Jimmy Copley
James Frank Copley (29 December 1953 – 13 May 2017) was an English rock drummer.
James "Jimmy" Copley | |
|---|---|
Copley with Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 2010 | |
| Born | 29 December 1953 London, England |
| Died | 13 May 2017 (aged 63) Bristol, England |
| Other names | Jim Copley |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Spouse | Sachi Caroline Taylor (m. 1984–2014) |
| Children | Jack Copley (son) Johnny Copley (son) Jerome Alexandre (son) |
Copley was largely a session musician and worked with Jeff Beck, Graham Parker, Upp, Paul Young, Magnum, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, Go West, Killing Joke, Tears for Fears, Seal, Tony Iommi and Paul Rodgers. He was the drummer with Manfred Mann's Earth Band from 2007.
He was a master of the open-handed drumming technique. This method dispenses with crossing the hands when playing the hi-hat and snare drum simultaneously, as opposed to the more traditional way of playing drums which features crossed hands as the basic playing position.
Copley was a long-term Tama Drums endorser. He used Superstar, Granstar, Artstar II and Starclassic drums throughout the years. Another long time association was with Zildjian Cymbals. He also used Vic Firth drumsticks.