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Stewart Copeland: Why He Wanted to ‘Choke the Life Out Of’ Sting

It’s well known that The Police often had it out, especially toward the end of their run in the ’80s. Stewart Copeland touches on just some of those issues in…

The Police (Stewart Copeland, Sting, Andy Summers, UK, 26th pose for a photo in September 1979.
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

It's well known that The Police often had it out, especially toward the end of their run in the '80s. Stewart Copeland touches on just some of those issues in a new interview.

Speaking with The New York Post, the legendary drummer said of working with Sting, "At first, it was collaboration. It became more and more compromise for him — and it got tougher and tougher for him to make those compromises."

Copeland added, "The times when I came the closest to homicide, the times when it became absolutely critical that I choke the life out of this man, were when he would come over to me and tell me something about the hi-hat."

Random things devolving into full-blown fights were kind of the norm for The Police. Copeland recalled in the same interview that before the band's August 1983 show at Shea Stadium, he cracked one of Sting's ribs shortly after soundcheck. How did that happen? Sting grabbed a copy of the New York Times Copeland was reading. Copeland then grabbed it back, and then this exchange turned into a fight.

Earlier this month, The Police made some interesting headlines regarding their hit song "Every Breath You Take." Former Police guitarist Andy Summers alluded to a pending lawsuit in a new interview appearance on The Jeremy White Show. Summers famously wrote the iconic riff that acts as the hook to the song. However, Sting is the only songwriter listed on the track.

Summers referred to his lack of a songwriting credit as "a very contentious [topic] that is very much alive at the moment." He was then asked if there was going to be some sort of lawsuit to get listed as a songwriter on the track. Summers replied, "Watch the press. Let's see what happens in the next year."

In November 2021, Summers told Ultimate Classic Rock that neither he nor Copeland -- who also wrote his drum parts but isn't listed as a songwriter -- have received royalties for "Every Breath You Take." While the song was popular upon its release in 1983, it had a massive resurgence in 1997 when it was sampled on Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You."

Interestingly, Puff Daddy never asked permission to sample "Every Breath You Take," and the whole dispute ended up in court. As a result, Sting now receives 100 percent of the royalties from the song. This is due to him being the only songwriter listed on the track. This is also despite the fact that Summers and Copeland each came up with their guitar and drum tracks, respectively. Of course, only Summers' guitar track and nothing from Sting or Copeland are actually heard on "I'll Be Missing You."

Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band’s album Against The Wind turns 40 today (February 25), and it has the distinction of being the only album in Seger’s catalog to hit the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album charts.

Of course, Seger isn’t alone in this regard. Here are some other artists with one lone album to top the Billboard 200.

The Police - 'Synchronicity'

GettyImages-2556010-scaled.jpgShowtime/Courtesy of Getty Images

A promotional portrait of the British rock band The police (L-R)" Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers, circa 1983. (Photo by Showtime/Courtesy of Getty Images)


Bob Seger - 'Against The Wind'

GettyImages-3295571-scaled.jpgMalcolm Clarke/Keystone/Getty Images

18th October 1977: American rock singer and songwriter Bob Seger, and his Silver Bullet Band, Drew Abbott, Robyn Robbins, Alto Reed, Chris Campbell and Charlie Allen Martin, in London, for their first British tour. (Photo by Malcolm Clarke/Keystone/Getty Images)


David Bowie - 'Blackstar'

GettyImages-74413529-scaled.jpgBryan Bedder/Getty Images

NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Musician David Bowie speaks onstage while accepting the Webby Lifetime Achievement award at the 11th Annual Webby Awards at Chipriani Wall Street on June 5, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)


James Taylor - 'Before This World'

GettyImages-1125820748-scaled.jpgNicholas Hunt/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 28: James Taylor performs at "The Nearness Of You Concert" in Honor of Michael Brecker at Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 28, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)


Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - 'Hypnotic Eye'

GettyImages-486402929-scaled.jpgFrederick M. Brown/Getty Images

HOLLYWOOD, CA - APRIL 23: Singer Tom Petty speaks during the 31st Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland Center on April 23, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights