Born on 16 July: Stewart Copeland (The Police), rhythm wizard, Coppola alchemist

He was born in 1952 in Alexandria, Virginia (USA). Like guitarist Andy Summers, he brought a complex and inventive rhythmic structure to the unstoppable pop melodies of The Police between 1977 and 1984.

Stewart Copeland grew up between the Middle East and Europe because his American father used his supposed activity as an archaeologist as well as a diplomatic cover for his intelligence activities (as the saying goes). In fact, he took part in the C.I.A. event and even forgot to write a fascinating auto-biography a few years before his death, but that's another story altogether! From a very early age, the young Stewart sought out rhythms by tapping on just about anything that came his way, but his first influences were Stravinsky and jazz. After finishing university in England, he joined the progressive rock band Curved Air, first as road manager and then as drummer. He married their singer Sonja Kristina in 1982.

He went on to become world-famous as the drummer for The Police, the trio he founded in 1977 with Sting and Andy Summers. Before Sting took off as the main composer of the band's immortal hits, it was Stewart who penned the two tracks on their first single ‘Fall Out’ in 1977. Thereafter, his contribution was more discreet, with tracks like ‘On And Other Day’ (on which he also sang) and ‘Does Everyone Stare’. Not enough to rival Sting's hits!

As far back as Synchronicity (1983), Stewart recalls an explosive atmosphere during the recording sessions: ‘In a nutshell, we ate each other's noses over nothing’, he recalls today in Ultimate Classic Rock. Despite all this, he still has fond memories of those crazy years, and has even made a touching documentary about the period, Everydbody Stares: The Police Inside Out.

Shortly before the band split up, he also began to broaden his scope. He took part in the WOMAD charity album and wrote the music for Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film ‘Rumble Fish’. ‘One of the most intense moments of my musical career’, he recalls, ‘a far cry from the tensions at work in The Police at the time’. He went on to star in ‘Wall Street’, ‘The Equalizer’, ‘Talk Radio’, ‘Highlander II’, ‘Fresh’ and ballets.

Returning to his first love, classical music, he has also put together a rather crazy project entitled Police Deranged For Orchestra, in which he revisits some of the trio's iconic pieces. ‘If you fancy a slightly mad version of “Roxanne”, then this project might just pique your interest,’ he says. Of course, some fans of The Police will find this approach iconoclastic but, with a certain sense of self-deprecation, Stewart makes fun of the killjoys!

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Stewart Copeland with The Police on stage at the Ahoy in Rotterdam (Netherlands) on 10 February 1983.