Stewart Copeland was born on July 16, 1952 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA as Stewart Armstrong Copeland. He is known for his work on Wall Street (1987), Pecker (1998) and Rumble Fish (1983). He has been married to Fiona Dent since 1993. They have three children. He was previously married to Sonja Kristina.
[in 1980] We've broken all existing records as far back as The Beatles, at this point, in terms of s...Show more »
[in 1980] We've broken all existing records as far back as The Beatles, at this point, in terms of speed of record sales, the kind of hysteria. There hasn't been such a clear lead for one group, ahead of all the rest. The last group who had a clear lead were Queen, but we're bigger now than Queen were then. We're probably bigger than Led Zeppelin too, because they never had any teen appeal or hysteria. I suppose the Bay City Rollers had hysteria, but they didn't have any music. Show less «
I am a crusader, educating musicians who have the depth of talent for large-scale enterprises. I enc...Show more »
I am a crusader, educating musicians who have the depth of talent for large-scale enterprises. I encourage them. It's really a lot of fun. It's magnificent when you hear the orchestra pump it out. Learning to score a chart is easier than learning French. There are fewer words and, being musicians, the people I'm talking about already have that covered. Show less «
When I was a film composer under a deadline those instruments would gather dust. And any time I spen...Show more »
When I was a film composer under a deadline those instruments would gather dust. And any time I spent hooting away on my bass clarinet just for the fun of it felt like time wasted. Then I came to the realization that it's not goofing off, that's what I'm here for. Show less «
I was not a big fan of opera. I didn't really "get" the first few I saw until I saw a David Hockney ...Show more »
I was not a big fan of opera. I didn't really "get" the first few I saw until I saw a David Hockney production of "Tristan". That was en education as to what it's all about with opera: the power, the majesty, the kick-ass of a big orchestra and a big story. Show less «
I have the most enormous gong in the world; it's bigger than Neil Peart's, and it's bigger than John...Show more »
I have the most enormous gong in the world; it's bigger than Neil Peart's, and it's bigger than John Bonham's. If Neil has a revolving kit, then I have a bigger gong. I play other instruments as well, mind you, but drums are my main thing. Show less «
Smile my friends, in show-biz you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Smile my friends, in show-biz you have to take the rough with the smooth.
I didn't say I was religious. I'm a big fan of the Old Testament and the perfidy it contains. I read...Show more »
I didn't say I was religious. I'm a big fan of the Old Testament and the perfidy it contains. I read very little fiction. Show less «
I have great respect for rap artists. In fact, not for the rap artists, but the people who make the ...Show more »
I have great respect for rap artists. In fact, not for the rap artists, but the people who make the music over which they rap. Rap music - the music itself is incredible - but [the people that make the music] are hardly ever credited. The guy who gets the credit, whose picture is on the album cover, is the guy who's making the unpleasant noise with stupid lyrics that don't mean anything to me. But the music underneath it is really important and really creative. Those guys never seem to be credited. Show less «
In our day, we were The Beatles of the '70s or the '80s or whichever...and we were the biggest thing...Show more »
In our day, we were The Beatles of the '70s or the '80s or whichever...and we were the biggest thing since whatever and then six months after we broke up, Duran Duran were the biggest. After that, somebody else was and, six months ago, Oasis were the biggest. Now the Spice Girls are. So it's kind of hard to take any of that seriously. Show less «
Classical music was always going through my head. Even when I listened to Hendrix [Jimi Hendrix] I i...Show more »
Classical music was always going through my head. Even when I listened to Hendrix [Jimi Hendrix] I imagined strings around him. I was never into opera, though. I had a problem with the singers. That exaggerated vibrato. It obscures the melody. Then I saw Wagner [Richard Wagner]'s "Parsifal" and I got it - overwrought dramatic subjects and overwrought dramatic music sobbing with emotion. When the opportunity to write one came, I thought, "There's nothing wrong with opera that a good opera wouldn't fix". Show less «
The film composer has the widest skill set of any musician because he has to go to places that his i...Show more »
The film composer has the widest skill set of any musician because he has to go to places that his instincts wouldn't take him. I learned all kinds of useful stuff that I now apply to my own artistic vision. Show less «