Don't Care...Show # 158

Klark Kent formed in 1978. Claiming to to have been a computer programmer who sued IBM for stealing an invention he created, Klark Kent was actually the alter ego of Stewart Copeland. Coming from the band The Police, Drummer Stewart Copeland wanted to record some of his own songs in which Sting, from The Police rejected. Copeland is credited for playing all the instruments and singing on Klark Kent's debut album, Music Madness From the Kinetic Kid (the album contains eight songs so it could also be classified as an EP), but it sounds like members of The Police actually play on it at times. Klark Kent released a few singles starting in 1978, with "Don't Care". The song was a quirky, eccentric new wave number containing similarly odd lyrics. "Too Kool to Kalypso" was the second single released the same year. The song was a song that sounded as if it came from the Police album Regetta De Blanc, which wouldn't come out until 1979. The song featured Copeland's loud, energetic drumming along with kazoo parts in the song.

Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid (also known as Klark Kent, or Klerk Kant), was released in 1980, the albums first single was "Away from Home" backed by the song "Office Talk". "Ritch in a Ditch" came as the next single, backed by the song "Grandelinquent", which was an instrumental. The song "Ritch in a Ditch" was released without the "T" in the word "Rich". The album overall was a new wave album of songs that sounded like Police song outtakes (like the songs written by Copeland such as "On Any Other Day", and earlier Police songs that he also wrote), the album also featured two instrumentals "Grandelinquent", and "Theme For Kinetic Ritual". After Klark Kent's identity was found out, Copeland stopped his odd little side project and returned to his band The Police.

In 1995, Klark Kent returned with Kollected Works. The album (released on CD) was a collection of Klark Kent's material from Music Madness From the Kinetic Kid, as well as some early singles, b-sides, and outtakes. Klark Kent's albums are now out of print (I don't believe that Music Madness From the Kinetic Kid was ever released on CD). After The Police fell out in the late 80s, Copeland would continue to work on side projects with other musicians, do soundtracks (for movies and video games), and in 2006 he released Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out, a documentary he filmed during one of The Police's tours. Currently Copeland is touring with The Police on their 30th anniversary reunion tour; An anthology featuring a collection of Copeland's work is also out titled, The Stewart Copeland Anthology, it features one Klark Kent song and a bunch of solo Copeland material.

Play List:

1. Gang of Four – to hell with poverty
2. Glaxo Babies – Christine keeler
3. Roxy Music – street life
4. Elvis Costello – less than zero
5. Iggy Pop – dum dum boys
6. Blondie – Detroit 442
7. The Cinch – once a week
8. Young Canadians – this is your life
9. Evaporators – el degas
10. Vindicators – hate
11. Chessmen – l’adventure
12. Professionals – the magnificent
13. Public Image Limited – poptones
14. Talking Heads – electric guitar
15. Ultravox – all stood still
16. Wire – fragile
17. Klark Kent – don’t care
18. Klark Kent – too kool to kalypso
19. The Diodes – behind those eyes
20. Pointed Sticks – its ok
21. The Stranglers – tank
22. Magazine – model worker
23. The Hives – tick tick boom
24. Joe Strummer – it’s a rockin’ world

Krazy Videos:

Don't Care (TOTP)
Away From Home Video