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The Police's Stewart Copeland says trio are good friends now, after years of "tension"

11 May 2023, 14:53 | Updated: 20 June 2023, 13:07

The Police's Stewart Copeland interview: Trio are good friends now, after years of "tension"

By Tom Eames

Stewart Copeland is widely regarded as one of rock music's greatest-ever drummers.

The prolific musician, songwriter and composer has been celebrating the music of his former band The Police with a series of amazing orchestral concerts.

The Police Derange for Orchestra has toured the world, with Stewart joined by a full orchestra as they play classic Police songs like 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', 'Roxanne' and 'Every Breath You Take', which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023.

Smooth's Jenni Falconer caught up with Stewart about the project, which will see an album released on June 23.

In the interview - Stewart talks about his new album, as well as his former bandmates Sting and Andy Summers, and his biggest hits.

Stewart revealed that despite "tensions" with the band in the past, all three of them are on good terms today.

Stewart Copeland talks to Smooth Radio. Picture: Smooth/Getty

"Tension would be a fair way of putting it," he told Jenni. "A lot of the tension was relieved by just shouting and yelling.

"I mean, it's amazing how cathartic it is to scream at your bandmates. But we all recognize now, with the wisdom of hindsight, that that tension, that conflict was what made the records what they were.

"And it wasn't fun at the time. And we did go at each other's throats with homicidal intent, but we never actually came to blows. There was never any physical fisticuffs or anything.

"It was usually two against one. Chinese democracy. Okay. But we all understand that. We argued because we cared and we each had our different reasons for making music, different philosophy of what music is for and how to make it and why.

"And those three conflicting ideas did clash in the studio, but did produce a result of which we are very proud."

Stewart Copeland | Every Breath You Take (from Police Deranged For Orchestra) (Official Video)

When asked if there was any hope of a reunion, Stewart said: "Hey, look, I'm optimistic. I would give us at least a 1% chance."

"You know, we are enjoying each other's company. We get along really well. In fact, even when we were screaming at each other in the studio over dinner, we'd be laughing and joking. And we were deeply bonded.

"We went through a lot together, and we are like siblings, deeply bonded. And it's nice like this. And I'm enjoying in fact, we have laughed amongst ourselves. We're in touch by email and so on. We send each other daft Instagram clips and so on."

Watch the full interview on Global Player here.