James "Jimmy" Copley | |
|---|---|
 Copley with Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 2010 | |
| Born | 29 December 1953[1] London, England |
| Died | 13 May 2017 (aged 63) Bristol, England |
| Other names | Jim Copley |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Spouse |
Sachi Caroline Taylor
(m. 1984; div. 2014) |
| Children | Jack Copley (son) Johnny Copley (son) Jerome Alexandre (son) |
James Frank Copley (29 December 1953 – 13 May 2017) was an English rock drummer.
Copley was largely a session musician[2] and worked with Jeff Beck,[3] 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.[2] 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.[4] Another long time association was with Zildjian Cymbals. He also used Vic Firth drumsticks.[5]
