streets of London meant free marketing for his band.
A Curved Air performance in Newcastle gave Stewart the chance to catch the set of a local band called Last Exit, a popular jazz fusion band that journalist Phil Sutcliffe had wanted him to see. Only one thing caught Stewart's attention at the concert: the stage presence of the band's charismatic bass player, a musician/vocalist known as Sting. Here was the third piece of the equation that Stewart needed to complete his Police project.
Phil introduced the two musicians after the show. When Sting later decided to leave Newcastle to try and make it as a musician, he had no plan and no idea what might happen: he went to London with his wife, actress Frances Tomelty, their young son, Joe and Stewart's phone number in his pocket.
Stewart was happy to receive Sting's call and immediately invited him into the band but was concerned how Sting and Henry—with their different approaches to music and their instruments-would get along: Sting was a sophisticated musician with a jazz background, while Henry was a classic punk guitarist with lots of energy but little else. Punk had become the mainstream of the day and demanded Henry's vibe and spirit, but Stewart soon realized that this wasn't the situation that Sting was looking for.
In those early days, songs for the Police were primarily written by Stewart with a little help from his brother Ian. "Fall Out" and "Nothing Achieving," the band's first single and B-side, were written by both.
A Gong reunion in France prompted the Police to expand briefly into a quartet. Ex-Gong bassist Mike Howlett invited Sting and Stewart, along with session guitar player Andy Summers, to record and perform some material that he had been working on. This reunion show in Paris put Sting, Stewart, and Andy together on stage for the first time. Andy was an experienced studio musician with a long list of credentials, and Sting and Stewart realized that he would be a perfect addition to the band. Thus, when Andy saw the Police perform weeks later at the Marquee and approached them about joining the band, Stewart, Sting, and Henry accepted, and Stewart's trio grew into a quartet. But this arrangement would last only briefly.
Sting realized that he could do better than the average punk musician and had begun giving his ideas to Stewart, writing new songs, and restructuring some of his older material to be included in the Police repertoire. These more complicated compositions were an improvement over Stewart's simpler tunes, and Andy's technique and artistry gave Sting's songwriting new opportunity to expand. But Sting's new songs were an obstacle for Henry, whose technical skills were limited. Reluctantly, Henry was asked to leave.
These early days weren't easy for the Police. The "punk" label did not fit well at all, and Stewart could see that his project was evolving into something different than he had envisioned. Money was a big problem, and they couldn't find a decent producer. But despite hardships, Stewart remained optimistic. When Billy Ocean asked Sting to join his band on tour, Stewart convinced the bassist to turn down the job. Andy Summers had made a previous commitment to a German avant-garde electronic musician Eberhard Schoener, and asked if he could bring his new band mates along for the job. This tour finally gave the Police the chance to earn enough to invest in the recording of their first album. Produced by Nigel Gray and the Police, Gray was able to capture the band's new sound, a combination of reggae influences, pop, and rock that still retained a touch of its older punk vibe. Sound mixer and road/tour manager Kim Turner helped the band at its live shows. Most audiences of the time were used to listening to dry punk guitar riffs, but with Kim's experience and expertise, the Police were able to make a different impact on the crowd. With a new and improved sound in place, Andy, Stewart, and Sting were ready to make history. But it wouldn't be easy.
Outlandos D'Amour, the band's debut album, was released on A&M Records in October 1978. Miles Copeland, Stewart's oldest brother and now manager of the band, quickly realized while listening to the band rehearse that there was a notable "classic" among their songs. Miles carried this song, "Roxanne," to Los Angeles and made A&M an offer they couldn't refuse: in lieu of money, Miles asked that A&M simply release the album; all the rest of the promotion would be handled by him and Ian Copeland in the U.S. The Police had the opportunity to tour the U.S. twice at the end of 1978 and the spring of 1979; their travels helped build their audience and spread awareness of the band and its music.
With Reggatta De Blanc the Police embarked on their first world tour, from Asia to Australia, Europe to Africa, South America to North America. Their career exploded with the release of "Message In A Bottle," and Stewart's recognizable drumming style earned him a place of great respect in the world of drummers: he is still one of the most influential drummers in rock music today. During those early years, TAMA Drums adopted Stewart as one of its main artists; the company has since become a major name in the business worldwide.
Released in 1980, the band's third album, Zenyatta Mondatta, earned them status as the most important rock band in the world, and songs like "Don't Stand So Close To Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" became like hymns. Fame and fortune had arrived at last for Stewart's project, but the Police were now faced with the predominant image of Sting as unspoken leader of the band. No one denied the importance of Stewart's drumming and Andy's guitar, together with Sting's voice and reggae-influenced dub lines, in creating the sound of the Police; but Sting wrote most of the songs, and his image had become the face of their music. After four years spent traveling the world and recording in the studio, the band began to suffer from overexposure.
The recording of their fourth album, Ghost In The Machine, saw the band move to Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean Sea. The hope was to give the three band members a place to relax and get away from everyday pressures, but the situation grew tense as the band started arguing about its musical direction. Like brothers, the members of the Police had to sort out their different and often clashing egos, and new producer Hugh Padgham found himself stuck in the middle. After only a few days in the studio, he walked out. The band eventually convinced Hugh to stay and finish the album, but the situation remained difficult. Ghost In The Machine was released in October 1981 and became another great success.
The final chapter in the story of the Police arrived with their fifth album, Synchronicity, recorded in the winter of 1982/1983 and released in July 1983. The accompanying tour found the band at a crossroads: the Police were number one on all the charts, and everything they touched turned to gold; but now that they had reached the top, they had nowhere left to go together.
A historic concert at Shea Stadium in New York marked the beginning of the end. Faced with the choice between continuing on and repeating the same formula or giving up the Police project at its peak, the band chose to stop, to leave room to come back later when they had new things to say and new energy to give to the music. It wasn't an easy choice. But year after year, Sting, Andy, and Stewart realized that by suspending the Police at the height of its success, they had cemented the band's status as a legend in rock music history.
Although the decision had been a difficult one, the "temporary" split of the band allowed for new challenges, a breath of fresh air in their careers.
In March 1984, after the last concert with the Police in Australia, Stewart said that leaving the Police was like "leaving school" and entering a new, "adult" world. The time had come to leave the family that had brought him fame, wealth, and success; this project that Stewart had nurtured for so long had become a golden cage, and the chance to work on something different gave him the strength to experiment with new sounds and new directions.
There was no doubt that the years spent with the Police would remain the most significant steps in Stewart's early musical career; the music of the Police had become the most important soundtrack of his life. And it is exactly the world of soundtracks that would give Stewart the opportunity to take a growing step as a musician and start a new career in the movie business.
The first chance had arrived a couple of years before. At the same time that he was recording Synchronicity with the Police, Stewart was composing and recording the soundtrack to the Francis Ford Coppola film 'RUMBLE FISH'. This unusual, percussion-based soundtrack earned Stewart a 1984 Golden Globe nomination for Best Score and opened doors to several movie productions to follow.
In 1985 Stewart released the hybrid docu-drama 'THE RHYTHMATIST'- a journey to Africa to explore the roots of rhythm.
In 1986 the Police reformed to play three dates in the U.S. on an Amnesty International tour. The performances gave Sting, Andy, and Stewart the chance to work together again, but their attempts to continue further failed. While re-recording some of the tracks to be included in a "best of" album, old tensions between members resurfaced.
To make matters worse, Stewart suffered an injury while playing polo, fracturing his collarbone and rendering him unable to drum. He would be out of commission for some time, but rescheduling wasn't an option: Sting was already committed to other projects, including a new movie filming in Italy. The reunion was a bust, and the band decided to stop recording, releasing their greatest hits album with only one re-recorded song ("Don't Stand So Close To Me '86").
Stewart continued composing soundtracks, but soon a new project would bring him back to the world of touring and recording as the drummer in a rock band.
In 1988 Stewart began playing with one of the most famous bass players of all time, Stanley Clarke, and the two of them realized that something interesting might result from their collaboration. Stewart had been working with singer-songwriter Deborah Holland on a soundtrack. She let him listen to a few songs that she had written, and Stewart liked them so much that he asked her to record them with him and Stanley Clarke. Stewart and Stanley played, arranged, and produced the songs, and together with Deborah, they released the finished album under the name of Animal Logic.
The tour that followed the release of their eponymous debut album (Animal Logic, 1989) put Stewart back on stage, playing drums in front of large, enthusiastic crowds. Fans of both the Police and Stanley Clarke saw the project as a rare chance to witness two "monsters" of rhythm perform together. Although the success of these initial efforts prompted Animal Logic to record a second album together (Animal Logic II, 1991), no supporting concert tour followed. There would be no other Animal Logic releases in the future.
The decade following the 80s was the most prolific period in Stewart Copeland's career. With scores and soundtracks as his main occupation, the famous drummer now became better known as a famous composer.
Stewart had already been a productive songwriter before the Police had emerged, having released a few singles in 1978 and a follow-up album in 1980 under the pseudonym of Klark Kent. But while the Police needed that particular touch brought to its music by Sting, Stewart's varied musical culture and knowledge allowed him to work on a variety of projects, from classical to jazz. All of these different influences surfaced in his many releases during the 1990s.
But Stewart's compositions were not limited to film scores alone: in addition to composing a number of ballets, Stewart was commissioned by the Cleveland Opera to compose an opera, which he called Holy Blood And Crescent Moon. As a result of his unique sound, ear, and experience, Stewart's name soon became recognized as one of the most important composers in Hollywood.
In 1999 Stewart was asked to produce a song on an album by Primus, an American alternative rock band whose bassist, Les Claypool, was widely acknowledged to be one of the most interesting musicians of the decade.
Stewart was so impressed by Les that the two decided to jam together on some improvised music. Les had been invited to play a festival in New Orleans in 2000, and he asked Stewart and guitarist Trey Anastasio of Phish to join him for the performance. The three of them rehearsed many classic tunes, including "House Of The Rising Sun" and various Led Zeppelin tracks, while also writing some original material.
That 2000 concert marked an unforgettable night for many. Critical reception to the performance was enthusiastic, and the band's jam sessions had produced a number of good songs. Although it took many months for them to play together again, Stewart, Les, and Trey reunited to record an album under the name of Oysterhead.
The band released the album The Grand Pecking Order in October 2001, and a tour of the U.S. saw them playing in front of screaming crowds, all waiting to hear these three incredible musicians on the same stage together. Once again Stewart found himself working as a drummer in a rock band, and his performance was so impressive that many expressed disappointment that a band like the Police could not reform and demonstrate once more the great potential still held by three such legendary musicians as Andy Summers, Sting, and Stewart Copeland. None of them had ever said officially that the Police had broken up, so many fans still held out hope; but it seemed that none of them was making any effort to bring the band back together either.
Stewart and Vittorio Cosma had worked and collaborated well together on La Notte Della Taranta, and Stewart saw in Vittorio a perfect partner for an enthusiastic new adventure that he had in mind: a new band whose basic vibe would be grounded in a fusion of rock and ethnic rhythms.
A simpler project than the elaborate La Notte Della Taranta Ensemble, Gizmo was a more traditional band that included drums, guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards, and vocals. Keeping with the multi-ethnic design of the project, members of Gizmo came from all over the world: Mauro Refosco from Brazil on percussion; Dave Fiuczynski from the U.S. on guitar; Armand Sabal-Lecco from Cameroon on bass; Raiz from Naples, Italy, on vocals; Vittorio Cosma from Milan, Italy, on keyboards; and Stewart Copeland from the U.S. on drums.
Gizmo performed two tours in Italy: in 2005 with the original lineup and in 2006 with Dodo N'Kishi from Germany on vocals, Phil X from Canada on guitar, and Max Gazzè from Italy on bass for a few gigs. Gizmo's setlist included both original tracks written by Stewart and Vittorio and tunes from their personal repertoires, including a couple of songs from Stewart's Klark Kent days and two Police songs never performed live with Sting and Andy Summers, "Darkness" and "Does Everyone Stare." There are no official releases of Gizmo's music; those two tours held the only chances to see the band perform.
Copeland is the father of seven children. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Fiona Dent.
For a printable version (PDF) of all of Stewart's credits, please click here.