Stewart is featured on the copver and the main interview in the September issue of the UK drum magazine, 'Rhythm'.

Back on the beat... As The Police drum hero Stewart Copeland returns to the spotlight with a monster kit and matching confidence, he reveals exclusively to Rhythm why he's sure glad to be back.

As The Police roar around America this wild and windy summer, it is Rhythm's great fortune to catch up with the group's drumming genius Stewart Copeland for an exclusive interview in the middle of their first tour in over 20 years. It is midday in Chicago when we track him down to his hotel room. The band have just played at the Wrigley Field stadium and are due to fly to Miami for yet another show, this time at the Dolphin Stadium.

"Gimme three minutes, I'm packing my bags!" says a panic-stricken Stewart as he psyches himself up to talk about The Police reunion, drumming and the monster drum kit that follows him everywhere. "No problem," we assure him, tape recorder primed and ready to capture the thoughts of a guy who normally has no trouble speaking his mind. "OK," says Copeland, finally. "Fire away!"

Stewart Copeland revolutionised drumming with a dynamic style that blossomed with The Police, the supergroup he helped create in the late '70s with megastar Sting and guitar hero Andy Summers. The era that preceded him could be described as 'Be' - 'Before Copeland' when rock drumming was loud and unsubtle. On classic albums 'Outlandos D'Amour' (1978) and 'Reggatta de Blanc' (1979), the symmetry of Sting's passionate vocals and Summer's celestial guitar was perfectly complemented by Stewart's supremely intelligent percussion.

Adapting Jamaican reggae rhythms on songs such as 'Roxanne' and 'Walking On The Moon,' Copeland was also a driving rocker, urging ahead numbers like 'Canary In A Coalmine' and 'Demolition Man.' As well as playing with a manic ferociry, born out of his original desire to create a '70s punk rock group, Stewart later developed his highly sophisticated style, reviving the hi-hat with refreshing ingenuity and playing tricky patterns and cross-sticking on his tight and responsive snare drum. Such crisp creativity set a new benchmark for drumming for decades to come...

Get the September issue of Rhythm magazine to catch the rest of this interview. In stores now price £4.50.

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