Hear Stewart Copeland’s remarkable isolated drums for The Police song ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me’
Stewart Copeland is widely regarded as the thinking man’s favourite drummer. Not blessed with the juggernaut power of John bonham, the maniacal wit of Keith Moon or the ferocious precision of Ginger Baker, where Copeland excelled was technical proficiency and potent rhythm. Possessing the perfect mix of Ringo Starr’s unique feel and Neil Peart’s accurate artistry, The Police drummer should be considered one of the very best.
That’s because he is considered one of the very best by one of the very best. Dave Grohl has never been one to shy away from idolizing the drummers who gave him the inspiration to excel in rock and roll and has often cited Copeland’s work with The Police as one of the foremost formative experiences in his musical life.
“I grew up listening to The Police, man,” once reflected Grohl. In the same interview, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins reminisced about their long-term friendship with the Police percussionist. Grohl says: “One of the craziest things that this band has ever done is bring Stewart with us on a private jet from New York to Los Angeles; we had Stewart come out and play ‘Next To You’ with us, which was super fun. Then we got on the private plane, and I just kinda sat there and thought, ‘what the fuck am I doing with my life right now?’ Just to sit and listen to the stories of ‘the band’ and that was something I will never forget.”
Brush aside the enviable set of fans Copeland has and get down to the brass tacks of why he is so neatly beloved by all, it quickly becomes easy to see how Copeland could embody the spirit of the age. Having found fame amid the embers of punk rock, The Police never truly sat still long enough in one genre to be pigeonholed, a facet that Copeland has always exploited. The denial of a simple punk rock structure meant Copeland could move across the kit and ex[eriemnt with more unique fills than the disco-tinged drums of artists like The Clash and Sex Pistols.
It’s meant that much of The police’s work is looked at with somewhat uneven eyes. The band were never set on punk rock destruction or even pop majesty, they were set to continuously toe the line between a whole range of genres. Perhaps this can be most neatly surmised in their song ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’, a track in which Copeland plays a pivotal role. It may be hard to decipher in the original mix, which is why we were happy to tap into the isolated drum track for the song.
Released in 1980, the song is about a teacher who lusts after his student. Stong, the lead singer of the band, was a teacher before getting his music up and running, and many have guessed that he wrote the song from personal experience, despite Sting explicitly confirming the opposite. In truth, the song is more keenly aligned with Nabokov’s Lolita. However, where the song truly excels is in the drumming of Copeland.
Aside from the almost acidic reverb on Copeland’s drums, his tightly wound snare drum also makes itself heard. Expressing himself using silky techniques and flash fills, Copeland embodies the sense of applying just enough pressure while still feeling aloof and controlled.
