One of the most successful power-trios of all time, The Police was formed in London, England in 1977 by the British musicians: Sting (Bass and vocals), Andy Summers (Guitar) and the American drummer Stewart Copeland. Although they released only five albums the band has sold an estimated amount of more than 75 million records worldwide.
As the band’s drummer explained in an interview with Indulge Express (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar), the band won’t reunite agian not because of the relationship between the band’s members but because they really can’t have harmony when trying to compose music together. Their final reunion happened in 2007 and the latest studio album was released in 1983.
Stewart Copeland explains troubled relationship with Sting
“Ah, you know, I’m an optimist. I would say that there’s a point 0.000000002% chance of it happening again. Why? Because we get along so well now. enjoy each other’s company. We enjoy what we created together”. As soon as we get into a room to try and make music, we are at each other’s throats.”
“Because we’re birds of a different feather. You know, Sting is quiet and deep. I am noisy and shallow. And if I’m having a party, having fun laughing with my goofy friends, Sting walks in, and suddenly, I’m not funny anymore. If he’s having a serene moment of beauty, and serenity, and calmness I walk in, [and] the bubble pops. If I’m carrying a beer, I’m probably going to spill it on him.”
He continued:
“We’re just very different types of people. We love each other like siblings. But musically, he needs a steady platform from his drummer and his rhythm section; a steady platform from which he can leap so far into the sky. I’m not that. I’m world war three. I am a cacophony. That’s what I do. My mission is to burn down the building. His mission is much deeper than that, and much more spiritual.”
“I’m just here to set the place on fire. And he has to sing his beautiful songs with this battle of this cacophony, this disaster area going on over here behind his left shoulder. It’s just not a good fit anymore. And it’s a much better fit, when we’re just talking at the dinner table and laughing over the dumb things that we did when we were kids,” Stewart Copeland said.