James Frank Copley (29 December 1953 – 13 May 2017) was an English rock drummer. 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.

Death

According to University Hospital Bristol, Copley had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2015 and relapsed following a bone marrow transplant. He opted to discontinue chemotherapy. In Copley's final days, his hospital room was transformed into a temporary recording studio so that he and friends could record an EP to benefit the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre and Royal United Hospital in Bristol.

Selected discography

Upp

Killing Joke

Tears For Fears

Psychedelix

Stone Free - Jimi Hendrix Tribute

Curt Smith

Martin Page

The Pretenders

Paul Rodgers

Char

Mayfield

Tony Iommi

Go West

Magnum

Jimmy Copley

Jimmy Copley & Char