Police officer Stewart Copeland talks about his relationship with Sting

As expected, Stewart Copeland is currently on a colloquial tour of North America and spends a lot of time talking about police and answering questions. And he’s happy to report that Sting and Andy Summers are “doing great” these days, despite being in the middle of a royalties dispute.

“We’re not[in court]. The bean counter is somewhere in London,” the group’s drummer told Billboard. “For me, it’s, ‘Please tell me how it works…'”

Last year, Copland and Summers sued Sting in the UK, claiming they owed $2 million in unpaid royalties under the band’s songwriting contract, which dates back to when the Police formed in 1977. In fact, Summers is particularly outspoken in feeling that he should have received songwriting credit for the Grammy Award-winning 1983 hit “Every Breath You Take.” The case went all the way to the UK High Court. Records show Sting paid the former band members $870,000, but Copeland and Summers are still seeking the balance.

However, Copeland said that he and Sting still “talk about the kids, the Instagram memes, the shit… We’re glad we’re getting along and we know the way. It’s not because of some demonic impulse or human weakness like jealousy or greed or pride. It’s because our musical worlds overlap and it’s incredible. We really accomplished everything we set out to accomplish. Really, as I’ve said many times, Sting-O and I make music for different reasons these days, but it’s in different places in our lives. So we get along very well, as far as making music goes.”

The Police were active from 1977 to 1984 and released five studio albums, including 1983’s eight-time platinum album “Synchronicity,” which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. According to Copeland, the trio reunited for three concerts on Amnesty International’s 1986 Conspiracy of Hope tour, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2003, and then a worldwide reunion tour with support from Band Therapy in 2007 and 2008. “We had experts come in and straighten us out. I think their day job was some kind of marriage agency,” he recalls. “It went really well. After the session, Business Suit said, ‘Okay, let’s keep touring for another six months!’ ‘Of course! ‘

“It was actually a lot of fun. A lot of misery and a lot of fun at the same time. But two years later, we all felt like we needed to get back to our core mission.”

Multimedia careers have been busy for all three police officers. In Copland’s case, he branched out into opera and classical music composition, film and video game scoring, film production, and writing. He is the subject of a new documentary, Copland, which will premiere on June 19 at London’s Raindance Film Festival, and is writing another opera, which he says is “kind of a secret until it’s released to the world”. He has also expanded the touring repertoire of Police Deranged for Orchestra to include other songs from his career. “It’s going to confuse not just the police, but the whole world,” Copeland said.

But despite what sounds like a perfect record, Copland considers himself “totally retired” from music, at least in a commercial sense. “I’ve had a career in music, and it’s worked out for me. Now I just do what feels good, without any purpose, and put[music]on YouTube for people to enjoy. I’m not chasing the charts. If I make a record, it’s probably going to cost me money. I can’t make a living writing opera, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Copeland has also written another book (publication details still to be determined), which he describes as “a guide to living a life that includes people chasing you for autographs, interviews that ask pointed questions, everything that comes with being a rock ‘n’ roll celebrity, and all the weird stuff.” Because this is a very strange place. That’s not normal. People don’t treat musicians the same way they treat dentists, even though dentists are far more important to their health. Living in that strange world. An unstable pedestal is a strange thing. He interviewed therapists and other musicians for the book, including Kiss’ Gene Simmons and Carly Simon.

In fact, the latter is what gave Copland “a bit of weirdness” during the summer of 1971, when he made his second album, Anticipation, in London. “I was interested in band dynamics[in the book]and the phenomenon of romance in bands like Fleetwood Mac, and I was talking to her about, ‘How does that work?'” she says. “When we were recording Anticipation in London and we were feeling great and excited with all the best musicians, we stayed in this beautiful house near Hyde Park and recorded during the day and fucked everyone at night with all the musicians.” I said, “Can I put that in the book?” “Sure” — she didn’t use the F-bomb, but I mean, that’s pretty surprising.

“And the dynamic was clear. During the day, they’re making music that’s very emotionally engaging, very tense, and at night it’s the natural result of it all coming out, and the next day they’re making music of love. It was even bigger than her first album.”

So Mr. Copeland clearly has plenty of “Did I say too much?” fodder. The Police, Hollywood and other adventure shows. He began doing multimedia presentations in the UK last year and began a major North American presentation earlier this month, with dates booked through early August and separate leg dates in October and November. “I’m telling my wild stories to a room full of people, not just one person or a dinner table,” Copeland says. “And it’s kind of fun to get a laugh. I never imagined that would be my career path, but I’m having a lot of fun.”

In addition to his prepared remarks, he will also answer audience written questions submitted in buckets in the venue lobby.

“My favorite question that got the most laughs that night was, ‘What hotel are you staying at tonight?'” he recalls. “That got more laughs than any of my gags, damn it.” And once the laughter died down, the only question left was, “Because I want to know where I’m going to pick up my mom in the morning.” What was Copeland’s answer? The Four Seasons, Milwaukee — even though he was in Dublin, Ireland at the time.

“My life is an open book,” Copeland says. “In fact, there are no unpleasant subjects. In fact, the more unpleasant topics we have, the more laughs we can generate. I really enjoy this.”

Upcoming dates for Copland’s “Have I Said Too Much?” Police, Hollywood and Other Adventure Tours:

June 18 — Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, California
June 20th — Presidio Theater, San Francisco, California
June 25 — Hollywood Theater, Vancouver, British Columbia
June 27 — Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon
June 28 — Neptune Theater, Seattle, WA
July 6-7 — The Kate (2nd show), Old Saybrook, CT
July 9 — City Winery, Boston, MA
July 10 — Waldo Theater, Waldoboro, Maine
July 11 — BNH Stage in Concord, New Hampshire
July 12 — Greenwich Audium, East Greenwich, Rhode Island
July 14 — The Paramount, Huntington, New York
July 16 — South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, NJ
July 17 — Darryl’s House Club, Pawling, New York
July 18 — Colonial Theater, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
July 19 — Birchmere, Alexandria, Virginia
July 21 — Ram’s Head on Stage, Annapolis, Maryland
July 22 — Palace Theater, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
July 24 — Kent Stage, Kent, Ohio
July 25th — Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, Ohio
July 28 — Parkway Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota
July 30th — Vivarium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
July 31 — North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie, Illinois
August 1 — Wealthy Theater, Grand Rapids, Michigan
August 2 — Tarkington, Carmel, Indiana
August 4th — City Winery, Nashville, Tennessee
Aug. 6 — Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount, Virginia.
August 7 — Beacon Theater, Hopewell, Virginia
October 28 — Shale Forum, Thousand Oaks, California
October 30th — Rialto Theater, Tucson, Arizona
November 1st — Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City, Utah
November 3 — Boulder Theater, Boulder, Colorado
November 4th — Holiday Theater, Denver, Colorado
November 6th — Admiral, Omaha, Nebraska
November 7 — Granada Theater, Lawrence, Kansas
November 8th — Wildy Theater, Edwardsville, Illinois
November 10th — Magic Bag, Detroit, Michigan
November 12 — Homer Center for the Arts, Homer, NY
November 13th — Bethel Woods Event Gallery, Bethel, New York
November 15 — Spruce Peak Performing Arts, Stowe, Vermont
November 17 — Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, Pennsylvania
November 18 — Elkton Music Hall, Elkton, Maryland
November 20th — Appel Center for Performing Arts, York, Pennsylvania
November 22 — Carolina Theater, Charlotte, North Carolina