Stewart Copeland - Drum Clinic 1985 - Part 1 of 4

Scroll down for info. © 1985 Stewart Copeland. I do not own the rights to this recording, which is commercially unavailable. Uploaded to youtube for fan entertainment / archival purposes only.

Inexplicably, this great drum clinic recording has never been put up on youtube, despite being circulated fairly widely among fans of The Police in the past. Stewart Copeland, just one year before playing his final shows with this band (until their 2007 reunion), provides a 45 minute lesson in minimalism, nailing the beat and ingenuity.

A superb demonstration of Copeland's percussive skill and idiosyncratic magic.

...and check out that Fairlight!

"Copeland is also noted for his strong emphasis on the groove as a complement to the song, rather than as its core component. He once drove this point home at a drum clinic: Copeland announced that he would show the audience something "that very few modern drummers can do," and proceeded to play a simple rock beat for two minutes. [Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_...]

From the original taper:

"I waited in line 2 hours with my Dad at PASIC in Universal City, CA to see Stewart. In fact, he was the only reason we made the drive from Phoenix to attend the clinic. We finally entered the ballroom where the clinic was taking place (we were first in line) only to find the first several rows already filled with VIP's. Undeterred, I took my portable Panasonic VHS recorder and standalone camera on a tripod and sat myself IN FRONT of the first row. Others soon followed my lead and the entire section was packed. I was the only kid who brought a video camera, however; they were a rare item during the mid-80's.

Anyway, I met Stewart and a bunch of other PASIC attendees at an autograph session. He signed my "Rhythmatist" poster which proudly hangs on my wall. I even managed to grab one of the drumsticks he used in the clinic...all in all, a pretty memorable experience."