Jimmy Copley (1953 to 2017) was an English 'rock' drummer and session musician. James Copley was born on December 29th 1953 in London, England. As a drummer, he was probably best-known for his session music work with Jeff Beck, Graham Parker, 'Upp', Paul Young, 'Magnum', Roger Glover, Ian Gillan/Glenn Hughes (both of 'Deep Purple'), 'Go West', 'Killing Joke', 'Tears for Fears' (as featured here), Seal, Tony Iommi (of 'Black Sabbath'), 'The Pretenders' and Paul Rodgers. Copley had been the regular drummer for 'Manfred Mann's Earth Band' since 2007, but in 2008 released his own first solo album, "Slap My Hand". It featured guest performances from Jeff Beck, Pino Palladino, Peter Cox, Micky Moody, Ian Jennings, Dino Baptiste, Bernie Marsden, Steve Evans, Neil Murray, Char, Paul Jackson, Koji, Chris White (of 'Dire Straits' and 'Yes'), Mark Stanway and Mo Birch. As a master of the 'open-handed' drumming technique, Copley was said to be able to "play more freely" and also to "incorporate more melodic motifs into songs". Having received a diagnosis of terminal leukemia in December 2015, during his final days he recorded a benefit EP, "Psyche Funk", in a temporary recording studio set up in hospital, which also featured actor Anthony Head, plus Robert Hart (of 'Bad Company'), Chris White and Charlie Jones (a long-time collaborator with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page). Jimmy Copley died from his condition at the University Hospital Bristol, England, on May 13th 2017, aged 63. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/jimmy-copley-dies/