Stewart Copeland

Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952 in Alexandria, Virginia) is an American musician and composer best known for his innovative drumming with the English rock band The Police. Growing up as the youngest of four in a family with a CIA‑linked father and a Scottish archaeologist mother, Copeland spent his early years in the Middle East before attending schools in England and the United States, where he began formal drum lessons at age twelve. By the mid‑1970s he was road‑manager and then drummer for the progressive group Curved Air, an experience that honed his eclectic style blending rock, reggae, jazz, and Middle‑Eastern rhythms. In 1977 he co‑founded The Police with Sting and Andy Summers, contributing distinctive percussive textures that helped propel the band to global fame, while also writing early singles such as “Fall Out.” After the group’s breakup in 1986, Copeland launched a prolific solo career, scoring films like Wall Street and the Spyro video‑game series, composing ballet and opera works, and releasing solo albums under his own name and the pseudonym Klark Kent. His awards include a Golden Globe nomination, multiple Hall of Fame inductions, and a ranking as the 10th greatest drummer by Rolling Stone in 2016. Beyond recording, Copeland has collaborated with artists ranging from Peter Gabriel to Les Claypool, formed supergroups such as Oysterhead and Gizmodrome, and pursued interdisciplinary projects including a BlackBerry ringtone suite and academic research at McGill University. He has authored a memoir, produced documentary film, and remains an active YouTuber, sharing jam sessions from his “Sacred Grove” studio. Married first to vocalist Sonja Kristina and now to Fiona, he is father to seven children and continues to influence contemporary percussion through both performance and education.