Despite a $2 million royalties lawsuit currently playing out in a London courtroom, Stewart Copeland says his relationship with former Police bandmate Sting remains intact.
Copeland and Police electric guitar player Andy Summers are suing Sting, the band’s singer and bass player, over unpaid royalties they claim are owed to them. But Copeland tells Billboard that the legal battle is largely being handled by accountants and lawyers.
“They’re all arguing away,” he says. “For me, it’s, ‘Lemme know how it works out…’”
In fact, Copeland says he and Sting remain in regular contact, discussing “kids, Instagram memes, and bullshit” rather than legal disputes.
“I’m happy that we get along just fine,” he explains. “And it’s not because of satanic impulses or any of the human infirmities of jealousy, greed, pride, whatever. It’s because we had a spell where our music universes overlapped and we created some incredible stuff. We really achieved everything we needed to achieve.”
The comments come amid an ongoing dispute over Police royalties. The biggest development since the case was filed in January was the revelation that Sting had paid his former bandmates more than $800,000 after the lawsuit began — a figure Summers and Copeland argue falls well short of what they are owed.
For Copeland, however, the key to maintaining the friendship is simple: he and Sting no longer have to work together.
“As I’ve been saying a lot recently, Sting and I make music for different reasons, and it has a different place in our lives,” he says. “So we get along great as long as we’re not trying to make music together.”
That wasn’t always the case. During the Police’s rise from the late-’70s punk and new-wave scene to global superstardom, tensions between Sting, Copeland and electric guitar player Andy Summers became legendary. Although the trio sold tens of millions of albums and produced classics such as Synchronicity, the relationship between the band members was often volatile.
When the band reunited for a world tour in 2007, Copeland says they even brought in professionals he likens to marriage counselors to help smooth over old tensions.
The approach worked. The reunion proved successful enough for the band to extend the tour by another six months.
Nearly two decades later, Copeland suggests the old conflicts have finally been put into perspective. The music was worth it, the friendships survived, and the lawyers can worry about the rest.
