Ah, Supertramp, a band that defied description. Were they prog rock? Pop? Blues? I’d say they gave a little bit of everything.
Supertramp joined Journey, Styx, Chicago and Trooper as bands I loved back in the early 1980s. They were different from the “mainstream” rock bands and were a little quirky – but not too quirky.
They started in London in 1970, formed around the two lead singers, Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. Davies was very blues-oriented and Hodgson leaned more toward pop. They were a good creative team, although I imagine there were a lot of internal arguments.
Various members of the band came and went in the early years, and eventually Davies and Hodgson were backed by Roger Helliwell (sax and more), Bob Seibenberg (drums) and Dougie Thompson (bass). This combination lasted through their peak years from Crime of the Century (1974) and …Famous Last Words… (1982).
I saw Supertramp in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1985 – September 29, 1985 if the list on this page is correct. By then, Roger Hodgson had left the group and the remainder of Supertramp were touring to support their new album, Brother Where You Bound.
They were awesome. They performed a lot of classic Davies songs – “Bloody Well Right”, “Casual Conversations”, “Just Another Nervous Wreck”, “Rudy” – and a few songs from their latest album, including “Cannonball”, “Free As a Bird” and the title song. I remember they closed with a very appropriate song, “Goodbye Stranger”.
Gowan opened for Supertramp during their Canadian leg. Gowan was a big thing in Canada at the time, with Strange Animal hitting the top of the charts on the strength of the title song and “A Criminal Mind”. I’m pretty sure half of the people attending the Supertramp concert were really there to see Gowan. He did not disappoint. Gowan was super energetic, jumping on his piano, running around the stage; he had a strong stage presence. He wasn’t much different when I saw him a few years ago in Winnipeg!
Supertramp’s music always had a duality to it. Davies’ songs often had a gloomy, dark feel to them, with a lot of blues influence and heavy instrumentation. Roger Hodgson’s songs were usually upbeat, uptempo and generally “lighter” and more optimistic. Think of Davies’ “Rudy” versus Hodgson’s “Give a Little Bit”.
Supertramp hasn’t been together as a band since around 2015, and Rick Davies has mostly retired. However, Roger Hodgson continues to tour, and I was fortunate to see him in Winnipeg on November 24, 2015.
He was a delight to see and hear. You could tell that he loved to share his music. He was just radiating joy.
It was awesome to hear so many Hodgson classics like “The Logical Song”, “Dreamer”, “Give a Little Bit”, “Breakfast in America”, and one of my favourites, “Fool’s Overture”.
Roger alternated between guitar and piano, and his backing band provided the sax, backing guitar and drums along with the background vocals and the occasional Davies stand-in vocal.
I was on the floor of the hall in the Regent Centre, right at the edge of the stage. My neck hurt a bit after the concert from looking up at Roger so much, but it was totally worth it. It was fantastic.
He’s not touring in 2024, but if he does go on tour again, I’d love to see him.
Supertramp remains on my top 10 list of artists.
What’s your favourite Supertramp song? Why?
Breakfast in America is my favourite Supertramp album, and Take the Long Way Home is my favourite from that album. When I bought the record back then it was the harmonica opening that grabbed me. I didn’t appreciate the lyrics – on most of the songs really – until later.
My college buddy borrowed me a copy of Breakfast In America cassette tape when I rode out to Spokane on the Empire Builder back in the Fall of 1979. I never looked back since then! Crisis What Crisis? is my favorite Supertramp album!
Fools Overture and School are my favourites. I really got more into this band when I moved to Ottawa and found that they were a staple of radio in this city. Funny story about Fools Overture. My first job in journalism was at a radio station in Sarnia in the late 1990s. At noon, the news director would host a half hour news program called Midday Magazine, which had an extended newscast, sports update, Paul Harvey, market report etc. The opening theme to the program was the keybound riff to Fools Overture. I remember when I was listening to radio in Ottawa one day and they played this song and I was blown away that the keyboard riff was an actually song.