An Interview with Stewart Copeland

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stewart Copeland is heading to the Yorkshire Coast this autumn with his first ever spoken word tour. In Have I Said Too Much? The Police, Hollywood, and Other Adventures, the legendary drummer, composer and creative force behind The Police reflects on his extraordinary life and career in music, film and beyond. With most dates now almost sold out, Scarborough Spa will be one of just 13 UK venues to host this intimate and entertaining live event.

He’s a bona fide rock star, the sort of head-turning, headline-generating, household name who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before today’s music stars had even been born. Stewart Copeland became an all-time great after recruiting Sting and Andy Summers into his band, The Police, in 1977.

They enjoyed four consecutive number one studio albums, winning Grammy and BRIT Awards, and selling a cool 75 million records. Enjoying number-one hits with ‘Message in A Bottle’, ‘Walking On The Moon’, ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’, ‘Everything Little Thing She Does Is Magic’, and the peerless, multi-platinum ‘Every Breath You Take’, The Police became one of the most influential bands that Britain has ever produced. For a while, they were the biggest in the world, before disbanding at the height of their fame in 1986 and periodically returning for one-offs and a reunion tour in 2007, which was the highest grossing in the world.

“Far from done”

Copeland was far from done. After The Police first disbanded, he began composing soundtracks for cult and blockbuster movies, starting with Grammy-winning Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumblefish. He’s spent the subsequent near-four decades at the forefront of contemporary music, as a rock star and acclaimed film composer, and across the worlds of opera, ballet, chamber, and world music.

More recently, he published two autobiographical books and unveiled Police Deranged For Orchestra, a remarkable, orchestral reimagining of The Police’s best works. A polymath and creative tour de force, Copeland is anything but ‘yer average rock star’.

“It’s been quite a ride,” he says, modestly as he looks back across the remarkable terrain during his 72 years on planet earth.

His path to greatness may have been inevitable. He grew up in America and the Middle East to a Scottish archaeologist mother, Lorraine, and an intelligence agency father, Miles Jr, who was a spy and one of the founding members of the CIA. His older brothers, Miles III and the late Ian, had equally starry careers. Miles managed The Police and founded a record label that released REM and The Go-Go’s, while Ian was responsible for breaking a new wave of British bands in the USA.

“My eldest brother, Miles, pretty much brought the English New Wave invasion to America,” he reflects. “Between him and Ian, they single-handedly did it. Miles was the record company guy and manager; Ian was the agent. They were both learning in London, cutting a swathe.”

“An empowering mojo”

Music was in the Copeland family’s blood. Stewart’s father was a jazz aficionado and the first record that his youngest son bought was Help! by The Beatles. The family was living in Beirut at the time, and Copeland loved The Beatles, The Stones – and The Kinks most of all.

Music became the driving force in the young Stewart Copeland’s life. An epiphany came when he was playing drums in a school band at age 12 and noticed a girl, Janet Roberts, dancing to his beat. “That was an empowering mojo… it grew me up.”

A second epiphany came at Wells Cathedral during a Christmas service. “I was 15, and it was like God had landed right there… That told me there was indeed a higher purpose in music, higher even than 15-year-old girls called Janet.”

“Creative tensions”

Copeland joined 70s prog band Curved Air and by 1977 had formed The Police. The rest is history – but it came with its challenges. “There’s a point where there’s such a thing as too much love, too much adoration, and that becomes oppressive… It was everything we ever dreamed of and more, yet there was a strange sense of vertigo.”

Creative tensions were never far from the surface. “The Police were not birds of a feather. Sting runs quiet and deep whereas I am noisy and shallow… I’m not a song guy. I’m all about the riff.”

Copeland soon found relief in composing. Working on Rumblefish for Coppola opened his eyes to a new creative outlet. “It was sheer heaven to learn that there was a world outside of The Police.”

He has since written for ballet, film and opera, released two books, and developed a love for polo. “Instead of a cocaine habit, I had a horse habit,” he jokes. “It was just the perfect way to enjoy an English summer.”

In 2025, spoken word will become the latest string to Copeland’s creative bow – and audiences across the UK will get to hear the stories, anecdotes and reflections of a genuine music icon, live on stage.

Stewart Copeland will be appearing at the Scarborough Spa on Thursday 30 October 2025. Tickets here.