Ian Copeland R.I.P.

Ian Copeland, agent for many New Wave and other rock acts, died of melanoma on Tuesday at the age of 57. His older brother, Miles Copeland, founded the I.R.S. record label. His younger brother Stewart was the drummer for The Police.

Starting in the Seventies, Copeland was the agent of many Southern rock bands, among them the Charlie Daniels Band and Lynard Skynard. It was later in the Seventies after he had sought gigs for British band Squeeze that he expanded beyond Southern rock. In 1978 he founded the Frontier Booking International (the FBI, for short), which would become influential in the New Wave movement. The agency represented such New Wave acts as Adam Ant, The B-52s, The Cure, and, of course, The Police. Copeland's agency also boasted such acts as The Ramones, The Smiths, The Dead Kennedys, and Joan Jett.

As an agent and promoter Ian Copeland worked with some of the biggest names in rock music. Alongside his brother Miles' record label, I.R.S., Copeland's agency brought New Wave to the forefront of the music scene in the early Eighties. Although not a rock star himself, he certainly had an impact on the music being played at the time.