Stewart Copeland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copeland on drums

Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952 in Alexandria , Virginia ) is an American drummer and composer .

He has composed the score for around 60 feature films and television series - Stewart Copeland is best known as the founder and drummer of The Police . With his musical skills, he has made a significant contribution to the success of the band and has had a lasting impact on their sound with influences from reggae , punk and jazz .

Stewart Copeland is known for his virtuoso instrument control and his precise timing. He is considered one of the best rock drummers. His energetic and nuanced style of play is typical for him.

Biography (summary)

Stewart Copeland is the son of former Glenn Miller trumpeter Miles Copeland junior and the renowned Scottish archaeologist Lorraine Copeland .

Stewart is the second youngest of four siblings: his eldest brother, Miles Copeland III , is the music producer and founder of IRS Records , his older brother Ian Copeland , a music agent and pioneer of the New Wave in the USA, died in 2006. Stewart's sister is the writer / film producer Lorraine (Lennie) Copeland .

Since his father worked as a “freelance political advisor” (in fact he worked for the CIA ) in the Middle East , the Copelands moved to Damascus ( Syria ) in 1948 and shortly after Stewart's birth to Cairo , later to Lebanon , to Beirut , where Stewart was spent his youth attending the Cairo American College.

In the late 1960s the Copeland family moved back to England and Stewart attended Millfield Independent School in Street, Somerset from 1967 to 1969 .

From 1982 to 1991 Stewart Copeland was married to the singer Sonja Kristina Linwood . They have two sons together, and Copeland adopted another son from his wife's previous relationship. He has another son with Marina Guinness. Stewart Copeland has been married to Fiona since 1993, with whom he has three daughters. He lives in Los Angeles .

Musical career

Stewart Copeland started playing the drums at the age of thirteen. Due to his family's stay in Syria, his unmistakable style was influenced and inspired by the complex polyrhythmic structures of oriental music. In the early 1970s he studied music at Western University in San Diego and the University of California, Berkeley , before returning to London in 1975 and with his eldest brother Miles Copeland III - from 1977 manager of "The Police" - a member of the Band " Curved Air " became, the singer of which was Copeland's future wife Sonja Kristina . In 1978 Stewart played with Sting and Andy Summers as a guest musician with Eberhard Schoener on his LP Flashback .

"The Police"

Main article: The Police

Two unsuccessful years later, Copeland was looking for a concept for a new band when the punk wave began in Great Britain . He met Gordon Sumner aka Sting at a jazz club in Newcastle . Andy Summers joined in June 1977 .

In 1984 the three musicians separated for the time being in order to pursue their own projects. In 1986 "The Police" played three concerts on the " Amnesty International - A Conspiracy of Hope Tour". After that, the musicians concentrated on their solo careers.

At the 2007 Grammy Awards on February 11, 2007 in Los Angeles, "The Police" were reunited on stage. In May 2007 the “The Police Reunion Tour” began through Canada, USA, Europe, Mexico, South America, Australia and Japan. There was also an appearance at the Live Earth concert in July 2007. On the occasion of the band's 30th anniversary, an album was released, but "with already known songs" ( New York Times interview of February 18, 2007).

Work as a composer and musician

As early as 1982 Stewart Copeland was involved in the production of the WOMAD benefit album "Music and Rhythm". One of Stewart's other collaborations was in the fall of 1983 with Stan Ridgway (ex-member of Wall of Voodoo ) "Don't Box Me In" (part of the "Rumble Fish" soundtrack), a " nervous-sounding collaboration ", which soon followed Ridgway's first solo album. In 1983 Copeland composed his first film music for the Francis Ford Coppola film Rumble Fish , which earned him a nomination for a Golden Globe .

Over 60 other soundtracks followed , e.g. E.g. for Wall Street , Talk Radio by Oliver Stone , 9 1/2 weeks , Highlander II , Kevin Costner's film Rapa Nui - Rebellion in Paradise , as some of the most famous soundtracks by Stewart Copeland, in which he also played instruments - drums, percussion , Bass guitar, piano and Fairlight CMI : Stewart Copeland is one of the pioneers of the first digital synthesizer with sampling technology, along with Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel .

In 1985 Stewart Copeland released his first official solo album "The Rhythmatist" (in collaboration with Ray Lema ) - at least under his own name - "Klark Kent" (alluding to Superman's alter ego ) gave him the opportunity in 1980 to turn his ideas into unrealized "The -Police "songs to make known to a wider audience. He produced his own recordings for a video for the album: “The Rhythmatist” is Stewart's musical world music pilgrimage through the African continent, combined in high technical quality with his talent as a multi-instrumentalist and especially his affinity for rhythms. From its de facto four solo albums "The Rhythmatist" is probably the best known and reached the Billboard 200 -charts least space 148. With the merger - bassist Stanley Clarke and the jazz singer Deborah Holland founded Copeland 1987, the Trio Animal Logic which existed until the end of 1991.

Having an already for the "San Francisco Ballet Company" Ballet had written, published Copeland 1989 opera about the crusades entitled "Holy Blood and Crescent Moon" ( Holy Blood and Crescent ). In the years that followed, Copeland composed around 60 film scores and two other operas.

In 2000 he founded the short-lived project Oysterhead (album The Grand Pecking Order ) with Primus bassist Les Claypool and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio . In 2002 he was hired as a drummer for the reunion of The Doors . Stewart has worked with Peter Gabriel (ex-member of Genesis ), Roger Daltrey ( The Who ), Zucchero , Mike Rutherford , the Simple Minds and Tom Waits , among others . In addition to his ongoing work as a guest musician and highly successful composer of film soundtracks, Copeland took part in a short tour through Italy in 2002 with the percussion quartet "Ensemble Bash" and a small orchestra. The tour was released on CD / DVD in 2005 under the title "Orchestralli" by the Ponderosa Label. “La Notte Della Taranta” is an unusual project for a rock musician, with (supposedly) strange rhythms. Here Copeland appears as the musical director of a final concert from 2003 documented on CD and DVD: In the monastery of Melpignano (Italy), the musical encounter between traditional (southern) Italian tarantella (a dance music "as if stung by the tarantula") and diverse influences was evident Pop, jazz, world music and Italian folklore dance music are celebrated. In 2003 there was a brief reunion with "The Police": 25 years after the release of their first record, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and played three songs live on the occasion. The recordings for Henry Padovani's solo album and the single - "Welcome Home: Featuring Stewart Copeland and Sting" - in 2004 were not only recognized by fans as a brief, informal reunion of the 'original Police' since the recording of "Fall Out / Nothing Achieving ”. In 2005 Copeland initiated the music project “Gizmo” with avant-garde guitarist David Fiuczynski , which made its US debut on September 16, 2006 at the “Modern Drummer Drum Festival”.

In February and March 2006, Copeland was one of two judges on the BBC television show Just the Two of Us , as well as on the second season, which continued in January 2007. "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out" is a musical documentary produced by Stewart Copeland which premiered in January 2006 at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on DVD in September 2006. For this purpose, Copeland used parts of the Super 8 film material he himself recorded between 1978 and 1983 , which shows the development of "The Police" in an approximately 74-minute documentary. Copeland also composed the music for “Ben Hur Live”, which was performed in Europe in autumn 2009. In this piece he also worked as a narrator in the English-speaking countries of the tour.

In 2016, Rolling Stone listed Copeland as tenth of the 100 best drummers of all time .

Discography (excerpt)

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
The Rhythmatist
  US 148 October 12, 1985 (8 weeks)
Singles
Don't Box Me In (with Stan Ridgway )
  UK 91 02/04/1984 (1 week)
The Equalizer Busy Equalizing
  UK 96 12/12/1987 (2 weeks)

Albums with "Curved Air"

  • 1975 - Midnight Wire
  • 1976 - Airborne

Albums with Eberhard Schoener

  • 1978 - Video Magic
  • 1978 - Video Flashback

Albums with "The Police"

Studio albums

  • 1977 Fall Out / Nothing Achieving (May 1977: Debut single with Copeland / Sting / Padovani)
  • 1978 - Outlandos d'Amour (November 1978)
  • 1979 - Reggatta De Blanc (October 1979)
  • 1980 - Zenyatta Mondatta (October 1980)
  • 1981 Ghost in the Machine (October 1981)
  • 1983 - Synchronicity (June 1983)

Compilations

  • 1986 - Every Breath You Take - The Singles (October 1986 and reissued in 'Fall 1990')
  • 1990 - Their Greatest Hits (October 1990)
  • 1992 - Greatest Hits (October 1992)
  • 1993 - Message in a Box - The Complete Recordings (September 28, 1993)
  • 1995 - The Police Live! (June 13, 1995)
  • 1995 - Every Breath You Take - The Classics (September 12, 1995)
  • 1997 - Strontium 90: Police Academy (July 29, 1997)
  • 1997 - The Very Best of Sting & The Police (November 1997 and reprinted February 21, 2001)

Albums as a solo artist

  • 1980 - Klark Kent (under the pseudonym Klark Kent) - IRS Records
  • 1980 - Klark Kent: Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid - IRS Records
  • 1985 - The Rhythmatist - A&M Records
  • 1987 - The Equalizer and Other Cliff Hangers - IRS Records
  • 1990 - Noah's Ark - Lightyear
  • 1995 - Klark Kent: Collected Works - IRS Records
  • 2003 - La Notte Della Taranta (on CD / DVD)
  • 2005 - Orchestralli (CD / DVD: 2002 tour with the "Ensemble Bash")

Operas, symphonies and ballets

  • 1986 - King Lear - San Francisco Ballet Company, USA
  • 1988 - Emilio - Trento Ballet Company, Italy
  • 1989 - Holy Blood & Crescent Moon - Cleveland Opera, USA
  • 1989 - Horse Opera - Opera for Channel 4 (GB 1992)
  • 1993 - Noah's Ark / Solcheeka - Seattle Symphony Orchestra, USA
  • 1994 - Casque of Amontillado
  • 1999 - Prey - Ballet

Animal Logic albums

  • 1989 - Animal Logic
  • 1991 - Animal Logic II

Album with "Oysterhead"

  • 2001 - The Grand Pecking Order (Oysterhead, October 2, 2001)

Album with " Gizmodrome "

  • 2017 - Gizmodrome (Gizmodrome, September 15, 2017)

Filmography

Film music

Video games

Songwriter

Musician

  • 1994: Secret World Live (with Peter Gabriel, voice)

actor

  • 1980: Punk and Its Aftershocks - British Rock
  • 1981: Urgh! A music war
  • 1981: BBC documentary about the recordings of "Ghost in the Machine"
  • 1982: Police: Around the World
  • 1983: Cheggers Plays Pop (TV series, episode # 6.7)
  • 1984: The Police: Synchronicity Concert
  • 1984: The Young Ones (TV series, episode "Cash")
  • 1984: Late Night with David Letterman (episode February 9, 1984)
  • 1987: The Police: Every Breath You Take - The Videos
  • 1988: She's Having a Baby (uncredited)
  • 1996: I Want My MTV (voice)
  • 1999: Film-Fest DVD: Issue 1 - Sundance (voice)
  • 1999: South Park: The Movie - bigger, longer, uncut (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , voice)
  • 2000: Searching for Roger Taylor
  • 2000: VH1's Behind the Music (TV series, episode "1984")
  • 2001: 100 Greatest Number One Singles (TV)
  • 2001: Big Sound (TV series, episode "Jam Session")
  • 2003: I Love the '80s Strikes Back (Mini TV series)
  • 2005: Rumble Fish: The Percussion-Based Score (voice)
  • 2006: Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out (also director, camera, producer, editor)
  • 2006: Zibb .... (TV series, episode October 24, 2006)
  • 2006: Through the night with ... (TV series, episode Stewart Copeland and Daniel Hope)
  • 2006: Just the Two of Us (TV series, 12 episodes from 2006 to 2007)
  • 2007: Breakfast (TV series, 1st episode from January 5, 2007)

literature

  • Miles Copeland Junior: The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics. Simon & Schuster, New York 1970.
  • Miles Copeland Junior: Without Cloak or Dagger: The Truth About the New Espionage. Simon & Schuster, New York 1974.
  • Miles Copeland junior: The Game Player: Confessions of the CIA's Original Political Operative. Aurum Press, London 1989, ISBN 0-948149-87-6 .
  • Ian Copeland, Wild Thing: The Backstage, On the Road, In the Studio, Off the Charts Memoirs of Ian Copeland. Simon & Schuster, New York 1995, ISBN 0-684-81508-7 .
  • Didi Zill: The Police - Photos from 1979 to 1981. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-492-2 .
  • Sting: Broken Music. The autobiography. Fischer, 2005, ISBN 978-3-596-16249-9 .
  • Henry Padovani: Secret Police Man. Editions Flammarion, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-08-068943-6 .
  • Andy Summers: One Train Later: a memoir. Thomas Dunne Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-312-35914-4 .

Web links

Interviews

See also

swell

  1. ↑ « My hometown is on fire. On the hotel TV I can see that the country I grew up in is being consumed by internal strife and an invasion from outside. I lamented the violence that was being brought against my people, then I made the shell of my cocoon even thicker. »Quote from the interview by Ralf Rättig (3sat, Kulturzeit) with Stewart Copeland on October 25, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Inside views of a legend: Steward Copeland's documentary about 'The Police'" , online on 3sat . Interview by Ralf Rättig (Kulturzeit) with Stewart Copeland on October 25, 2006.
  3. ↑ getreadytorock.com: Interview: Sonja Kristina
  4. ↑ Stewart Copeland: Strange Things Happen: A Life with "The Police", Polo, and Pygmies . HarperCollins, 2009.
  5. ↑ "The Police To Reunite On GRAMMYs" ( Memento of February 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English). Official press release dated January 30, 2007 on The Grammy Awards website.
  6. ↑ Website "O'Reilly Emgerging Technology Conference" from 26 to 29 March, 2007 San Diego, California , in an interview with Stewart Copeland for Fairlight CMI (English)
  7. ↑ Review of "The Rhythmatist" (album) on " All Music Guide (AMG)" (English)
  8. ^ The New York Times of October 12, 1989, detailed review by John Rockwell online (English)
  9. ^ Review of "Orchestralli" on CDstarts.de
  10. ^ "La Notte Della Taranta" website (Italian)
  11. ↑ Stewart Copeland's music documentary "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out" on "laut.de"
  12. ↑ Ben Hur Live
  13. ↑ 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Rolling Stone , March 31, 2016, accessed August 6, 2017 .
  14. ↑ a b Chart sources: UK US
  15. ↑ Review of "Klark Kent: Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid" on "AMG" (English)
  16. ↑ Review of "The Equalizer and other Cliff Hangers" on "AMG" (English)
  17. ↑ Review of "Noah's Ark" on "AMG" (English)
  18. ↑ Review of "Orchestralli" on "AMG" (English)
  19. ↑ forbes.com: 1,006 views Jul 19, 2018, 7:47 pm 'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' To Include New Stewart Copeland Music Plus Retro Soundtrack Option
  20. ^ "One Train Later" on Andy Summers website ( memento from March 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ): " In this intimate, revealing work, Andy Summers writes fluidly about his first guitar, his experiences with earlier bands, his relationships and encounters with Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, John Belushi, and The Police, and more. »
personal data
SURNAME Copeland, Stewart
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Copeland, Stewart Armstrong (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American multi-instrumentalist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Alexandria , Virginia , USA