In the interview with The Times, The Police drummer Stewart Copeland addressed the rumor as to whether he aimed to insult Sting by carving some offensive words on his drum kit in the ’80s. Despite his known conflicts with Sting, Copeland clarified the situation and said:
“We love each other, but we’re not birds of a feather. If he’s having a serene moment, I’m going to walk in and spill some beer on it. If I’m hanging out with my friends enjoying some simple-minded entertainment and he comes in, suddenly I’m not funny any more and the whole situation is trivial.”
For years, Copeland and Sting have had an on-again, off-again friendship that seems to constantly repeat itself. Despite their past conflicts, the two have managed to develop a close bond again. However, there have been instances where their disputes turned physical, and they even sought therapy together.
According to the drummer, the conflicts wouldn’t appear unless they made music together. In an early interview, he stated:
“For Sting, music was a painkiller, an anesthetic, a way to escape from the evil, harsh, grim world, to a place of utter, unassailable, unblemished beauty. For me, it’s a celebration: let’s light up this room, and let’s have fun. This can overlap – we made five albums as the Police. But the conflict grew and grew, out of that diversity of purpose. And now we understand that, and Sting and I get along famously… as long as we’re not playing music!”
The career of The Police was marked by internal conflicts among its members, which led to the band’s breakup in 2008. The drummer has focused on his solo career, and with the coming out of his latest album ‘Police Deranged For Orchestra’, he is now on tour. Sting, too, is on the tour, for which you can see the dates here.
