What has become of Stewart Copeland?

What’s up friends?! Today, let’s talk about Klark Kent! Nope, not Superman, his alter-ego’s name is spelled as C-L-A-R-K and not K-L-A-R-K. But I agree, this Klark Kent is Super! A Super talented drummer that some may not notice! For some of you who may not know who Klark Kent is, well, he is none other than… Stewart Copeland!

Stewart Copeland is famously known as the drummer of The Police. He used Klark Kent as his alias in the late 1970s. Aside from being a musician and composer, he was also a producer. He produced many films and video game soundtracks. He also wrote various music pieces for ballet, orchestra, and opera. In 2003, Copeland was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Police. In 2005, he was inducted in the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, and in the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013. And in 2016, Copeland was ranked 10th as the best drummer of all time by the Rolling Stone magazine.
But where is Stewart Copeland now? What keeps him busy? What has he become now? Well, let’s get to know him more!

Young Copeland

Stewart Armstrong Copeland was born on 16 July 1952 in Alexandria, Virginia. He was the youngest of four children of Lorraine Adie, a Scottish archaeologist, and a CIA officer Miles Copeland Jr., whom according to his 1989 biography and CIA files released in 2008, he was a founding member of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) and the CIA.
Few months after he was born, they moved to Cairo, Egypt. And when he was 5 years old, they were relocated to Beirut, Lebanon. While in Beirut, he discovered his talent and love on drums. Ian, his elder brother, was a drummer in a local band. And so following his brother’s footsteps, he picked up the sticks and started to play.
Copeland was assisted and encouraged by his father who was also a trumpeter in The Glenn Miller band. His first drum teacher was an old jazz drummer. Copeland was a fast learner and had his first real gig in his teens.

Early Careers

His family suddenly moved to England, and from there, opportunities opened up for Copeland to pursue his music career. First, he became a journalist for a drummer magazine, then he worked as a road manager for the progressive rock band Curved Air during their 1974 reunion tour. Eventually, Copeland was hired as the band’s drummer and recorded the album Midnight Wire (1975), and Airborne (1976). They became a very popular live act and their shows are always sold out, but their new recordings are not charting until the band broke up quietly. Way pursued solo career, as well as Kristina. But unlike Way, Kristina and Copeland maintained their relationship that was formed while being as bandmates, and soon they got married and have three sons.

The Police

In 1977, Copeland founded a trio and it was formed on the energy and vibe of punk music. He called it “The Police”, as according to him, it is a “provocative name in its time that capitalized on the everyday brawls that broke out between punks and law enforcement: a regular police presence in the streets of London meant free marketing for the band.”
The second member is the guitarist, Henry Padovani who has been a member from January 1977 – August 1977. He was then replaced by Andy Summers. And the third member will be the one who caught Copeland’s attention while watching a concert, he is none other than Last Exit’s bassist, Sting!
The trio became one of the most popular bands in the late 1970s until early 1980s. Despite having short years in the music industry, they still won many awards and become one of the best-selling bands, and even one of the greatest artists of all time.
The band has a lot of ups and downs. And yes, they have lots of accomplishments but in 1986, they have to disband because their personal conflicts are getting physical especially between Copeland and Sting.

After the break-up, Copeland concentrated on his composing career for movie soundtracks and musical scores. Let’s check out his discography below!

Discography

Studio albums

• Klark Kent: Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid – 1980 – as Klark Kent
• The Rhythmatist – 1985 – Soundtrack for documentary
• The Equalizer and Other Cliff Hangers – 1988 – Soundtrack for TV series
• Mr. Doubles – 1989 – with Moon on the Water
• Animal Logic – 1989 – with Animal Logic
• Noah’s Ark – 1990 – Audiobook
• Animal Logic II – 1991 – with Animal Logic
• Kollected Works – 1995 – as Klark Kent
• The Grand Pecking Order – 2001 – with Oysterhead
• Orchestralli – 2004 – Live album
• La Notte della Taranta – 2004 – Orchestral score
• The Stewart Copeland Anthology – 2007 – Compilation
• Gizmodrome – 2017 – with Gizmodrome
• Divine Tides – 2021 – with Ricky Kej

Singles and EPs as Klark Kent

• Too Kool to Kalypso – 1978
• Don’t Care – 1978
• Rich in a Ditch – 1980
• Away from Home – 1980

Film Scores

• Rumble Fish – 1983
• The Rhythmatist – 1985
• Out of Bounds – 1986
• Wall Street – 1987
• Talk Radio – 1988
• She’s Having a Baby – 1988
• The Jogger – 1988
• See No Evil, Hear No Evil – 1989
• Taking Care of Business – 1990
• The First Power – 1990
• Men at Work – 1990
• Hidden Agenda – 1990
• Riff Raff – 1991
• Highlander II: The Quickening – 1991
• Fugitive Among Us – 1992
• Afterburn – 1992
• Horse Opera – 1993
• Wide Sargasso Sea – 1993
• Airborne – 1993
• Raining Stones – 1993
• Bank Robber – 1993
• Surviving the Game – 1994
• Decadence – 1994
• Rapa-Nui – 1994
• Fresh – 1994
• Silent Fall – 1994
• Judgement – 1995
• White Dwarf – 1995
• Tyson – 1995
• The Assassination File – 1996
• The Leopard Son – 1996
• SubUrbia – 1996
• Boys – 1996
• The Pallbearer – 1996
• Gridlock’d – 1997
• Anna Karenina – 1997
• Four Days in September – 1997
• Good Burger – 1997
• Little Boy Blue – 1997
• Going All the Way – 1997
• Welcome to Woop Woop – 1997
• Central Station – 1998
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three – 1998
• Futuresport – 1998
• Legalese – 1998
• West Beirut – 1998
• Very Bad Things – 1998
• Simpatico – 1999
• She’s All That – 1999
• Boys and Girls – 2000
• More Dogs Than Bones – 2000
• 3 Strikes – 2000
• Sunset Strip – 2000
• Skipped Parts – 2001
• On the Line – 2001
• Deuces Wild – 2002
• Me and Daphne – 2002
• I Am David – 2003
• Evel Knievel – 2003
• Amazon Forever – 2004
• Love Wrecked – 2005
• Riding the Bus with My Sister – 2005
• Fish Eye – 2005
• National Lampoon’s Pucked – 2006
• Everyone Stares – 2006
• We Are Your Friends – 2015
• Under the Volcano – 2021

TV Series

• The Young Ones – 1984
• The Equalizer – 1985
• Star Wars: Droids – 1985
• Shalom Salaam – 1989
• Long Ago and Far Away – 1989
• Babylon 5 – 1994
• Insiders – 1997
• The Amanda Show – 1999-2002
• Brutally Normal – 2000
• Breaking News – 2002
• Dead Like Me – 2003-2004
• Desperate Housewives – 2004
• The Life and Times of Juniper Lee – 2005-2007
• Amas de Casa Desesperadas – 2008
• Stewart Copeland‘s Adventures in Music – 2020

Video games

• Urban Strike – 1994
• Spyro the Dragon – 1998
• Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! – 1999
• Spyro: Year of the Dragon – 2000
• Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare – 2001
• Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly – 2002
• Guitar Hero: World Tour – 2009
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy – 2018

With The Police

Studio albums

• Outlandos d’Amour – 2 November 1978
• Reggatta de Blanc – 2 October 1979
• Zenyatta Mondatta – 3 October 1980
• Ghost in the Machine – 2 October 1981
• Synchronicity – 17 June 1983

Live albums

• Live! – May 1995
• Certifiable: Live in Buenos Aires – November 2008
• Around the World – 20 May 2022

Compilation albums

• Every Breath You Take: The Singles – October 1986
• Their Greatest Hits – October 1990
• Greatest Hits – September 1992
• Every Breath You Take: The Classics – March 1995
• The Very Best of Sting & The Police – November 1997
• The Police – June 2007
• The 50 Greatest Songs – April 2009

Box sets

• Six Pack – May 1980
• Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings – September 1993
• Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings – November 2018

Extended plays

• Voices Inside My Head (Remixes) – May 1995

Singles (Title – Album – Year)

• Fall Out – non-album single – 1977
• Roxanne – Outlandos d’Amour – 1978
• Can’t Stand Losing You – Outlandos d’Amour – 1978
• So Lonely – Outlandos d’Amour – 1978
• Roxanne (re-issue) – Outlandos d’Amour – 1979
• Can’t Stand Losing You (re-issue) – Outlandos d’Amour – 1979
• Message in a Bottle – Reggatta de Blanc – 1979
• Fall Out (re-issue) – non-album single – 1979
• Walking on the Moon – Reggatta de Blanc – 1979
• Bring on the Night – Reggatta de Blanc – 1979
• So Lonely (re-issue) – Outlandos d’Amour – 1980
• The Bed’s Too Big Without You – Reggatta de Blanc – 1980
• Don’t Stand So Close to Me – Zenyatta Mondatta – 1980
• De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da – Zenyatta Mondatta – 1980
• Invisible Sun – Ghost in the Machine – 1981
• Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic – Ghost in the Machine – 1981
• Spirits in the Material World – Ghost in the Machine – 1981
• Secret Journey – Ghost in the Machine – 1982
• Every Breath You Take – Synchronicity – 1983
• Wrapped Around Your Finger – Synchronicity – 1983
• Synchronicity II – Synchronicity – 1983
• King of Pain – Synchronicity – 1983
• Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86 – Every Breath You Take: The Singles – 1986
• Can’t Stand Losing You (Live) – Live! – 1995
• Roxanne ’97 (Remix feat. Puff Daddy) – The Very Best of Sting & The Police – 1997
• When the World Is Running Down (Different Gear vs. The Police) – non-album single – 2000

Video albums, music video compilations and documentaries

• Around the World (1982)
• Synchronicity Concert (1984) – AUS: Platinum
• Every Breath You Take: The Videos (1986) – AUS: Gold
• Outlandos to Synchronicities – A History of The Police Live! (1995)
• The Very Best of Sting & The Police (1997)
• Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out (2006)
• Greatest Video Hits (2007)
• Reggatta de Blanc (2007)
• Better Than Therapy (2008)
• Certifiable: Live in Buenos Aires (2008)
• Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police (2012)
• Rock’n’Roll of Corse (2017)

Music videos

• Roxanne (1978)
• Can’t Stand Losing You (1978)
• Message in a Bottle (1979)
• Walking on the Moon (1979)
• The Bed’s Too Big Without You (1979)
• So Lonely (1980)
• Don’t Stand So Close to Me (1980)
• De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (1980)
• Spirits in the Material World (1981)
• One World (Not Three) (1981)
• Demolition Man (1981)
• Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (1981)
• “Invisible Sun” (1982)
• “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
• “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (1983)
• “Synchronicity II” (1983)
• “King of Pain” (1983)
• “Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86” (1986)

The Witches Seed

Now this is his latest project. Music by Stewart Copeland, the Witches Seed is a rock opera that is inspired by a true story. It is a tale of witches, persecutions and illusions.
The idea is from Maddalena Caleroni. Given life by the music of the genius Stewart Copeland. Award-winning British playwright Jonathan Moore is the libretto. Some of the songs that was featured in the opera was authored by Chrissie Hynde, the leader of the famous group, The Pretenders. And the songs were extraordinarily interpreted by Irene Grandi.
This rock opera is so interesting because aside from the very talented people behind it, I have read that it has an immersive video scenography, sounds very spectacular!

Tour 2022

Missing the songs of The Police? USA and Europe, here’s a good news for you! Stewart Copeland: Police Deranged for Orchestra (Tour 2022) will give you a high energy orchestral evening! This is a celebration for the works of the legendary rock star, composer, and a genius Stewart Copeland. You can hear some of the biggest hits of the band The Police like Roxanne, Message in a Bottle, and Don’t Stand So Close to Me.
For dates, location, venues, and tickets for both The Witches Seed and Stewart Copeland: Police Deranged for Orchestra (Tour 2022), and for more of Stewart Copeland, please don’t hesitate to visit his website: https://www.stewartcopeland.net/

Do you have any favorite song or music by Stewart Copeland? Don’t be shy to share it with us by giving a comment below! We would really love to hear from you. See you on my next blog!