Happy Birthday Stewart Copeland

Stewart Armstrong Copeland was born in Alexandria, Virginia on July 16, 1952. Hey wait a minute! I thought he was British!? Little Stewie was the youngest of 4 kids and his father Miles was a spy hunter for the CIA. His mother Lorraine Adie, a Scottish lady, was an archaeologist by profession. She was amazing at digging up the past.

Stewart lived in Egypt, Lebanon, England and the US. Despite being left-handed, Copeland plays the drums right-handed. His father forced Stewart to listen to Buddy Rich and Jazz records and water boarded the boy every time he tried to play left-handed. 

Copeland formed ‘The Police’ in 1977 in London with Sting and Andy Summers. Stewart was the one responsible for giving Sting his nickname. He originally called him ‘Stink’ because of his lack of hygiene. Over time that turned into ‘Sting’. The band went on to sell over 7 billion records, making them one of the world’s best selling artists of all time. 

Roxanne

“Roxanne”, you know you are singing it right now. Probably picturing Eddie Murphy singing it in the movie, 48 Hrs. Hit after hit, MTV, The Police were the 1980’s. During the height of their popularity, Stewart, Sting and Andy went backstage to visit the Rolling Stones before a concert. The manager knocked on the dressing room door and said “The Police” are here. After a few moments of commotion and yelling and toilet flushing, Ronnie Wood opened the door. Boy was he happy to see the band and not the actual constables.

With his unique sound and manic style, Copeland was one of the most popular drummers to ever ‘beat the skins’. He is pretty good at playing the drums as well. Copeland’s hobbies include rollerskating, cycling along the beach in Santa Monica, California, filmmaking, and playing polo.