Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and

Rick Davies Richard Davies (born 22 July 1944) is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs ...

(vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

styles as well as for a sound that relied heavily on

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

. The group's lineup changed numerous times throughout their career, with Davies being the only consistent member throughout the decades. Other longtime members included bassist

Dougie Thomson Douglas 'Doogie' Campbell Thomson (born 24 March 1951) is a Scottish musician, born in Glasgow and raised in the Rutherglen area of the city. He was the bass guitarist of progressive rock band Supertramp during much of the seventies and eight ...

, drummer

Bob Siebenberg Robert Layne Siebenberg (born October 31, 1949) also known as Bob C. Benberg, is an American musician, best known as a member of British progressive rock band Supertramp, playing drums and percussion. He was the sole American in Supertramp's ...

, and saxophonist

John Helliwell John Anthony Helliwell (born 15 February 1945) is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's c ...

. The band were initially a prog-rock group, but starting with their third album, ''

Crime of the Century "Crime of the century" is an idiomatic phrase used to describe particularly sensational or notorious criminal cases. Chua-Eoan, Howard (n.d.)"Crimes of the Century: The Top 25" '' Time''. Retrieved September 10, 2021. In the United States, it is o ...

'' (1974), they began moving towards a more pop-oriented sound. They reached their commercial peak with 1979's ''

Breakfast in America ''Breakfast in America'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released by A&M Records on 29 March 1979. It was recorded in 1978 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. It spawned four US ''Billboard'' hit singles: "The ...

'', which yielded the international top 10 singles " The Logical Song", "

", "

Goodbye Stranger "Goodbye Stranger" is a song by the English rock band Supertramp; it was written by Rick Davies. The song first appeared on their sixth studio album, ''Breakfast in America'' (1979). Reception ''Billboard'' described "Goodbye Stranger" as "a ...

", and " Take the Long Way Home". Their other top 40 hits included " Dreamer" (1974), " Give a Little Bit" (1977), and " It's Raining Again" (1982). In 1983, Hodgson left the group to pursue a solo career. Davies took over as the band's sole leader until 1988, after which they disbanded and periodically reformed in various configurations. As of 2007, Supertramp album sales exceeded 60 million. They attained significant popularity in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. Their highest sales levels were in Canada, where they had two diamond-certified (ten-times platinum) albums (''Crime of the Century'' and ''Breakfast in America''), and their only number 1 singles anywhere ("The Logical Song" and "Dreamer").

History

1969–1972: Formation, ''Supertramp'' and ''Indelibly Stamped''

In 1969 Stanley "Sam" August Miesegaes, a Dutch millionaire, ceased providing financial support to a band called The Joint, as he was disappointed with them. He offered

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon unitary authority area had a population ...

-born keyboardist

, a former bandmate of Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, whose talent he felt had been "bogged down" by the group, an opportunity to form his own band with Miesegaes's financial backing. Davies assembled Roger Hodgson (bass and vocals), Richard Palmer (guitars and vocals), and Keith Baker (percussion) after placing an advertisement in the weekly music newspaper ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

''. Davies and Hodgson had radically different backgrounds and musical inspirations: Davies was working class and fiercely devoted to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, while Hodgson had gone straight from English private school to the music business and was fond of

. Despite this, they hit it off during the auditions and began writing virtually all of their songs together, with Palmer as a third writer in the mix. Hodgson and Davies collaborated on the songwriting while Palmer composed the lyrics. The group, having dubbed themselves "Daddy", after several months of rehearsal at a country house in

West Hythe West Hythe is a hamlet near Palmarsh in Kent, England, and a few miles west of the cinque port town of Hythe . Location Modern settlement is mostly on the plain south of the Royal Military Canal, and immediately north and north-west of Palmarsh, ...

, Kent, flew to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

for a series of concerts at the P. N. Club. One 10-minute performance there of " All Along the Watchtower" was filmed by

Haro Senft Haro Senft (27 September 1928, Budweis, Czechoslovakia (now České Budějovice, Czech Republic – 4 February 2016, Munich) was a German filmmaker who was one of the founders of the New German Cinema movement. His short documentary film ''Kahl ...

(''Daddy Portrait 1970''). The rehearsals had been less than productive and their initial repertoire consisted of only four songs, two of which were covers. In January 1970 Keith Baker left, and to avoid confusion with the similarly named Daddy Longlegs, at Palmer's suggestion, the band changed its name to "Supertramp", a moniker inspired by '' The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp'' by William Henry Davies. In February 1970 Baker was replaced by former stage actor Robert Millar (b. 1950). In April 1970 Supertramp, while back in Munich, returned the favor to their friend Haro Senft by contributing music to his next film, ''Fegefeuer'' (a.k.a. ''Purgatory''), and would also agree to have tracks from their first album used in a documentary, ''Extremes'' (1971), by Tony Klinger and Michael Lytton. Supertramp were one of the first groups to be signed to the UK branch of

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

and their first album, '' Supertramp'', was released on 14 August 1970 in the UK and Canada (it would not be issued in the US until late 1977). Stylistically, the album was fairly typical of

of the era. Despite receiving a good deal of critical praise, the album did not attract a large audience. Dave Winthrop (flute and saxophone, vocals) had first auditioned for the group in March 1970 but didn't join until July, just before the release of the first record. He performed with Supertramp at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival on 27 August 1970. The membership continued to change in the six months following the album's release: Palmer left the band in December 1970, followed by Millar in January 1971, who had suffered a nervous breakdown.(8 March 2009)
"30 Years on from Breakfast in America"
Swindonweb. Palmer, as Richard Palmer-James, went on to work as a lyricist for

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

. Palmer was replaced by former

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band. The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...

guitarist David O'List, who lasted for only one gig. A drummer from Birmingham, Dickie Thomas, was brought in during the interim until auditions brought the band Kevin Currie in February 1971. For the next album, '' Indelibly Stamped'', released in June 1971 in both the UK and US, Frank Farrell (bass, keyboards, backing vocals) joined, while Hodgson switched to guitar and Davies served as a second lead singer. With Palmer's departure, Hodgson and Davies wrote and composed separately for this and the band's subsequent albums. The record sold even less than their debut. In the aftermath, all members gradually quit except Hodgson and Davies, and Miesegaes withdrew his financial support in October 1972.

1973–1978: ''Crime of the Century'' and commercial breakthrough

After Farrell's departure in the spring of 1972, 20 year old bassist Nick South (from Alexis Korner's band) came in for a temporary stint until

(from

The Alan Bown Set The Alan Bown Set later known as The Alan Bown! or just Alan Bown, were a British band of the 1960s and 1970s whose music evolved from jazz and blues through soul and rhythm and blues and ended up as psychedelia and progressive rock. The band a ...

) joined in July. In the summer of 1973 more auditions to replace the departed Curry and Winthrop started and introduced

(initially credited as Bob C. Benberg; drums and percussion) and another Alan Bown alumni,

(saxophone, other woodwinds, occasional keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals), completing the lineup in the summer of 1973. Hodgson would also begin introducing compositions featuring keyboards (particularly the

) in the band in addition to guitar. This lineup of Supertramp would remain in place for the next ten years. Meanwhile, the bond between Davies and Hodgson had begun weakening. Hodgson mused, "There's a very deep bond, but it's definitely mostly on a musical level. When there's just the two of us playing together, there's an incredible empathy. His down-to-earth way of writing, which is very rock 'n' roll, balances out my lighter, melodic style." Over Supertramp's history, their relationship would be amicable but increasingly distant as their lifestyles and musical inclinations saw less and less overlap. Their songwriting partnership gradually dissolved; though all of Supertramp's songs would continue to be officially credited as "written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson", most of them were written by Davies or Hodgson individually. Supertramp needed a hit record to continue working, and finally got one with ''

''. Released in September 1974, it began the group's run of critical and commercial successes, hitting number 4 in Britain, number 38 in the US, and number 4 in Canada. This album made the top 100 albums in Canada three years in a row in 1974, 1975 and 1976, even though it did not have a Top 40 hit in Canada. " Dreamer", the 1975 UK Top 20 single written by Hodgson, was the band's first hit single and drove the album to the top of the charts. Another single from the record, " Bloody Well Right", hit the US Top 40 in May 1975 and would be their only hit in the country for more than two years. Supertramp chart history Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 August 2011. Most of the band have said they feel they hit their artistic peak on this album, though their greatest commercial success would come later. In 1975, the band moved to the United States. With a hit album under their belt, pressures on the band increased, and the followup ''

Crisis? What Crisis? ''Crisis? What Crisis?'' is the fourth album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1975. It was recorded in Los Angeles and London – Supertramp's first album to have recording done in the US. A remastered CD version of the album ...

'' had to be recorded in the few months between two scheduled concert tours. As a consequence, most of the material consisted of leftover songs from ''Crime of the Century'', and decades later the band would continue to regard the album as one of their worst moments. Nevertheless, Hodgson said in a 2015 interview that ''Crisis? What Crisis?'' was his favourite Supertramp album. Despite Supertramp's own misgivings, the album was well received by critics, and when released in November 1975, it broke both the UK Top Twenty and the US Top Fifty in spite of its singles all being commercial flops. The following album, '' Even in the Quietest Moments...'', released in April 1977, spawned a hit single with " Give a Little Bit" (number 15 US, number 29 UK, number 8 in Canada), first written by Hodgson at 19 or 20 years of age before he introduced it to the band for recording five to six years later. As usual, the popularity of the album itself eclipsed that of its singles, and ''Even in the Quietest Moments...'' hit number 16 in the US, number 12 in the UK, and 1 in Canada. During this period, the band permanently relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

1979–1983: ''Breakfast in America'', ''...Famous Last Words...'' and Hodgson's departure

The band's switch to a more

-oriented approach peaked with their most popular album, ''

''. For the last two months of completing the album, Hodgson parked a camper outside of the studio to work diligently on mixing, with brief periods of rest in between. He remembered feeling that "it could be a big album" and that he spent "days and sometimes weeks choosing the right songs and the right order of songs so one song flowed into the next". Released in March 1979, ''Breakfast in America'' reached number 3 in the UK and number 1 in the US and Canada. The album spawned four successful

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

(more than their first five albums combined): three of Hodgson's songs, " The Logical Song" (number 1 Canada, number 6 US, number 7 UK), " Take the Long Way Home" (number 4 Canada, number 10 US, not released in UK), and "

" (number 9 UK, not released in the US or Canada) and Davies' "

" (number 5 in Canada, number 15 US, number 57 UK).Billboard singles charts
Allmusic. Retrieved 26 August 2015. Supertramp performing in 1979 To avoid an overly lengthy gap between albums during their hiatus, the band put out 1980's ''

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

'', a two-LP live album recorded mostly at the

Pavillon de Paris The Pavillon de Paris () was a large concert space in Paris, France, located near the Porte de Pantin Métro stop, on the northern edge of the city. With a seating capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators, the Pavillon was the city's largest in ...

. It broke the top ten in both the US and UK. A live version of "Dreamer" was released as a single hitting number 1 in Canada and number 15 in the US, even though the studio version had failed to even chart there in 1974. And a second single from the live album, "

", peaked at number 62 in the US. Hodgson moved his family from the Los Angeles area to the mountains of northern California where he built a home and studio and focused on his family and spiritual life, while recording a solo album, initially titled ''Sleeping with the Enemy'', which would later be released as '' In the Eye of the Storm'' in 1984. This geographic separation widened the rift between him and the rest of the group; during the conceptualization and recording of their next album, '' ...Famous Last Words...'', Davies and Hodgson found far greater difficulty in reconciling their musical ideas than they had before, and it was apparent to the rest of the band that Hodgson wanted out. ''...Famous Last Words...'' was released in October 1982, and scored two more hits with " It's Raining Again" and " My Kind of Lady". It peaked at no. 5 in the USA and no. 6 in the UK. A worldwide tour followed in 1983, in which the band was joined by two additional musicians on stage, former

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

player Fred Mandel (guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals) and Scott Page (sax, guitar, horns, backing vocals), and Hodgson announced he would not be continuing with the band once the tour finished in September 1983. Hodgson has stated that his departure was motivated by a desire to spend more time with his family and make solo recordings and that there were never any real personal or professional problems between him and Davies, as some people thought.

1984–1988: ''Brother Where You Bound'' and ''Free as a Bird''

The Davies-led Supertramp released ''

Brother Where You Bound ''Brother Where You Bound'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1985. It was their first album after original member Roger Hodgson left the band, leaving Rick Davies to handle the songwriting and singing ...

'' in May 1985. The album was a deliberate step away from the pop approach of their last two studio albums, and reached no. 20 in the UK charts and no. 21 in the US charts. It included the Top 30 hit single "

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

", along with the title track, a 16-minute exposition on

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

themes highlighted by guitar solos from

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

. A 20-minute film of the title track by

Rene Daalder Rene Daalder (born René Daalder 3 March 1944 in Texel, North Holland, died December 31, 2019, sometimes credited as Renee Daalder) was a Dutch writer and director. He lived in Los Angeles. Originally a protégé of Russ Meyer, Daalder has worked ...

was used to promote the album. Supertramp mounted a tour in the fall of 1985 through early 1986 that was their first without Hodgson. The lineup included Davies, Thomson, Helliwell, Siebenberg, Scott Page, Marty Walsh (guitar, backing vocals), Carl Verheyen (guitar, percussion, backing vocals) and

Mark Hart Mark Hart (born July 2, 1953), is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist best known for being a member of both Supertramp (1986–1988, 1996–2002, 2015–present) and Crowded House (1993–1996, 2007–2019). As well as being a group mem ...

(vocals, guitar, keyboards). Brad Cole sat in for Hart for several gigs in late October/early November of 1985 after the latter was called away due to a family emergency. 1987's '' Free as a Bird'' experimented in heavily synthesised music,Bollenberg, John "Bobo" (26 June 2000)
Interview with Rick Davies, John Helliwell, Jack Douglass, and Georges Ohayon
ProgressiveWorld.net. such as " I'm Beggin' You", which reached number 1 on the US dance charts. The stylistic change was generally not well-received, however, and the album itself reached only no. 93 in the UK and 101 in the US, breaking a streak of seven consecutive top 100 efforts on the American charts. In addition to their shift towards less commercially oriented material, the band members decided to drop all of Hodgson's compositions from their setlist in order to further establish an identity separate from him. However, audiences were angered by the omissions of these songs, and although Supertramp toured in 1985 using only Davies's compositions, in 1988 the pressure from fans and their first tour of South America drove them to reintroduce a handful of Hodgson-penned hits to their set.Majewski, Stephen (17 June 1998)
Doug Thomson Interview
The band's 1988 touring lineup was almost the same as it had been in '85/'86, but with Brad Cole returning in place of Scott Page and percussionist Steve Reid instead of guitarist Carl Verheyen. After 1988's tour, the group fragmented. Davies later explained, "We'd been out there for about 20 years just recording and touring and it seemed time to have a break with no ideas as to if or when we would come back. We decided not to actually say anything, just sort of fade away like an old soldier."

1993 Hodgson and Davies reunion

On 14 April 1993 at the Beverly Hills Hilton, for a special dinner honoring

Jerry Moss Jerome S. Moss (born May 8, 1935) is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpet player and bandleader Herb Alpert. Music career After graduating from Brooklyn College with a degree ...

, co-founder of A&M Records, Hodgson, Davies, and Helliwell (together with Jeff Daniel) appeared to perform "The Logical Song" and "Goodbye Stranger". After that, Davies and Hodgson began working together again, recording demos of two new songs, "

You Win, I Lose "You Win, I Lose" is a song by Supertramp. It is the second track on their tenth studio album '' Some Things Never Change''. "You Win, I Lose" would also appear on Supertramp's 2005 compilation album '' Retrospectacle – The Supertramp Anthology ...

" and "And the Light". But disagreements over management prompted them to part ways once again soon after, with both songs eventually appearing, ''sans'' Hodgson, on Supertramp's next release in 1997.

1996–2002: ''Some Things Never Change'' and ''Slow Motion''

In 1996 Davies re-formed Supertramp with Helliwell, Siebenberg and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist

, who was new to the official lineup but had prominently contributed to ''Free as a Bird'' and to the group's tours from 1985 to 1988. Their 1985–86 guitarist, Carl Verheyen, returned as well, along with new bassist

Cliff Hugo Clifford Clyde Hugo (born April 23, 1951 in Glendale, California), is the bass guitarist for the art rock band Supertramp. Hugo worked with fellow Supertramp member Carl Verheyen in the Carl Verheyen Band from '97 - 2008 . He has toured the wo ...

, horn player Lee Thornburg and former

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

percussionist Tom Walsh (who was replaced for the band's 1997 tour by Bob Siebenberg's son Jesse, who would also go on to contribute guitar, keyboards and vocals), bringing the band up to an eight-man lineup. The result of this reunion was ''

Some Things Never Change ''Some Things Never Change'' is the tenth album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in March 1997. Overview ''Some Things Never Change'' represented a deliberate return to the band's earlier sound (before ''Free as a Bird''), using m ...

'', a new studio album released in March 1997 that echoed the earlier Supertramp sound and reached number 74 in the UK.Supertramp in the UK Charts
The Official Charts. Retrieved 6 August 2011. In the summer of 1997, Supertramp returned to the road, resulting in the live ''

It Was the Best of Times ''It Was the Best of Times'' is the third live album by the English rock music, rock band Supertramp, released in April 1999. The album title makes use of the opening line from ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. Overview ''It Was the ...

'' (April 1999). After a three-year hiatus, Supertramp released in April 2002 a new studio album entitled '' Slow Motion'', followed by a 2002 world tour entitled "One More for the Road Tour". Supertramp continued to play several Hodgson-penned songs during live shows following their reunion. Hodgson subsequently claimed that when he had left the band back in 1983, he and Davies made a verbal agreement that they would not play those songs. Davies has never publicly alluded to such an agreement, and former member Dougie Thomson (who retired from performing to move into music publishing) commented "Nobody except Rick and Roger were privy to that conversation. Rick and Roger had several dialogues that no one else was privy to. Again, that's hearsay." The publishing company and contract legally recognize which songs each songwriter actually wrote. Hodgson has contractual approval rights over the use of his songs and Davies for his.

2000s–present: Hiatuses and touring

After the 2002 "One More for the Road Tour", Supertramp went inactive once again. Another attempt to bring Hodgson back into the band failed in 2005. In 2008, it was announced that Supertramp's music would be featured in the film adaptation of

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

's best-selling novel '' Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance''. In 2009 Hodgson said he could not see a Supertramp reunion ever happening: "We've looked at it and talked it over... I would never say never but Rick avieshas pretty much retired right now and I'm in the prime of my life. The reaction I am getting from fans is 'please don't reunite'." Supertramp at the Gelredome 2010 (a)

On 21 April 2010 it was announced that Supertramp would perform 35 concerts in late 2010 in Europe. The tour was titled "70-10" to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the group's first release. Hodgson concurrently embarked on a worldwide solo tour, and thus was unable to rejoin the band for the 70-10 tour. However, in response to a fan campaign, Hodgson sent a letter to Rick Davies and had his manager send one to Davies's management, offering to join them for select dates during gaps in his tour schedule. Davies's agent notified Hodgson that his offer was declined. When asked whether Hodgson might appear at any Supertramp concerts, Davies replied, "I know there are some fans out there who would like that to happen. There was a time when I had hoped for that too. But the recent past makes that impossible. In order to play a great show for our fans, you need harmony, both musically and personally. Unfortunately that doesn't exist between us anymore and I would rather not destroy memories of more harmonious times between all of us." Hodgson and Supertramp continued to tour separately in 2011. Supertramp performed their last 2011 show on 16 July at "Les Vieilles Charrues" Festival,

Carhaix Carhaix-Plouguer (; br, Karaez-Plougêr ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France.Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. The tour would include a London show on 7 December at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...

, and would end on 11 December 2015 at the Ziggo Dome in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. On 4 August 2015, however, the band announced that the tour was cancelled due to health issues affecting Rick Davies, who had been diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, ...

and required aggressive treatment to combat the disease. In late August 2018, Davies gave an interview in which he expressed that, for the most part, he has overcome his health problems and enjoys playing music again, something he couldn't do in 2016, when he was under medical treatment. Davies can also be seen performing a few tracks in a rehearsal/sound check at a bar with some of Supertramp's current members at his side. In the same interview, Rick also stated that Supertramp were unlikely to return as a structured band.Exclusive: RARE Interview to Rick Davies (Supertramp) - 28/8/2018 (Alma RadioTv)

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

On 25 June 2019 ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'' listed Supertramp among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the

2008 Universal fire On June 1, 2008, a fire broke out on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood, an American film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. The fire began when a worker used a blowtorch to warm asph ...

Members

Bold denotes members of the classic lineup. *

– vocals, keyboards, harmonica, songwriting (co-founder; 1970–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–2011) * Roger Hodgson – vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass guitar, songwriting (co-founder; 1970–1983) *

Richard Palmer-James Richard William Palmer-James (born 11 June 1947) is an English guitarist, songwriter and lyricist. He may be best known as one of the founder members of Supertramp (playing guitar and songwriter); writing lyrics for several songs by the prog ...

– guitars, vocals, percussion, songwriting (1970–1971) * Robert Millar – drums, percussion, harmonica (1970–1971) * Dave Winthrop – saxophone, flute, vocals (1970–1973) * Kevin Currie – drums, percussion (1971–1973) * Frank Farrell – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1971–1972, died 1997) *

– bass (1972–1988) *

– drums, percussion (1973–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–2011) *

– saxophones, woodwinds, keyboards, backing vocals (1973–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–2011) * Steve Reid – percussion (1987–1988) *

– vocals, keyboards, guitar (1996–2002, 2015; touring musician: 1985–1988) * Carl Verheyen – guitars, percussion, backing vocals (1996–2002, 2010–2011, 2015; touring musician: 1985–1986) *

– bass (1996–2002, 2010–2011) * Lee Thornburg – trombone, trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals (1996–2002, 2010–2011) * Tom Walsh – percussion (1996–1997) * Jesse Siebenberg – vocals, guitars, percussion (1997–2002, 2010–2011, 2015), keyboards (2010–2011) * Gabe Dixon – keyboards, vocals (2010–2011) * Cassie Miller – backing vocals (2010–2011)

Discography

* '' Supertramp'' (1970) * '' Indelibly Stamped'' (1971) * ''

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1975) * '' Even in the Quietest Moments...'' (1977) * ''

'' (1979) * '' ...Famous Last Words...'' (1982) * ''

'' (1985) * '' Free as a Bird'' (1987) * ''

'' (1997) * '' Slow Motion'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1969 establishments in England A&M Records artists British soft rock music groups Chrysalis Records artists English progressive rock groups Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Musical groups reestablished in 2015 Progressive pop groups