Classic Rock Reunions: Is Supertramp Next?
— September 21, 2007 10 295Van Halen. Led Zeppelin. Supertramp? This is one reunion I would love to see, and, believe it or not, actually go see if a reunited Supertramp was playing anywhere near me.
That statement, admittedly coming from an 50-ish guy who does not have much patience for screaming crowds and lousy sound, is based on my experience at a Supertramp concert in Boston back around the early 1980’s.
That concert was the single most amazing concert experience of my life and that is due to one thing and one thing only: sound. The sound was astoundingly fantastic and to this day, I still can’t imagine how they pulled it off. The chance of that happening again would be enough to get me back in a concert hall to see a Supertramp show.
Roger Hodgson, perhaps the best-known member of the group and writer behind the vast majority of Supertramp’s big hits, is reported to be quite interested in a reunion with his old bandmates. Any reunion, however, would not be without its conditions.
Although Hodgson officially left the band back in 1983 to spend more time with family, it is well known that he and Rick Davies were not getting along well at that time. That was due to the fact that Davies’ wife was managing the band and certain members of the band were not too happy about those circumstances.
As a condition of any reunion, Davies’ wife would not be allowed to manage the band. With a likelihood that Davies would not approve of any management with close ties to Hodgson, they would most likely seek an neutral party to manage the band if there was any hope of them getting along.
Hodgson recently returned to his native England and is touring on his own and apparently having a good time of it. As the writer responsible for almost all of Supertramp’s hit songs, he is still performing some of them as part of his show in addition to his other material.
There is a band calling itself Supertramp that is still together and still includes Rick Davies, but without those old Supertramp classics and the fellow who wrote and performed them with the band, the current Supertramp just isn’t Supertramp to me.
You can be sure I will be following any new developments concerning a Supertramp reunion very closely and will post anything related that may come out.
For more, check out the article on the icWales website.
10 Comments
SUPERTRAMP is truely one of the most original and artistic rock oriented bands that ever exisisted. Bands that can move people the way they did have certainly been rare since the 70’s. I still get a very enthusiastic vibe from many of their works, not just the hits. Their return to the stage as the classic line up is way way overdue ! They need to let the massive love for their music felt by so many inspire a clear and no bullshit path to celebrate their tremendous gift – if even for only one tour. No one’s asking them to get married again. Just get out there and dance!
It’s an absurd saying that supertramp is all about Roger Hodgson.=(
Mr rick davies also contributed a lot, his music is much more elaborated than Hodgson’s.:P
And as a huge supertramp fan I belive they work much better as a team.
Please don’t say this: “There is a band calling itself Supertramp” cause they still made great musics after Hodgson’s quit. (Cannonball, Slow Motion, Some things never change, Brother Where You Bound, Better dadys, Free as a Bird)etc, I dont know why but people didn’t apreciate it=( I do:D
I got to see roger hodgson solo,and supertramp when roger left the band. They were both excellent in concert! but it was like the left hand without the right!I would love to see them reunite for A tour? They are truly legends of rock and roll! roger,rick,john,bob and dougie made magic together as supertramp. That we all know,can’t be repeated? So are they up for the challenge? We’ll just have to wait!
A Supertramp reunion with Roger Hodgson is my single most anticipated “event” that I want to see in the rock music world. Breakfast.. was the first album I ever bought (on 8-Track tape!) and although my taste grew much heavier over time, I still enjoy the entire Supertramp catalog as much as ever. Few bands had as unique a sound as they did.
To say that the Roger-less version of the band in not Supertramp is unfair as Rick wrote and sang as many great songs as Roger (Bloody Well Right, Ain’t Nobody But Me, Gone Hollywood, Goodbye Stranger, etc.) but a reunion with Roger is clearly what is needed as the current lineup simply can’t recreate the magic of the original lineup.
Classic Rock magazine mentioned last year a possible box set in the works which would include previously unreleased material. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this box does indeed get released and that it coincides with a full reunion tour in 2009!
I have seen literally hundreds of concerts and among them was Supertramp back in ’83. I remember the album “Famous Last Words” coming out almost a full year before they finally made it to Los Angeles. It was WELL worth the wait. There are few shows out of all the hundreds I have seen that were as good. The lights go out. An image appears on the projector screen. It appears to be someone walking on a tightrope and then the scissors appear and cut the rope and then ….the show begins. Unbelievable sound, tight & classy playing,lights sync’ed to the music, umbrella over the piano,those winsome melodies winning over everyone, being on the caboose of the old fashhioned,high speed train (via screen again)to the instrumental break in Rudy, the stars in the “sky” (tiny lights embedded in some kind if metal mesh formed to look like clouds-very effective in the dark!). That these images have remained says a lot about one of the best bands on earth. I believe expecially in these times we need a little Supertramp (Davies/Hodgson & co) magic. Perhaps it’s not to late to ask: will you give a little bit more?
Thanks for sharing that, Enrique.
I wish I remembered the Supertramp show in Boston as well as you remember your experience, but I’ll never forget how fantastic they sounded.
I hope they hear you, and you can add my voice as well. I’d love to see that group come back together.
I agree 100%. I also feel they were one of the best bands ever.
There are very few acts that could blend catchy, commercially successful songs with thoughtfulness and killer musicianship. Supertramp was certainly one of them. I saw Roger last year and it was spectacular – but I agree that the “band” was what really created the sound. All this talk about Roger and Rick is fine – but Supertramp without Helliwell (sp?) wouldn’t sound the same either.
Great band! One of the best! and very unique in that they combined excellent prog rock and art rock material with jazz and blues and even made some pop classics along the way. It is a shame that they have not got back together. It seems like many of the hurdles seem petty and based on money and management disagreements. Come on guys…the world is waiting!!!
Well of course they need to do a reunion but it’s easy for us fans to say their differences are petty. We never lived a moment in their shoes. Problem is there were two leaders of the band. Rick and Roger just clashed, pure and simple. They know better than any of us, the sheer exhileration and magic of the music they made. But to get together to do that again, they will be with each other a lot more than just onstage. It’s entirely up to them to decide to either ignore their differences and tolerate each other or actually make peace and enjoy each other. If they can do the later then it can only enhance what happens onstage if they ever get it going. Just make it happen guys while Roger can still hit the high falsetto notes, even if only sparingly!
great to hear supertramp are playing 02 arena -only one show at present,fail to see how it can be a 4oth anniversary tour without hodgson and dougie thompson or a reunion tour,what about a box set guys and whats happened to the dvd of the 1979 concert in paris?