Great looking kit. I didnt buy it. I have the same kit from 76/77. All shells are 9 ply mahogany. The blue metallic was a fantastic finish. Mine still has the original king beat snare drum. Obviously mine isnt worth that sort of money but what a fab kit from the 70's period. I know if i sold it id never get another complete kit with this finish.

Holy cow. Stewart is my hero. The reason I've been a Tama fan for all these years, well also that Tama makes incredible drums. 121k seems like a bargain with that much music history in them.

-Doug

I've been a fan of Copeland and Tama for a long time, and even though i'm not using Tama at the moment, i still think the drums they made in the late 70's and early 80's, are some of the best ever produced.. He obviously used this kit live as the videos show, however, I always thought the original finish from his early days was the Midnight Blue finish, being a dark blue, just like the same color he used for their reunion tour, only that one was in a sparkle lacquer. He also had 3 rack toms instead of 2, which the auction kit has, and he also used a set of Octobans..And as Copeland himself stated, we all now know he didn't use the King Beat snare drum for the Police recordings, but used a Pearl COB snare drum, though i'm not sure which model..

The Paiste Signature Series 18" Fast Crash is cataloged as part of his "original kit", and as a Paiste user, i know for a fact that Signature series came out in 1989, which means it isn't part of the historical Police recordings, and was most probably acquired and used just before he retired the kit in 1990..

This may be semantics, but is this really the kit that everyone knows

and associates Stewart Copeland with ?..When i think vintage Stewart Copeland and his Tama kit, i think of this one..

Whatever the case, awesome bit of rock and drumming history !

human71!

You're not sure which snare drum he played on most all The Police recordings and tours? Have a look at the forum home page header bar and/or the Drum Image Gallery! Don't know how you could have missed that actually! I posted up a pic of my 1977/80 PEARL B4514 which is the model snare drum that Stewart played with The Police back in the day. Have a read of the text I wrote too, as it tells a bit about the drum and what Stewart said about it. By the way ... he still has the drum too! :) I'll attach a pic/two here for you anyway, and check out the CAST batter hoop which is how he had his set up back then too! Saw them three times LIVE in the 80's, and yes indeed, both tours were with the set you have shown here. I was so heavily influenced by his playing and The Police in general, that I had my drums and cymbals pretty much in his configuration, including the Octobans!, although I only used two and not four. I gotta dig out some pics and I'll post 'em up. I played PEARL MLX's back then and not TAMA, but otherwise, same configuration. As I am so fond of saying, ah ... hero worship! :) A lot of his nuance/style is STILL present in my playing today too ... when I can sneak it in! Hope you enjoy the snare drum!

Tommyp

Hey Tommy !

Thanks a bunch for that bit of historical drum info and for the pics !

Very cool ! I also can't see how i could have missed the pic you posted in the gallery.DOH

My attention span must be dwindling..LoLoLoLo I too was influenced by Stewart Copeland and learned a lot from his drumming style, which i still use to this day.. I guess many of us were..And even though i was only a kid in the 2nd grade when the Police came out, i "rediscovered" him in high school and thought he was an awesome, monster drummer..I heard that he used the Jupiter, but i guess like so many others, i was wrong ! Thanks for clearing that up in your thread ;) I also love the finish on the kit that's being auctioned..I may be biased, but my favorite color is blue ;)

cheers,

Rob

Glad you guys enjoyed the link and discussion.

I don't think any drummer in the 80's can say they weren't influenced by Stewart to some degree. Plus the songs were(are) great. The band had a chemistry- a bit like nitroglycerin but regardless the songs they recorded are timeless classics. Even when Sting re-does them, all I hear is the original version.

One of my favorite videos is "Police around the world". No idea if it's on DVD but it is a lot of fun. As much as they fought, they certainly had fun too.

I never got to see them (or Sting yet) live which I do regret.

J!m!

I guess the great part about my age is that I did get to see a LOT of the great drummers and bands LIVE as it happened. The bad part of that is, well ... I'm in my 60's now, but YOUNG 60's I might add. :) That said, I caught The Police three times between 1982 and 1983, truly at the height of their powers as a band. They had played so many concerts by then that they were incredibly tight ... yet still without a doubt ... ferocious. I saw the "Ghost in the Machine" tour in Springfield, MA on January 20th, 1982. Incredible!, and of course blown away by Stewart Copeland LIVE. Then, I caught both "Synchronicity" dates in Hartford, CT on August 11th and 13th, 1983. Jeeze Louise! I remember ALL those concerts like it was yesterday! Still a Police/Stewart Copeland fan to this day, and stole a LOT from him which still makes it's way into my paying. Enjoy talking about The Police and Stewart Copeland as much as Buddy! :)

Tommyp

You're one lucky guy, Tommy.. I can only imagine what it must have felt like when seeing them live.. All i've got is Youtube..DOH

However, i do remember all the news stations talking about the Police and showing them live in other cities and when they came here to Montreal (one of Sting's favorite north American cities apparently), with their now infamous concert at the old Montreal Forum hockey arena, which has since been transformed into a giant cinema complex/mini mall. Many British bands got their start in north America through Montreal, such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Montreal's all time favorite UK band, Supertramp..

Jealous as well.

But I suppose others will be jealous of my SRV concert attendances as well...