Ian Copeland...

Ian Copeland, the booking agent who helped the Police and other new wave and punk bands such as REM and the B52's break into the US music scene has died, aged 57. Ian, brother of Stewart and Miles, launched his agency, Frontier Booking International in New York in 1979 and more recently, he was the principal owner of the Backstage Cafe in Beverly Hills.

Earlier today Sting talked about his friend.

"Ian Copeland was both my friend and my booking agent for most of my career. He lived his life with the easy going, relaxed philosophy of a man who'd been under fire and survived, as if the violence that he'd witnessed and taken part in during his service in Viet Nam had given him a broader perspective on the important things of life. He was not driven by any grandiose ambitions, or the impossible demands of an overblown ego. He was self possessed and confident enough to take genuine pleasure in the worldly success of those close to him without taking any of it too seriously.Very little seemed to phase him, his agreeable humor became a constant that could be relied on as a counter to the often hysterical absurdities of a music business in constant flux and turmoil.

I would seek out the pleasure of his company, marvel at his dry wit, and listen raptly to his self deprecating, humorous and often terrifying stories. He was a brave man to the end, a great father and mentor, an inspiration to all of those who worked with him, 'Leroy' was the life and soul of any party. The world is a darker place now that he's gone. We shall miss him terribly."