The “groundbreaking” prog band that Stewart Copeland thought were “crap” at the time: “I never would have guessed from having seen them live”
Stewart Copeland has looked back on his early days encountering prog bands – and confessed that first impressions can sometimes be deceiving.
In a recent interview with Classic Rock, the former Police drummer shares a surprising revelation about one of the bands he encountered on the road: “Yes I do [still listen to a bit of prog]. A good example would be Hawkwind,” he says.
“Back in the seventies I roadied for a band that supported them, and they were crap. Decades later I realise that they were actually a groundbreaking, interesting band. I never would have guessed from having seen them live.”
READ MORE: “They didn’t want to piss me off, because I had too much power at that point”: Why the Police’s label didn’t want Andy Summers making an album with Robert Fripp
The musician also weighs in on the perennial question of a Police reunion, saying the odds of one occurring are “slim”.
“We are enjoying life – and each other – too much away from being in a band together,” he explains. “Why jeopardise it by going back into that place where we shout and scream at each other all of the time? I understand now why we did that, because we had band therapy, and I know it’s because the three of us were put on this planet to make different kinds of music.”
For now, Copeland remains busy with new creative ventures. His upcoming album, Artefacts From The Vault, will feature unreleased material from up to twenty years ago, while the second leg of his spoken-word tour, Have I Said Too Much?, kicks off in Southport on 24 September.
In related news, Police frontman Sting has been sued by his former bandmates Copeland and Andy Summers over lost royalties from the band’s biggest hit, Every Breath You Take. The pair are seeking “substantial damages,” claiming “they are owed millions in lost royalties”.
In response, Sting’s camp has hit back, with Summers’ lawyer arguing that both Summers and Copeland have actually been “substantially overpaid” over the years.
Every Breath You Take, which appears on the band’s fifth and final album Synchronicity, was the best-selling single of 1983, and the fifth best-selling of the decade. Sting, who’s credited as the song’s sole writer, reportedly collects £550,000 in royalties from the track each year.
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