Ian Copeland died 11:30pm, Tuesday evening, on 5-23-06 in the Los Angeles area at the age of 57 with the cause of death being a form of skin cancer known as melanoma. He was born 4-25-49 in Syria and raised in Lebanon as the son of a jazz musician that switched his career to U.S. Intelligence and became a high level CIA officer. Copeland followed his father’s footsteps in reverse by first fighting in the Vietnam War, and then he went back to Georgia to enter the music business and later headed west becoming an icon as he climbed to the top as a major player in the music industry. Copeland started out promoting Southern Rock and then became known as the New Wave Producer launching and promoting The Bangles, The Go-Go’s, Squeeze, The Police, and Sting. Ian Copeland furthered the careers of hundreds of touring musicians and bands ranging from local Indie to legendary international stars. Ian Copeland’s Beverly Hills Backstage Café remains a musician’s Mecca that he both owned and managed, and the musician’s paradise was which he filled with memorable from his days of managing The Police where his brother Stewart Copeland drummed his way to fame. His other brother Miles Copeland was CEO of the IRS Record label while Ian was also the founder of Frontier Booking International. These initials and names of government agencies chosen for and the name of his brother’s band and the Copeland brother’s businesses symbolized the admiration and respect that Ian Copeland and his brothers had for their father and the life they led. Ian Copeland was survived by his mother Lorraine, his two brothers Miles and Stewart, his sister Lennie, his two daughters Barbara and Chandra, and his Backstage Café family that included his special friend Punkin Pie.

Ian Copeland’s memory and spirit lives on with the club he founded and formerly managed with rock promoter Punkin Pie left behind to carry on his dream of promoting and bringing the musical community together. Her Tuesday nights will continue to represent the trendy club in the manner that would have made Ian Copelin proud. As Ian Copeland’s spirit became the newest member of Heaven at 11:30pm, it will be remembered by Backstage Tuesday night patrons that this is the time he used to say good-by and leave his club every Tuesday night. Ian Copeland can be imagined looking down from Heaven that fatal night and thanking and blessing Pie and all the musicians that have played and patronized Backstage throughout the years. On Tuesday 5-30-06, a week after Ian Copeland’s death, his funeral was relocated from Westwood to the House of Blues in order to accommodate the large number of mourners. That same night, Pie stated that the Tuesday night industry attended parties would continue in order to honor Ian Copeland’s memory and to keep bringing the musical community together. On the night of Ian Copeland’s final farewell, Dave Schulz (Goo Goo Dolls, English Beat) organized an outstanding group of all-star musicians that included Schulz performing with Dave Wakeling (English Beat, General Public), Tal Bergman (Billy Idol, Simple Minds), Dave Filice (The Rembrandts, Reeves Gabrels), Katja Rieckermann (Rod Stewart), Stacy Michelle (on tour with the James Gang), and many others. Ian Copeland will be remembered and loved for all the wonderful contributions he made to the music community and to his country. For further information on Ian Copeland go to www.backstage.com.