Stewart Copeland

Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer who was the drummer of the English rock band the Police (1977–1984, 1986, 2007–2008). Before the Police, he played drums with the progressive rock band Curved Air (1975–1976).

As a composer, Copeland's work includes the scores of the films Wall Street (1987), Men at Work (1990), Good Burger (1997), and We Are Your Friends (2015); the theme music for television shows The Equalizer, The Amanda Show, and Dead Like Me; and the scores for video games in the Spyro series and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare. He has also written pieces for ballet, opera, and orchestra.

According to MusicRadar, Copeland's "distinctive drum sound and uniqueness of style has made him one of the most popular drummers to ever get behind a drumset". He was ranked the 10th-best drummer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2016. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Police in 2003, the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.

Stewart Armstrong Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 16, 1952, the youngest of four children of British archaeologist Lorraine Copeland (née Adie; 1921–2013) and American espionage officer Miles Copeland Jr. (1916–1991). His mother was born in London, while his father was from Alabama. His father was, according to his own 1989 biography and files released by the CIA in 2008, a key intelligence operative in Britain during the Second World War and a founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency. Stewart's mother was also an espionage veteran, serving in the British Special Operations Executive.

Miles Copeland was assigned CIA duties in the Middle East and the family moved to Cairo a few months after Stewart's birth. When Stewart was five years old the family moved to Beirut, where he attended the American Community School. He started taking drumming lessons at age 12 and was playing drums for school dances within a year. He later moved to England, attending the American School in London and Millfield boarding school in Somerset from 1967 to 1969. He went to college in California, enrolling at Alliant International University and the University of California, Berkeley. His eldest brother, Miles Copeland III (born 1944), founded I.R.S. Records and became the Police's manager. He has also overseen Copeland's interests in other music projects. His other brother, Ian Copeland (1949–2006), was a pioneering booking agent who represented the Police and many others.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.