Born in 1952, in Virginia, Stewart Copeland – the son of a CIA agent – spent his formative years in the Middle East but attended college in California before settling in England in 1975. He joined the progressive rock outfit Curved Air, working first as their road manager then as their drummer.

In early 77, he founded the Police with singer/bassist Sting and guitarist Henri Padovani (soon replaced by Andy Summers). Their first hit, 79’s “Roxanne,” set the course for huge success to follow.

The trio emerged as one of the most popular and innovative bands of the post-punk era, drawing upon reggae, funk, and world music to create a uniquely infectious yet cerebral brand of pop which generated a series of smash singles including “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Every Breath You Take,” and “King of Pain.”

While with the Police, Steward also issued a solo record under the alias Klark Kent. This not only earned him wide critical acclaim for his intricate, textured drum work, but also for his songwriting as he contributed many of the group’s songs.

When the Police officially disbanded in 1986, the band was still at their commercial peak. Disagreements betwenn members had caused the trio’s collapse and Stewart took to composing film scores, earning himself a Golden Globe nomination. He increasingly spent more time on film scores.

In 2002, Stewart formed a new rock-oriented project, Oysterhead – a power trio supergroup. A year later he produced and directed Everyone Stares, a documentary film about his time in the Police.

In 2007, Stewart reunited with his former bandmates to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Stewart also wrote his memoir, Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies at this time.

In 2021, Stewart collaborated on the instrumental ‘Divine Tides’. The album won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album, giving Copeland his first Grammy win outside of the five he earned as a member of the Police. 

He also released ‘Police Deranged for Orchestra‘ where he reworked Police hits for an orchestra.

In 2023, he published Stewart Copeland’s Police Diaries, a book based on his original diary entries from 1976-1979.

This week Stewart Copeland joins us to regale us with his many stories.

If you’d like to kmow more about him head for https://www.stewartcopeland.net/151/life-and-work

If you’d like to request a guest, send me a message through my website https:www.abreathoffreshair.com.au

I know you’re going to LOVE this episode. He’s quite a character!

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Sandy Kaye Sandy Kaye

Hello, I’m Sandy Kaye. A freelance broadcaster, journalist and producer who has spent more than 35 years on both sides of radio and television microphones. I’ve worked with every TV network in Australia, have produced and presented for countless radio stations around the country and have hosted my own commercial radio talk-back show. I’ve even held the distinction of being Sydney’s first female newsreader on radio – way back when!

Today my passion is A Breath of Fresh Air which allows me to immerse myself in one of my favourite things – music. I just love all kinds of music and am fascinated by the people who make it. In particular, it’s the music of the '60s '70s and '80s that takes me back to my youth and means so much to me.

As a journalist, I’m all about digging deep into the classic hits of our time.
I bring you intimate, warm, fireside chats with the artists who tell us about their lives both then and now.
We learn about what makes them tick, who they are in their professional and private lives and how they went about making the soundtrack to our lives.

'A Breath of Fresh Air’ is exceptional - exceptional not because of me, but rather because of the stories that some of the best-known musical artists choose to share with me.

I created this podcast to honour them. It’s all about THEIR lives, THEIR stories, THEIR music, told now, in THEIR voices, before they’re lost forever.

I see my podcast as a personal labour of love, but also as an archival legacy for music fans and practitioners alike, both current and future, who otherwise might never know of the amazing people who helped build the industry.

I really hope you enjoy each and every episode of A Breath of Fresh Air.