Copeland was commissioned by Universal Interactive and Insomniac Games in 1998 to make the musical score for the PlayStation game Spyro the Dragon . He would play through the levels first to get a feel for each one before composing the soundtrack. He also stayed with the project to create…
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After the Police disbanded, Copeland established a career composing soundtracks for films ( Airborne , Talk Radio , Wall Street , Riff Raff , Raining Stones , Surviving the Game , See No Evil, Hear No Evil , Highlander II: The Quickening , She’s Having a Baby , The First…
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In 1993 he composed the music for Channel 4 ‘s Horse Opera and director Bob Baldwin, and in 1999, he provided the voice of an additional American soldier in the animated musical comedy war film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).
Copeland also occasionally played drums for other artists. Peter Gabriel employed Copeland to perform on his songs ” Red Rain ” and ” Big Time ” from his 1986 album So because of his “hi-hat mastery”. That year he also teamed with Adam Ant to record the title track and…
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The Rhythmatist record of 1985 was the result of a pilgrimage to Africa and its people, and it features local drums and percussion, with more drums, percussion, other musical instruments and occasional lead vocals added by Copeland. The album was the official soundtrack to the movie of the same name,…
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Eventually, Way left the band, and after months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by singer Sonja Kristina ‘s recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band’s absence as a “sabbatical”. Copeland went on to form the Police, and Kristina and Way both…
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In 1982, Copeland was involved in the production of a WOMAD benefit album called Music and Rhythm . Copeland’s score for Rumble Fish secured him a Golden Globe nomination in 1983. The film, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola from the S. E. Hinton novel, also had a song…
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Copeland also recorded under the pseudonym Klark Kent, releasing several UK singles in 1978 with one (“Don’t Care”) entering the UK singles chart that year, along with an eponymous 10-inch album on green vinyl released in 1980. Recording at Nigel Gray ‘s Surrey Sound Studios, Copeland played all the instruments…
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In early 1977, Copeland founded the Police with lead singer-bass guitarist Sting and guitarist Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers ), and they became one of the top bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Copeland was the youngest member of the band. The Police ‘s…
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Returning to England, Copeland worked as road manager for the progressive rock band Curved Air ‘s 1974 reunion tour, and then as drummer for the band during 1975 and 1976. The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly. Band leader Darryl Way , a notorious perfectionist, grew…
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