Supertramp
| Supertramp | |
|---|---|
 Supertramp in the Olympiahalle Munich (1980) |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Progressive rock , rock , pop , art rock , soft rock |
| founding | 1969 |
| Website | supertramp.com |
| Founding members | |
| Rick Davies | |
| Roger Hodgson | |
| Richard Palmer | |
| Keith Baker | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, keyboard, harmonica |
Rick Davies (1969–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–2011) |
Vocals, woodwind instruments, keyboards, synthesizers |
John Helliwell (1973–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–2011) |
Drums, percussion |
Bob Siebenberg (1973–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–2011) |
| former members | |
Vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass, cello, flute |
Roger Hodgson (1969-1983) |
Bass, background vocals |
Dougie Thomson (1972-1988) |
Vocals, keyboard, guitar |
Mark Hart (1985–1988, 1996–2002) |
Drums |
Tom Walsh (1996-1997) |
Drums |
Kevin Currie (1971-1973) |
Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, balalaika |
Richard Palmer (1969–1971) |
Percussion, harmonica |
Bob Millar (1969-1971) |
Drums |
Keith Baker (1969) |
Woodwind instruments, vocals |
Dave Winthrop (1970–1973) |
Bass, keyboard, vocals |
Frank Farrell (1971–1972) |
Supertramp is a British pop / rock band that had their greatest successes in the 1970s and early 1980s. The name of the band is taken from the title of the book The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (Eng. Supertramp. Autobiography of a vagabond ) by WH Davies .
The typical "Supertramp sound" is defined by the syncopated play on a Wurlitzer electric piano and the different styles of the two heads of the band - Rick Davies with his rough voice and his preference for jazz and rhythm and blues (R & B) and Roger Hodgson with his high falsetto voice and more oriented towards pop. On the albums, Davies and Hodgson could usually be heard alternately, who composed, wrote and sang their songs themselves. An individual note was also created through the use of previously unusual instruments in rock and pop music, such as clarinet (Breakfast in America) or saxophone ( The Logical Song ) .
Perhaps the question of whether Supertramp should develop more pop or more jazzy is one of the reasons for Hodgson's departure in 1983, who up until then had delivered most of the band's hits. Hodgson himself gave personal reasons, however. Since then he has appeared as a solo artist. Supertramp continues with Davies-style music, but could no longer build on previous successes. Most of the 60 million albums sold to date are from the time with Hodgson.
Band history
1969 to 1973
The band was founded, financially supported by the Dutch industrialist Stanley August Miesegaes († 1990, called Sam ), around the two composers and singers Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson in 1969. Other musicians in the original line-up were guitarist Richard Palmer (actually: Richard Palmer-James ) and the drummer Keith Baker . Palmer was next to Davies and Hodgson lyricist of the band, also responsible for their name, which he borrowed from the title of the book The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by W. H. Davies , and he was from 1972 to 1975 King Crimson writer.
The band made their first public appearance under the name "Daddy" in the Munich PN Club in Leopoldstrasse. There the filmmaker Haro Senft shot a short film about the band, which was published under the title Supertramp Portrait in 1970 and was shown at the 1970 Sanremo Festival , among others . It was also Senft who commissioned Supertramp in the summer of 1970 to record the soundtrack for his film Purgatory , which premiered in March 1971.
In the meantime, Keith Baker , who had switched to Uriah Heep , had been replaced by drummer Robert "Bob" Millar . In July 1970 the debut album Supertramp was released , the songs of which are clearly composed in the style of progressive rock and show musical borrowings from bands such as Caravan , Traffic or King Crimson . The songs were composed by Davies and Hodgson and written by Palmer. In the same year Supertramp took part in the Isle of Wight Festival alongside The Doors , The Who and Jimi Hendrix .
In 1971 there were personnel changes within the band: For Palmer, the bassist and later co-writer of Leo Sayer , Frank Farrell († 1997) came. Percussionist Kevin Currie (later: Wild Turkey ) replaced Millar, who dropped out after a nervous breakdown. Saxophonist David Winthrop (later Chicken Shack ) also joined the group. The new line-up played the follow-up album Indelibly Stamped , which was more rock'n'roll and blues-oriented , which, like its predecessor, did not find a wide audience. At least through the cover, which shows a tattooed naked torso of a woman, the disc received some attention.
In October 1972, the band's sponsor, Sam , who had apparently lost interest as a rock patron, got out. As a parting present he forgave the band all debts.
Frank Farrell, who had also left the band, was replaced by the Scottish Dougie Thomson (bass). With the new bassist, studio recordings were made for the BBC's John Peel sessions in November 1972 and June 1973 .
Together with Thomson, Davies and Hodgson formed Supertramp in September 1973. The new band members were John A. Helliwell (saxophone, clarinet) and Bob Siebenberg - until 1980 under the stage name Bob C. Benberg - (drums and percussion).
1974 to 1983 - classic phase
The first single Land Ho (A-side; Hodgson) Summer Romance (B-side; Davies) from March 1974, produced in the new Supertramp line- up , hardly found buyers, but it was the start of a successful career for the band the renowned producer Ken Scott (including David Bowie and Elton John ) took over the production.
Under Scott's direction, the album Crime of the Century was also created in 1974 , which rose to number 1 in the British charts, achieved a top ten success with the single Dreamer and also contained the title School . The band was successful for the first time in the USA with the single Bloody Well Right . For most music critics, Crime of the Century is now Supertramp's most important album. The band succeeded in merging catchy and sophisticated music, alternating between blues rock, pop and progressive rock . Supertramp's unmistakable sound, consisting of Hodgson's falsetto singing , Rick Davies' Eastern keyboard and piano playing, and the work of top saxophonist John Anthony Helliwell, was heard here for the first time.
With the following albums Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) and Even in the Quietest Moments ... (1977), with which the band had their breakthrough in the USA, the success continued. Even in the Quietest Moments ... includes Give a Little Bit, a hit single that made it into the charts in Germany and internationally. Hodgson wrote the song when he was 19 and only played it to the band five or six years later. According to Hodgson, the song was inspired by the Beatles song All You Need Is Love . Supertramp's albums were generally much more successful than their singles, and so it was with Even in the Quietest Moments ... , which topped the album charts in Canada. At this time, the band moved permanently to Los Angeles .
The album Breakfast in America (1979), with which Supertramp achieved their greatest commercial success, followed on from the great album successes . It sold more than 18 million copies and contained four international top hits with the Hodgson songs Breakfast in America , The Logical Song , Take the Long Way Home and the Davies composition Goodbye Stranger . This one album contained more hits than the first five albums combined. This was followed by the extensive world tour Breakfast in America , during which the band completed 120 concerts in 10 months and which broke all previous visitor records in Europe and Canada. At the end of this tour, the band members decided to take a break from touring and recording.
During this break, the live double album Paris (1980) was released, which was recorded during the Breakfast in America Tour on November 29, 1979 in the Pavillon de Paris and contains seven songs from the 1974 album Crime of the Century . During this phase, Hodgson and his family moved from Los Angeles to the mountains of northern California, where he set up a recording studio to record a solo album while still being able to concentrate on his family. Due to this geographical separation, the gap between Hodgson and the rest of the band was widened. For Hodgson and Davies it became increasingly difficult to combine their musical ideas during the recording of their next album “… famous last words…” and it was obvious to the other band members that Hodgson wanted to leave the band.
After the release of the studio album “… famous last words…” (1982) and a gigantic farewell tour that ended in 1983, Roger Hodgson left the band in favor of a solo career, as he and Davies could no longer agree on the direction of the band. Hodgson tended towards pop music, while Davies wanted to put a stronger emphasis on jazz and rhythm and blues (R&B). Roger Hodgson himself justified his departure from Supertramp with the motivation to spend more time with his family and want to do solo recordings and he emphasized that there were never serious personal or professional problems between him and Rick, as some people thought.
1984 to 2002
In 1984, the successful best-of album Supertramp - The songs of a super group , which contains hits from the band's classic phase with the studio albums released from 1974 to 1982, was released in the German-speaking area .
Roger Hodgson's first solo album In the Eye of the Storm (1984) differs little in terms of sound from the previously known Supertramp music - especially in terms of the pieces he interpreted.
Davies, on the other hand, made a style shift towards jazz and R&B with Supertramp, although he had already written some songs of this genre in the previous period. The album Brother Where You Bound (1985), which was still oriented towards neo-progressive rock, sold well and with the single "Cannonball" even contained a groovy song that was atypically danceable for Supertramp and which made it into the top 30 in the USA.
In 1986 the successful best-of album The Autobiography of Supertramp was released , which contains hits from 1974 to 1985. The following studio album Free as a Bird (1987) and the live album Live '88 could not build on their past successes because the band made another style shift towards jazz and R&B, which many fans who had previously concentrated on Hodgson's pop music, didn't like it. The band members then split in 1988.
In 1990 and 1992, the successful best-of albums The Very Best of Supertramp and The Very Best of Supertramp 2 , which contain hits from 1974 to 1987, were released.
In 1993, Davies and Hodgson tried to start a reunion in the successful cast. This failed less because of personal differences between the two songwriters than because of a different view of the management of the band, as Hodgson announced years later in an interview. Davies' wife Sue had taken over this since Hodgson's departure.
It wasn't until 1997 that Supertramp got back together - without Hodgson - to release the comeback album Some Things Never Change , which sold well in Europe, quickly achieved gold status in Germany and climbed to number 3 in the charts. Crowded House guitarist Mark Hart , who played in 1987 and 1988, took on Hodgson's vocal parts and songs at concerts. Bassist Dougie Thomson was also no longer there; he was replaced by Cliff Hugo . Other newcomers were trumpeter Lee Thornburg and guitarist Carl Verheyen . From the tour It's About Time (102 concerts) that followed this album in 1999, the live album It Was the Best of Times resulted .
On the so far last studio album Slow Motion (2002) the band was strengthened by the son of drummer Bob Siebenberg, Jesse Siebenberg (percussion). With "Goldrush", which comes from Davies (composition and lyrics) and Richard Palmer-James (lyrics), it contains a song from the early days of the band when their debut album was made. The tour One more for the road followed .
2005 to 2009
In 2005 the successful best-of album Retrospectacle - The Supertramp Anthology was released . It was released as a single CD with 17 songs (1970–1997) and as a double CD with 32 songs (1970–2002). In addition to numerous hits, both CDs contain the song Land Ho (A-side of the single from 1974), a new recording of which is on Hodgson's album Hai Hai ; The double CD also contains the song Summer Romance (B-side of this single).
Despite the long-standing desire of numerous fans for decades, there is little chance that the two band heads Davies and Hodgson will reunite to act together as a Supertramp. In the past, the two musicians never fundamentally ruled out this. Hodgson in particular expressed interest in interviews, but Davies seems to have no more interest after various failed attempts at a reunion with the involvement of Hodgson and declined - for example in 2005 in the context of the publication of Retrospectacle - an offer from Hodgson for a new edition of the band.
In June 2008, Davies and Hodgson met again to discuss Hodgson's return. In autumn 2009, after 15 months of talks, as in 2005, they agreed to continue their separate ways.
2010 to 2019
Eight years after their last tour, Supertramp went on the 40th stage anniversary from September to October 2010 on the 37-concert European tour - 70-10 tour ( 1970 to 2010 ). The tour was announced on April 24, 2010 on the band's website. The cast was almost the same as in 2002, but Mark Hart was missing. For him, two new musicians to the live line-up of the band were: the opening concert on September 2, 2010 at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle (Westfalen) gave Gabe Dixon (vocals and keyboards) and singer Cassie Miller Thornburg its debut. The tour ended on October 28, 2010 in Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (Paris-Bercy, France) with the anniversary concert for the band's 1000th show. From May 31 to July 16, 2011 it was continued with 19 concerts in Canada and France.
On August 27, 2012, almost exactly 32 years after the release of the live album Paris , the film Live In Paris '79 was released on DVD and BD . He was recorded at the legendary Paris concert on December 1, 1979. The film was thought to be lost for a long time, until a copy of the film was found in the barn of Supertramp's drummer Bob Siebenberg in Northern California in 2006. The film rolls were in a disastrous and dirty condition. Therefore they were digitally revised in several studios. Despite discussions and tensions between the band members at the time, the DVD release was a huge success - it reached the top position in the DVD charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, among others; she also reached 5th place in Great Britain.
In mid-January 2015, Supertramp announced another tour (again without Hodgson) for the end of 2015. The official confirmation for the Supertramp Forever Tour, which was due to start on November 3rd, 2015, appeared on the band's website on February 14th, 2015. Concerts for Europe - including Germany, Austria and Switzerland - were planned; the advance booking had started. Founding member Rick Davies and his colleagues John Anthony Helliwell and Bob Siebenberg, who have been part of the band since the 1970s, were to go on tour - just like Jesse Siebenberg, Cliff Hugo, Carl Verheyen, Lee Thornburg on the 70-10 tour in 2010/2011 , Gabe Dixon and Cassie Miller Thornburg. Mark Hart, who has not worked with the band since 2002, should also return. On August 4, 2015, however, the planned European tour was canceled; management announced that Rick Davies had cancer.
In 2018 and 2019 Davies, who has largely recovered, performed with his formation Ricky and The Rockets in East Hampton (USA).
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Discography
(including singles not listed here )
Albums
Studio albums
- Supertramp (1970)
- Indelibly Stamped (1971)
- Crime of the Century (1974)
- Crisis? What Crisis? (1975)
- Even in the Quietest Moments ... (1977)
- Breakfast in America (1979)
- “… Famous last words…” (1982)
- Brother Where You Bound (1985)
- Free as a Bird (1987)
- Some Things Never Change (1997)
- Slow Motion (2002)
Live albums
- Paris (1980)
- Live '88 (1988)
- It Was the Best of Times (1999)
- Is Everybody Listening? (2001)
- live, 1997 (2006)
- 70-10 Tour - Live in ... (2010)
Video albums
- Live in Munich - RockPop in Concert (VHS; later also DVD; 1983)
- The Story So Far (VHS, DVD; 1990/2002)
- Inside Supertramp 1974–1978 · An Independent Critical Review (DVD; 2004)
- Live In Paris '79 (DVD, BD; 2012)
Film documentaries and film music
- Supertramp Portrait 1970 (tape documentation; 1970)
- Purgatory (soundtrack to the film Purgatory ; 1971)
- Extremes (music for the film Extremes; 1973)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rick Davies: 35 Years on from Breakfast in America. In: swindonweb.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016 . (SwindonWeb People)
- ↑ Rare photo of Supertramp financier surfaces (= rare photo of Supertramp financier surfaced ), on fogcityjournal.com (English)
- ^ Supertramp founder Roger Hodgson . Song facts. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- ^ Roger Hodgson - Events . K-Earth 101.Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- ↑ Giving A Little Bit - A Conversation With Roger Hodgson . DPRP.net. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- ^ Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. Pp. 167-175. ISBN 0-9691272-2-7 .
- ^ A Message from Supertramp ( Memento from February 3, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), u. a. on the failed return of Hodgson, May 8, 2010, from supertramp.com (English)
- ↑ Supertramp Plays its 1000th Concert ( Memento from February 3, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), with information about the anniversary concert on October 28, 2010, from March 1, 2011, on supertramp.com (English)
- ↑ "Live in Paris 79" arrasa en las listas de ventas de medio mundo (for example: "Live in Paris 79" storms the charts ... ), from September 24, 2012, on thelogicalweb.com (Spanish)
-
↑ Supertramp announces Autumn 2015 European Tour (Supertramp Forever Tour) , from February 20, 2015, accessed on August 4, 2015, on supertramp.com
additional web links for the tour:
- Supertramp vuelve a salir de gira en el año 2015 (= Supertramp 2015 on tour again ), from January 13, 2015, on thelogicalweb (Spanish)
- Billets disponibles Supertramp ( Memento from January 31, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ), (= Supertramp tickets available ), on bonbillet.fr (French) -
↑ Supertramp cancels upcoming European Tour , August 4, 2015, accessed August 4, 2015, at supertramp.com;
see also → Supertramp cancel European tour - cancer diagnosis at Davies , on derwesten.de (from the same day)
literature
- The Supertramp Book , Martin Melhuish, 1986 Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-0787-0 (English)
Web links
- Supertramp (official homepage; English)
- Supertramp at laut.de