Ian Copeland, pioneering booking agent and brother of musician Stewart Copeland and IRS label founder Miles Copeland, has died aged 57 from melanoma. Copeland was the founder of Frontier Booking International (FBI), one of the top agencies of the eighties, whose acts included REM, Sting, the Bangles, the Go-Gos, the Smiths, the Thompson Twins, the Fixx, UB40, Joan Jett and the Black Hearts, Oingo Boingo, the Dead Kennedys and the Cure.
Long time colleague Buck Williams said of Copeland: "His contribution was to the development of modern music. He was the driving force behind the 'new wave' movement. He was the 'go to' man for young, first release, new wave bands in Europe, developing a circuit in which most young European acts could come over, work and go home not in debt."
Brother Miles said: "He was not only our brother, but a maverick partner to Stewart and I, and so many others in this crazy world of entertainment. It will not be the same without him"
Copeland is survived by his mother, two brothers, a sister and two daughters, Chandra and Barbara.