Stewart Copeland rose to international stardom as the Police. He largely rejected pop music to pursue a career in composition, writing a number of operas and film scores. Copeland was born July 16, 1952 in Alexandria. He is the son of a CIA agent and attended college in California. After his childhood, he settled in England in 1975 to play drums in the progressive rock band Curved Air. He founded the Police in 1975 with Sting, guitarist Henri Padovani, and singer/bassist Sting (later replaced by Andy Summers). The trio became one of the most innovative and popular bands of the post-punk period. They began with “Roxanne”, a 1979 hit. This band drew on reggae and funk to create an infectious and cerebral brand of pop that generated a number of hits, including “Every Little Thing She Do Is Magic,” and “Every Breath You Give.” Copeland, who was also a member of the Police and released a solo album, Music Madness from the Kinesi Kid in 1980 under the alias Klark, not only received wide critical acclaim, but also contributed to many of the band’s songs. After touring to support Synchronicity’s 1983 blockbuster, the Police broke up. However, Copeland was already a well-known film composer and earned a Golden Globe nomination in 1982 for his score to Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish. The Rhythmatist was his 1985 film. It was the result of his musical pilgrimage. He continued to release scores for films, including two Oliver Stone features, Wall Street, Talk Radio and Wall Street, as well as acclaimed projects such as Ken Loach’s Raining Stones and Four Days in September, as well as many other mainstream Hollywood productions. Copeland also worked with Animal Logic, a pop-fusion group. He also wrote King Lear for the San Francisco Ballet, the Cleveland Opera’s Holy Blood and Crescent Moon and Ballet Oklahoma’s prey. Stewart was a guest at the Modern Drummer Festival 2006…2007: Police Reunion. He is also a recipient of The Hollywood Film Festival’s First Outstanding Music in Film Visionary Award and an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. He has received five Grammy Awards for his career, which includes more than 60,000,000 records sold worldwide. His quest for exotic rhythms and musical celebration has taken him all over the globe, from Mozambique to Easter Island, from Australia’s outback to the Congolese jungles. From www.drummerworld.com
