Why We Had To Be RUTHLESS To Bring ANDY SUMMERS into The Police!

[@johnthrush1799]

Stewart Copeland is one of the greatest musicians of the past 50 years... and yet completely approachable and eminently respectful of his audience. He elevates the art of music.

[@hirampriggott1689]

Definitely one of my favorites.

[@1herbiekritzer]

Stupid statement

[@cybergypsies]

Let’s chill a bit and simply say that he comes across as a rather balanced individual in a sector where personality disorders are rampant! A fact that we support with our addiction to this modern cult of the personality.

[@vooveks]

@@cybergypsies The Anti-Ginger Baker 😁

[@fastinbulvis2223]

Nice clip, but I'm kinda getting sea sick watching it.

[@hanbo123]

There's Stewart, pacing around his room during an interview.... because he just has a boundless energy. That energy is a big part of why he's such a respected drummer.

[@Peter7966]

Great interview. Stewart is always fun to listen to. He's so full of energy, so much so that he's walking about while being interviewed, making me a little dizzy. Also, The Police wouldn't be The Police without Stewart's amazing drumming.

[@haliaeetus8221]

His mind is running so he mixes up Henri's and Andy's names and make the story a challenge to understand which he's _really_ talking about at a given moment 😂

[@naysayer1238]

@@haliaeetus8221 ? What challenge? He obviously mixed them the one time and it was easy to understand what he actually meant.

[@haliaeetus8221]

@@naysayer1238 3:16 he mixes em up

[@couchwarrior2449]

...or Andy's amazing guitar work...or Sting's great bass playing/songwriting ( in spite of being an egotistical arsehole) The Police always were greater together than they were apart.

[@Mark-db1ok]

I love interviews with Stewart. He's a great story teller.

[@aquamarine99911]

You should watch Andy's long interview on Rick Beato that just came out this week. Andy's also a great story teller who, as Stewart mentions here, has played with everybody and actually has lots of stories to tell.

[@Mark-db1ok]

@@aquamarine99911 I've got it saved in my Watch later list, looking forward to it! Between the big personalities of Sting and Stu, he's kinda like the quiet almost forgotten one. Can't wait to hear his take on things.

[@Nothing-db1zy]

His house-walking reminds me those 70's cartoons, where the landscape was always a loop!

[@VRPRocks]

😂😂👍

[@geraldhartley]

I met Stewart at the Sundance Film Festival in ‘06 while working on a tv crew. We interviewed him for an hour or two in a hotel suite. Most of the interview was edited down to a short bit, but the stories he told were fascinating. He was so down to earth and amiable. When the interview was over I was able to chat with him for a minute. I told him that Neil Peart (in a piece I read) had regarded Stewart as his favorite drummer. His mouth dropped open and he seemed genuinely surprised! Maybe he already knew that, but maybe I was the first to break the news to him. Anyway, it was a thrill to spend some time with the man.

[@butchjohnson9736]

I have a feeling that he probably knew but wanted to be nice.... which is nice!

[@SherMusician]

@@butchjohnson9736lol. U burst his bubble

[@andigisler]

Very interesting observation about Sting having to simplify his ideas because of Henri‘s limitations: A blessing in disguise. And Andy Summers wanted to play more solos but that was totally ‚forbidden‘ at the time of punk/new wave: ALSO a blessing in disguise. Think of it: After the Police, Sting went back to what I assume was his original mission: Be a great, genius ‚composer‘. He could afford the best musicians and pursue every highbrow concept. But nothing ever came close to what The Police did at their best.

[@butchjohnson9736]

The Police and Sting is a good example that bands work when everything clicks and that a single outstanding member doesn't necessarily mean success across the board. Queen and Mercury or Mick and the Stones are also examples.

[@redghettosun9785]

Andy might've been cognizant about guitar solos in those days when Punk and New Wave were the thing in Britain. The few solos on the first record were dissonant and not technical at all for someone like him.

[@etamommy]

Solos on driven to tears and many of the songs on their third album and their final album (my favorite two if I had to chose - though so hard! First two also hard to say are not their best) are fantastic and not dissonant or the perfect mix of melodic, catchy and powerful! All served the songs so perfectly! Andy summer and Stewart Copeland were absolutely crucial members of that band and of course Sting.

[@greggorsag9787]

This is an extremely perceptive comment, and goes a long way toward explaining why so few great musicians make great rock songwriters. I’ve always felt that Lennon’s obvious musical limitations (no disrespect meant, but he was no McCartney in terms of musicality or craft) positively influenced McCartney in exactly the same way, and the same artistic path appears there.

[@aquamarine99911]

@@greggorsag9787 Pete Townshend once said that not being able to play the piano well helped him to write songs on the piano. It sounds paradoxical, but isn't really. We're talking about rock/pop music here, where simplicity is a virtue. Lennon's an interesting case. His simple piano style helped him to write a classic (Imagine) that solo McCartney could never come close to. McCartney wrote his most famous piano songs in the 1968-69 period, before he became a pretty good pianist. Only "Live and Let Die", a few years later, could match the strong simplicity of his earlier works.

[@Tyrell_Corp2019]

When Robert Fripp agrees to make an album with your guitarist, you know you've made a pretty good choice.

[@RealEstateChris56]

Ha! Yes I Advance Masked. I bought that CD back in the 90s.

[@jeffeast7983]

I caught Andy's latest show. His playing was so amazing! He also showed some of his beautiful photography, and slayed us all with some humorous stories as well. So glad I got to be there.

[@el0blaino]

Saw his show in Illinois - loads of fun!

[@emileedavis4263]

Lucky. Would love to meet him.

[@varanzmaj]

What is amazing to me personally, and I say this as someone who is now in his early 40s and has played the guitar for the better part of 30 years, is how musically advanced these guys were in their late teens and early twenties. I mean if you look at just Sting in particular, he wrote some of his best songs when he was 26 years old. And I'm not even going down the rabbit hole of their musical playing and singing ability which was unbelievable even if you discounted their creativity. It's absolutely, jaw dropping, bonkers.....crazy.

[@melrupinski88]

While the spirit of your comment is definitely true, don’t forget that Andy was about 10 years older than Sting and Stewart. Andy is actually a contemporary of guys like Clapton and Hendrix. I would highly recommend watching Rick Beato’s recent interview with Andy, there’s some great stories about jamming with Hendrix in the studio and being guilted into selling Clapton his Les Paul guitar. Beato also has an incredible interview with Sting. Now, we’re all waiting for him to interview Stewart.

[@losttango]

TBF, most rock musicians do their best work in their 20's. The Beatles, the Stones, almost everyone. A Neil Young or Leonard Cohen still producing classics in middle to old age is very much the exception.

[@Martos59]

Yes Stewart plays right in front of the beat, Sting and Andy sit on the beat and that’s what makes The Police so great… it creates a kind of a nervous tension that is unique to them only. All great band have something in the feel department… This is their thing. Message in a Bottle drips this quality!!

[@garysmith3173]

Lovely interview. Such an approachable and modest musician.

[@rhanemann9100]

Back in the 1990s I was living in London and was called to Paris by way of Miles Copeland to work on a one-off show for an artist he was affiliated with. I was picked up at Gard Du Nord by a "local" named Henry who drove me to my hotel and then on to the gig. I later found out his surname was Padovani and then it clicked. Being a Police fan from my single-digit days, I've cherished that chance encounter.

[@stevosguitars]

Very cool!

[@harvey1954]

Well you've got a driver and that's a start.

[@bradsmith7311]

Both times I saw the Police,years apart,Stewart wore an XTC Drums and Wires t shirt.brilliant!!!!

[@NewFalconerRecords]

They toured with XTC quite a lot... before XTC stopped playing live altogether. What a great double-bill though.

[@jchis9852]

Andy was ahead musically because he was almost ten years older than Stew and Sting. So yeah, he brought a lot to the table right out of the gate.

[@entropybentwhistle]

Yeah, people forget time is a great teacher. Ten years of extra guitar practice is going to be huge in overwhelming two junior musicians looking for a final building block to their band aspirations.

[@davanmani556]

Sting made a mistake of not using him in his solo projects.

[@MobiusBandwidth]

he was also a serious student of music theory from an early age. his autobiography is riveting reading.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@MobiusBandwidth Andy Summers' autobiography is one of the best rock autobiogs ever. Him joining the Police doesn't even happen until two-thirds into the book!

[@bbb462cid]

Andy's abilities had something to do with experience but a lot more to do with a studious approach to musicianship.

[@AlmostEthical]

Interesting point about the role of Henry's limitations at the time in helping Sting write. Andy is an incredible guitar player who creatively shapes the overall sound of any song he plays in. A strong soloist too, as per his solo albums.

[@just_ben1951]

The punk rock sound was going nowhere.

[@dodgyg3697]

I could listen to Stewart all day.

[@sandraschultz3104]

Saw them in 80s in Detroit and the GoGos warmed them up. So great!

[@christopher9152]

One of rock's great drummers...

[@ronniek7748]

Beyond music. Stewart is a genius

[@robstimson4234]

Brings to mind Ringo joining the Beatles, Keith Moon joining the Who and John Bonham joining Led Zep. As a guitarist who loves great rhythm players, Andy is in my top 3. Yeah, he can rip it on lead, but in a power trio like the Police the guitarist needs to be a superb Colorist rhythm player like Andy FIRST!

[@bevo65]

Stewart is such a primo raconteur. Can you imagine how much fun he’d be at dinner? (Added to my bucket list!)

[@TheKinoEye]

His diaries collection is cool af; prooving 'a life worth living, is a life worth documenting.' Blessed to have my own copy of Stewart's book

[@johnsmith-ug5tp]

Mega band! A breath of fresh air heading into the 80`s. I remember going to see Nugent, Sabbath, Ozzy and a few other 70`s bands in huge stadiums and all of their sound guys at the mixing boards were playing the Police through the PA. prior to the show. The same while in high school partying in the parking lot before school, lunch and after people were blasting the Police from their cars, even the heads. ha I remember when I was 16 my parents made me go to the hair salon to get my long blond hair cut and the Police were actually headlining in CT. The stylist dude was actually playing the Police inside the salon and said, come, come, sit down! Do you have tickets to the Police concert tonight? I said, No. He said, me neither, Well how bout I cut your hair and you can look like one of the members of the Police. Come on, you would be perfect for that look. haha I never forgot that.

[@lefkytheshin]

Blasting The Police from their cars. Man, what a fantastic era. Now we have folks blasting noise from their cars with that awful thumping, dead bass buzz.

[@canadianroot]

I love Stewart, don't get me wrong, but he's really just going around in circles.

[@ulisessolis3182]

He loves to roll

[@eflows]

Not a huge Police fan but he is one of my favorite drummers.

[@bobboberson2024]

I love Stewart getting his steps in during this interview.

[@stephenhowell5611]

I still have my copy of the Fall Out 45 that Henri played on, and I love Stewart's Does Everyone Stare.

[@Emlizardo]

It's commonplace for rock critics to dismiss Andy Summers as a very limited player who wasn't all that important for the Police's success. Proof positive that the majority of rock critics know next to nothing about music, and couldn't explain what a Dm add 9 chord is if you held a gun to their heads.

[@SuperAmin1950]

...love that chord, sir, with or without the 9th. 🙂

[@aquamarine99911]

@user-xv2kk5fe5bYeah, I don't know what @Emlizardo is talking about. No rock critic I know of ever dismissed Andy's skills. We're talking about someone who studied Wes Montgomery and Lenny Breau.

[@Epluribusunum47]

💯 Andy Summers was a top tier session guitarist that was highly sought after. I’ve never heard anyone call him “limited” or dismiss his skills. I did hear early on in the Police career people dismiss Sting’s bass playing but that dissipated quickly once they actually started listening & then trying to play his bass lines. Complex & not simple. He’s jazz influenced & plays great. But for me it’s about Stewart’s drumming. It seems otherworldly to me at times. Just super tight & incredible fills. I actually love the Police drums more than anything. All 3 are incredible musicians.

[@ULTIMATEPATCHES]

Never heard anyone diss Andy. Perhaps said critics are now unemployed due to their lack of discernment of quality.

[@Emlizardo]

Last year Rolling Stone published their list of "The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," compiled by critics, not musicians. Andy came in at 250. That is, he barely made the cut. And Rolling Stone's critics are not alone in their cluelessness.

[@chrishyde1216]

The Police included such interesting characters who are so good to listen to. I also strongly recommend Rick Beato's great interview with Andy Summers. From that, you'll get an understanding of the experience that Andy brought to The Police. You can see the ingredient's of a successful band: Andy's guitar playing and riffs, the great groove from Sting and Stewart, Sting's song-writing and singing. Funny how some great bands stay together (The Stones, The Cure...) and other great bands (The Beatles, The Police ...) fall apart after a few years.

[@justinherbert9146]

Saw The Police at the Agora Ballroom in Atlanta in 1979 with less then 100 people in that small club - two years later - saw them at the Omni Arena in Atlanta sold out 20,000 people

[@SidAlienTV]

Miles Copeland did it.

[@jamesbond4633]

just reading Stewarts Diary/Book. Its really good and gives a great picture of the formation of the Police and just before that. THe London Scene in the later 1970's!!! Great!!!

[@VRPRocks]

It's fantastic isn't it. The authenticity makes it special, seeing his actual diary entries etc. You get a real flavour of that time for him and the evolution of the band and the burgeoning punk scene 👍🤘

[@jamesbond4633]

@@VRPRocks Yes the way the whole book is constructed is brilliant. Just have to figure out his short hand text meanings!!! I love how he adds commentary through it to give it more meaning and clarity. It's like having Stewart sitting there with you while you go through his diary. And the pictures are marvellous especially his head turning first wife !!!!!! I got to play semi-pro hockey in Britain in the mid 1980's so we had to travel around England and Scotland to play a lot of our games. Travelling on a team bus was gruelling so just imagining what Stewart and his band mates went through how much tougher it was in vans and cars packing equipment and driving. From his book you can see all the work he had to do with Curved Air and The Police in moving equipment around from gig to gig. Not everyone could do that. I saw a recent podcast with Stewart talking about how he will never set up another drum kit in his life. He already paid his dues!!! Hahaha funny guy!!!!

[@hydorah]

I love the way Copeland tells a story. He's the most British person with an American accent ever, subtle dark, dry and often self-deprecating witticisms and asides litter the things he says. He's a true gent. The premier big brained basher

[@tomd.2982]

His pacing around the place is classic! I am sweating just watching him.😄

[@neilgraves5069]

Visions of the night is a belter , love that Song ❤

[@JohnnyBeane]

Was just hanging out with Andy a couple months ago.

[@VRPRocks]

Very cool! Where was that at?

[@MellowWind]

Love it. And Stewart, your little stroll around and around your apt(?) is hilarious.

[@bbb462cid]

LOL when I'm on the phone I wander around the room.

[@franktreppiedi2208]

The more I hear him the more I like him. Plus he can play drums.

[@Squirrelconga]

Andy is always overshadowed by the other two personalities.. He has an almost Fripp-like way that he plays sound

[@MikeGervasi]

Stewart always in motion.

[@voanncr]

Aside from the motion sickness, great interview!

[@VRPRocks]

😂

[@jimjoebob2269]

He must be in great shape the way he paces around the room like like doing laps @ daytona

[@Rob954ever]

I'm 56 years old. I distinctly remember the first time I heard The Police ( Roxanne). It was 1979, I was 12 years old. The Police, as a whole, were genius level musicians. Stewart has been my favorite drummer of all TIME ( Yes...over everyone you're thinking about ) and I can best explain why love Stewart over everyone this way: In 1985, he released his 1st solo album ( non soundtrack). It was called the Rythmatist. It struck me instantly. Everyone else are drummers.....Stewart Copeland is THE RYTHMATIST.😉👍🏼

[@alukuhito]

No thumbs down for the video. A testament to Police fans.

[@guybeauregard]

Awesome retelling!

[@hefewiseman]

great player...very funny person also , cool hear him talking about 'actual music' ..right on.

[@kpec3]

Probably what most fans know or can see in hindsight was that the Police didn't stay boxed into the punk sound too long. Immediately they were doing a lot more, yet using that punk energy.

[@TempleOfTheMartyrs]

WE NEED YOU IN OUR BAND ANDY

[@rc3754]

2:26 "The pocket" is why Stewart always caught my ear, without knowing. Buddy Miles / Billy Cox had it too. Forget about your fancy playing and find the pocket.

[@drumdotpizza]

Interesting interview... so... Stewart likes to pace the perimeter of his room while talking? I have a son like that!

[@jaybd9329]

Getting dizzy watching this

[@rhanemann9100]

I do that - especially on business calls.

[@selimsenhadri6408]

Steward keeps turning around while speaking tells about his charachter 😂 , what a great lad and drummer !!!

[@rayrecordings]

A discombombulating interview. Stewart spinning around the room faster than the earth around the sun.

[@VRPRocks]

Hes a man who doesn't like to sit still! 👍🤘

[@ufox77]

I’d be fascinated to know which songs Stewart Copeland and Sting played on as session musicians.

[@dmlevitt]

nice walk n talk.

[@Rob1nson]

Great guy…all my life 100% authentic

[@NealR2000]

Huge Zep fan here. As amazing as John Bonham was, he felt intimidated by Stewart's drumming.

[@shawnstarks1743]

I would be too, if I was just a straight rock drummer hearing a monster Jazz drummer. There’s really no comparison.

[@butchjohnson9736]

@@shawnstarks1743Bonham also had a lot of jazz influences, it's just hidden a little more behind the music

[@tictocbang7443]

Can you post a link? I've only heard Copeland's opinion about Bonham/Zeppelin, not the other way around. Thanks.

[@brookt3497]

Stewart, you are making me giddy…! 😊

[@peterscott6818]

Lovely guy. So aware of his own ability but not at all full of his own importance. Great sense of humour mixed in with his stories

[@mht525]

Drummers drummer. Mr Copeland 🥁✌️ 🤘🇦🇺

[@RobretBertram]

Zenyatta Mondatta best album of the 1980s!!

[@SidAlienTV]

Funny fact is that after being fired from The Police, Henry Padovani put a band together named "Henry Padovani and The Electric Chairs" and they were more popular as The Police in the punk scene obviously.

[@nohaste4me]

Yes but that was a small world at that time...

[@SidAlienTV]

@@nohaste4me That´s true. The music scene at the time was not so "marketingized" like today´s. And the "punk explosion" lasted less than a fart inside a basket luckily. The Police (mostly Stewart Copeland) wanted only to ride that wave to obtain exposure, of course they were most skilled musicians than the rest. Stewart had a Music Diplom under his arm, Andy studied classical guitar, played guitar in "Tubular Bells" live, I´m not sure, but he played with Neil Diamond in shows too. Sting played jazz with Last Exit etc.

[@danguee1]

Amazing to think Andy was only 2 years younger than Tom Jones. When the Police became big, Tom was already "an old man" to most people....

[@PoppysGuitar]

Yes I thought the same thing. Andy starts trying to be a pop star in his mid thirties.

[@SuperWayneyb]

What was the track they were sessioning on ?

[@stevedobak4145]

How many laps ?🙂

[@redcat9436]

Friendship is more important than business.

[@claudiodelgift827]

Had they thought like that, The Police wouldn't have been as the world knows it. The world wouldn't have been treated with such classic songs.

[@peterbustin2683]

Great interview. Not so sure on his captain Tom impersonation.

[@VRPRocks]

😂

[@commonman317]

Didn't Sting refer to Andy as "Mr. Expensive Chords"? Andy knew so many different ones even back then.

[@shawnstarks1743]

That’s what jazz guitarist bring to the table CHORDS.

[@amoh5]

Summers does have an uncommon and classy sense of music and guitar playing in my opinion, very complimentary to the music 😊

[@linjicakonikon7666]

The Police and Dire Straits were the two bands that rescued humanity from disco. Thank God.

[@aquamarine99911]

1978 was a crazy year. The Cars, Van Halen, the Clash, Prince, The Cure, Joy Division, B-52s. We would have been just fine even if the Police and Dire Straits hadn't come along.

[@michaelciancetta6397]

except for prince sorry but the band you mentioned are nowhere near the quality of the police and dire straists@@aquamarine99911

[@peterhopqk]

How Andy joined The Police: "You and that bass player got something. But you need me in the band and I accept"

[@TheGodParticle]

I've always liked Stuart, especially when he would argue and fight with sting. Poor Andy would be stuck in the middle rolling his eyes thinking, here we go again lol

[@gerardmccavana4905]

Cool

[@harvey1954]

Andy was playing with the New Animals and others in 1968 so he had ten years on the other two.

[@PontiacS.]

Andy is the Best thing in The Police.

[@SherMusician]

Does he have a book

[@SonnyBurnett2012]

"walking on...walking around the room"...toom doom doom....toom doom doom

[@kennethnorman8079]

I love how Stewart's feet and mouth can't stop moving. The fact that he just walks around in a circle is fucking hilarious. So now we know the master of ambidextrous drumming can't not walk and not talk at the same time.

[@stevew6910]

Stewart has a unique drumming style , Sting had a great voice and Andy realized it

[@joec4014]

In my opinion Sting has very limited vocals.

[@williamwilson6499]

Didn’t know he is a Yank. First time I’ve heard him talk in the 44 years I’ve listened to The Police.

[@aquamarine99911]

You are entirely unique among fans of the Police.

[@williamwilson6499]

@@aquamarine99911 I’ve never been much for learning about the members of a band. Didn’t even know about Andy Summers until a few days ago when Rick Beato interviewed him.

[@brianseneca3546]

I love Stewart! But how freaking big is his house? He never stopped walking! lol

[@jamesspalten5977]

He's walking in circles.

[@brianseneca3546]

@@jamesspalten5977 I know I was trying to be funny. Guess my wife is right! No one thinks I am funny! lol

[@GedTheRed]

The Police would be nothing without Stewart Copeland

[@PETERODZZ]

And with out sting and Andy

[@doodlebob3758]

like most 3pieces. it has to be THOSE 3 guys.

[@shawnstarks1743]

Stewart Copeland imo out of the three is the least important in terms of their sound.

[@butchjohnson9736]

@@shawnstarks1743 naw, those hihats and the crisp snare is totally unique. Nobody played drums like he did at the time.

[@myplan8166]

Kinda stupid comment, 'cause it's obvious and false at the same time as it sounds like Police had been still Police without Sting or Andy. Teamwork, i guess.

[@docwill184]

The back-stories and drama around personnel changes in bands can fascinating...and the'yre frequently glossed-over. This and Beatles' Pete Best stories are pretty good. The O.G. drummer/founder of 'goose,' is leaving and we're currently presented with polished statements of 'goodwill'. There's more to it than that. The dichotomy is they don't owe anybody explanations and we're curious as hell...

[@bevonkacon17]

whoa.. I'm dizzy now.

[@jamesha175]

Andy Summers played guitar with Robert Fripp

[@billyz5088]

~~ whether you are moving or stationary with the camera on you - please use a riser - or selfie-stick - or whatever - so the camera angle on your face is more complimentary for you - only your doctor wants to look up your nose - and even then only if the doc is an ear, nose & throat specialist ..

[@quogir1]

The Police inBoston .very loud very good.

[@MattFoleysGhost]

I figured it out…. The Police without Andy is an obscure punk band no one’s heard of. The Police without Sting is Klark Kent. The Police without Stewart is another Sting solo album.

[@fordshaw5833]

I wonder which four chords he was talking about? This is likely to start a battle over the internet. Most Rock songs are written around a four chord progression like D minor, E minor, F major and G major.

[@barryledgister4496]

The four chords would be the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th of the key. Most rock songs are in major keys E,D,G,A, so the four chords of each are E, A, B,C#m....D G A Bm...G C D Em...A D E F#m. So it depends on which key Henry always played in, or he could do all four. There are other major keys less often used in rock (B, F, C)

[@fordshaw5833]

Thanks - I'm new to music theory and the guitar. Your reply is easy to understand with the examples given in the key context.@@barryledgister4496

[@Berniewahlbrinck]

@@barryledgister4496 Exactly! Greetings from a rhythm guitarist.

[@matteframe]

Sting was writing songs well before 'the police'... The lyrics and demos are well documented, Stewart..

[@FLStelth]

Why was Stewart doing laps around a museum as he spoke?

[@VRPRocks]

I've interviewed him a couple of times and on each occasion he's walked laps of his studio as he speaks!

[@FLStelth]

@@VRPRocks Multitasking...exercise & interview.

[@julianho7672]

cool hands Cope.............................

[@petersuchansky6703]

ok i know every detail of his house now

[@raphaelargus2984]

Sting took a lot of credit for stuff Andy Summers did.

[@popvinnik]

Like what? I mean besides the recent story about Every Breath You Take,

[@Albrecht777]

@@popvinnik The chords on "Walking on the Moon", for example. Compare those to a track on the LP by Dantalian's Chariot, of which Andy was a part. The playing on "Tea in the Sahara", the guitar arrangement on "Roxanne", which was originally composed as a bossanova. The arppegiated chords on "Message in a Bottle", and so on. Basically, as I understand it, Sting wrote the songs, but left it to the others to place their own stamp on it with their playing. Whether this means that Andy and Stewart should have received co-composition credits is, I suppose, a matter of debate. Without Sting, of course, those songs wouldn't even have existed in the first place.

[@apparitionight]

@@Albrecht777Sting’s demos are online here, right back to Last Exit days. Stew’s Klark Kent had notoriety before The Police. The synchronicity which occurred to get them together is just as amazing as the cocktail of three Am-egos. in a short time as a trio. U2 and The Stones have a huge body of work. What’s funny was Stew’s hyperactivity. Doing laps around the room while recanting his perspective. I think I can safely say we all appreciate 78-83 and the tour 06-08 and their body of work. Sting plays it pretty safe, Stew is eclectic and Andy Somers (birth surname) and his sense of humor with things like “Where is my guitar?” will keep their legacy alive for generations to come

[@popvinnik]

@@Albrecht777 I understand they came up with the parts but the OP by saying Sting took the credit implies that he went out of his way to do this which is why I asked for specific instances. That's a slippery slope of a claim. And I think it was Stewart who changed Roxanne from a bossanova to the reggae-styled rhythm.

[@Albrecht777]

@@popvinnik That's a more than fair point. Plus, thanks for the information regarding Stewart and the reggae-styled rhythm of "Roxanne".

[@kingtrance307]

Every interview he never stops walking… 🚶‍♂️

[@greggorsag9787]

Interestingly-and famously-Copeland was a terrible timekeeper. But a very creative fellow who played to the energy of the song and the moment. For this reason alone, The Police are now impossible, since all of his tracks would be snapped to a grid, robbing them of their vitality and gutting the songs. Oh well. I got to hear “Roxanne” and “So Lonely” burst forth from my FM radio in all their ragged, simple complexity back when music was music, not just commodity.

[@PoppysGuitar]

Is that really true? I didn't know that. Allegedly James Honeyman Scott of Pretenders was so poor with time that he would regularly come in late and then tell the rest of the band that it was his "style".

[@greggorsag9787]

@@PoppysGuitar Oh, it’s true. Check out “Revisiting the Click Track,” by Paul Lamere (2010). Time was a magazine to Mr. Copeland. But in my view, at least, that’s one of the things that made him a great drummer. In the right band, with the right songs, deviation from strict time (even big deviations) can be the secret sauce. Plus I’ve seen Copeland admit/brag about this in interviews. This is the the great tragedy of snapping drummers to a (computer) grid. There goes the heart, soul, and vital energy of the song. Don’t even get me started on pitch correction 😜

[@PoppysGuitar]

I agree@@greggorsag9787

[@EricFansher]

Stewart, for the love of God, SIT DOWN! 😂

[@charleigh195]

I’m dizzy.x

[@peterjonas4971]

I think Stew might have ADHD. He's been my hero since 1981.

[@PoppysGuitar]

He meant better than Henry but yeah I we got the point. and on "the radio" LOL