I think Stewart copeland is so underappreciated as the drummer of The Police. As a kid litening to the Police, I was always captivated by "the drummer" of The Police. He added so much to their songs..what do you all think of Stewart Copeland?

one of the best

In addition 2 his days with The Police, I liked his score in "Wall Street" and "Fresh"

diamondpearl1 said:

has he eve done any solo albums..I could see him fronting a band like Stanton Moore or Idris Muhhammad does..

A guy I used to work with swears that Sting used to bash Stewart about his timing and went so far as to bring in a metronome so he would keep the time. I think he said it was one of the visual LED kind. I have never been able to find a story about it on the web. Does anyone know if Sting and Stew clashed when it came to his drumming? BTW, he must've tightened that snare till it was crying because I haven't heard too many records with the snare so crisp and good.

70sLove said:

I have never heard that but I wouldnt doubt that was true. Sting was a control freak and wanted everything his way...I read Andy's autobiography and Sting probably would insist that Stewart was doing something wrong since in Sting's world, he's the only one that can do anything right

DigitalGardin said:

Why do you think he is under appreciated? All I keep hearing is that he is one of the best drummers around, which he is!

70sLove said:

yes, Sting used to bitch at him constantly for playing too fast. At one point Stewart wrote 'F*CK OFF YOU C*NT' on his drum heads and arranged his cymbals so that he couldn't see Sting onstage. Great stuff.

abierman said:

You never hear anything about him in mainstream music circles...

DigitalGardin said:

well, that must be because he is not really considered to be mainstream.....never was.

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He also recorded and toured with Stanley Clarke, frpm the mid 80's to the early 90's both on Clarke's solo albums and as part of the group Animal Logic( Stanley Clarke, Stewart Copeland, and singer Deborah Holland):


Stewart Copeland, with Animal Logic - "Spy In The House of Love" Live, on David Latterman









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[Edited 6/8/09 7:54am]

The Rumble Fish soundtrack is amazing.

70sLove said:

I have heard Sting say that all he wanted sometimes was for Copeland to play a straight beat, and the drummer would play anything BUT that style.

I appreciate SC's talent, which is undeniable, but I'm kind of with Sting on this one - Copeland definitely errs on the side of over-playing sometimes.

rocknrolldave said:

This is even more confusing to me, because all of the drummers Sting has worked with since the Police are known for their polyrhythmic, multi-stylistic drumming--

--Omar Hakim, Manu Katche, Vinnie Colauita, etc....I remember Terri Lynne Carrington once mentioning in an interview that although she auditioned for Sting, she didn't get it because although her Jazz and Pop/R&B chops were immense, her Reggae drumming wasn't strong enough...it just seems to me that if he wanted drummers that kept simpler, more straightforward beats, there had to be thousands less polyrhytmic than these guys....







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[Edited 6/8/09 7:51am]

^ Interesting post, and now I think about it, you are totally right. Maybe Sting just kept arguing with Stewart cos of a personality clash, and the drumming thing was just an excuse? I dunno, but I agree with what you say about Sting's other collaborating drummers being polyrhythmic and complex too.

rocknrolldave said:

Yeah, maybe he was just trying to start arguments, or something--I dunno....But I agree, that's a weird point for Sting to make, considering....




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rocknrolldave said:

But see, to me..thats what made some of the Police songs so interesting to me. For instance, Stewart's drumming on MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE is so brash and engaging. IMO, it rivals Sting's vocals for supremacy. Its almost as if Stewart was saying "my drums WILL be heard!"

I even like how he LOVES banging the cymbals..I love that sound!
I think Sting was just a blowhard that wanted all the focus on him!