The Police Legend Stewart Copeland Reveals All: Sting Dynamics & 'Fully Retired' From Music!

Legendary Police drummer Stewart Copeland is currently embarking on a North American spoken word tour, engaging audiences with anecdotes and insights, particularly focusing on his iconic band. Despite an ongoing lawsuit over royalties involving his former bandmates, Sting and Andy Summers, Copeland assures fans that their personal relationships remain amicable. He playfully notes that the legal battle is confined to “bean counters” in London, a matter he views with detachment, saying, “Lemme know how it works out….”

The lawsuit, filed last year in England by Copeland and Summers against Sting, claims $2 million in unpaid royalties based on band songwriting agreements established in 1977. Andy Summers has been particularly vocal, believing he should have received a songwriting credit for the Grammy Award-winning 1983 hit “Every Breath You Take.” Records from the U.K.’s High Court indicate Sting has paid $870,000, but Copeland and Summers are still pursuing the remainder of their claim. Notwithstanding this legal dispute, Copeland maintains regular contact with Sting, discussing casual topics like “kids, Instagram memes, bullshit….” He expresses satisfaction that they “get along just fine” and understand their differing musical paths. Copeland attributes their current harmony not to the absence of human infirmities but to a recognition that their musical universes, while once overlapping to create “incredible stuff,” now serve different purposes in their lives. He emphasizes, “We get along great as long as we’re not trying to make music together.”

The Police, active from 1977 to 1984, released five studio albums, culminating in the eight-times platinum 1983 album Synchronicity, which has earned inductions into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. The trio briefly reunited for Amnesty International’s A Conspiracy of Hope tour in 1986 and a 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. A global reunion tour occurred from 2007-2008, reportedly aided by band therapy. Copeland recalls having “professionals come along and straighten us out,” likening their role to marriage counseling, which proved so effective that the tour was extended. He describes the experience as “a lot of misery and a lot of fun at the same time,” ultimately leading them back to their individual missions after two years.

Copeland’s post-Police career has been a bustling multi-media endeavor, encompassing opera and classical composition, film and video game scoring, filmmaking, and writing. He is the subject of a new documentary titled Copeland, set to premiere on June 19 at the Raindance Film Festival in London, and is also crafting another opera, currently “under wraps.” Additionally, he is expanding his “Police Deranged for Orchestra” repertoire to include other songs from his extensive career, humorously stating, “Instead of just the Police it will be the entire world f***ed up.”

Despite his busy schedule, Copeland considers himself “fully retired” from commercial music. He now pursues music purely “for kicks,” sharing his creations on YouTube “without any agenda,” unconcerned with chart performance or financial returns. He admits that creating a record now is likely to be a personal expense, noting, “You can’t make a living writing opera, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Beyond music, Copeland has also penned a new book, with publication details yet to be announced. He describes it as a “guide to living the life with people chasing you for autographs, with interviews asking you pointed questions, with all the stuff that goes with rock ‘n’ roll celebrity, all the weirdness.” He delves into the unusual nature of fame, contrasting how musicians are treated differently from professionals like dentists, despite the latter's greater importance to health. For the book, he interviewed therapists and fellow musicians, including Gene Simmons of Kiss and Carly Simon. Simon shared a particularly candid anecdote from the making of her second album, Anticipation, in 1971 London. Recounting the intense emotional engagement of making music with incredible musicians, Simon revealed that during that period, she “f***ed them all,” a story Copeland, with her permission, included in his book. This dynamic, she explained, led to the creation of even greater music, the “music of love,” which surpassed her debut album.

These compelling stories form the core of Copeland’s “Have I Said Too Much? The Police, Hollywood and Other Adventures” spoken word tour, which began last year in the United Kingdom and is now extensively touring North America through early August, with another leg planned for October and November. He enjoys sharing his “wild stories” with a room full of people and relishes the audience's laughter. The show also includes a Q&A segment where he answers written audience questions. He fondly recalls a particularly humorous question: “‘What hotel are you staying in tonight?’… Because I need to know where to pick up my mom in the morning.” Copeland, ever the showman, answered “The Four Seasons, Milwaukee,” despite being in Dublin, Ireland, at the time. He embraces an “open book” philosophy, stating there are “no uncomfortable subjects,” and that he enjoys milking discomfort for laughs.

Upcoming dates for Stewart Copeland’s “Have I Said Too Much? The Police, Hollywood and Other Adventures” tour include: June 18 – Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA; June 20 – Presidio Theatre, San Francisco, CA; June 25 – Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver, BC; June 27 – Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR; June 28 – Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA; July 6-7 – The Kate (Second show), Old Saybrook, CT; July 9 – City Winery, Boston, MA; July 10 – The Waldo Theatre, Waldoboro, ME; July 11 – BNH Stage, Concord, NH; July 12 – Greenwich Odeum, East Greenwich, RI; July 14 – The Paramount, Huntington, NY; July 16 – South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, NJ; July 17 – Daryl’s House Club, Pawling, NY; July 18 – The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA; July 19 – The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA; July 21 – Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD; July 22 – Palace Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA; July 24 – The Kent Stage, Kent, OH; July 25 – Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, OH; July 28 – The Parkway Theatre, Minneapolis, MN; July 30 – Vivarium, Milwaukee, WI; July 31 – North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie, IL; Aug. 1 – Wealthy Theatre, Grand Rapids, MI; Aug. 2 – Tarkington, Carmel, IN; Aug. 4 – City Winery, Nashville, TN; Aug. 6 – Harvester Performance Center, Rocky Mount, VA; Aug. 7 – The Beacon Theatre, Hopewell, VA; Oct. 28 – Scherr Forum, Thousand Oaks, CA; Oct. 30 – Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ; Nov. 1 – Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City, UT; Nov. 3 – Boulder Theatre, Boulder, CO; Nov. 4 – Holiday Theatre, Denver, CO; Nov. 6 – The Admiral, Omaha, NE; Nov. 7 – Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS; Nov. 8 – Wildey Theatre, Edwardsville, IL; Nov. 10 – Magic Bag, Detroit MI; Nov. 12 – Center for the Arts of Homer, Homer, NY; Nov. 13 – Bethel Woods Event Gallery, Bethal, NY; Nov. 15 – Spruce Peak Performing Arts, Stowe, VT; Nov. 17 – Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA; Nov. 18 – Elkton Music Hall, Elkton, MD; Nov. 20 – Appell Center for Performing Arts, York, PA; Nov. 22 – Carolina Theatre, Charlotte, NC.