Supertramp were one of the first groups to be signed to the UK branch of A&M Records and their first album, Supertramp, was released on 14 July 1970 in the UK and Canada (it would not be issued in the US until late 1977). Purgatory), and would also agree to have tracks from their first album used in a documentary, Extremes (1971), by Tony Klinger and Michael Lytton. 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. In February 1970 Baker was replaced by former stage actor Robert Millar (b. 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. The rehearsals had been less than productive and their initial repertoire consisted of only four songs, two of which were covers. One 10-minute performance there of " All Along the Watchtower" was filmed by Haro Senft ( Daddy Portrait 1970).
The group, having dubbed themselves "Daddy", after several months of rehearsal at a country house in West Hythe, Kent, flew to Munich for a series of concerts at the P. Hodgson and Davies collaborated on the songwriting while Palmer composed the lyrics.
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. ĭavies and Hodgson had radically different backgrounds and musical inspirations: Davies was working class and fiercely devoted to blues and jazz, while Hodgson had gone straight from English private school to the music business and was fond of pop. 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. He offered Swindon-born keyboardist Rick Davies, 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. 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. History 1969–1972: Formation, Supertramp and Indelibly Stamped 1.7 2000s–present: Hiatuses and touring.1.6 1996–2002: Some Things Never Change and Slow Motion.
1.1 1969–1972: Formation, Supertramp and Indelibly Stamped.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"). They attained significant popularity in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. Davies took over as the band's sole leader until 1988, after which they disbanded and periodically reformed in various configurations.Īs of 2007, Supertramp album sales exceeded 60 million. In 1983, Hodgson left the group to pursue a solo career.
Their other top 40 hits included " Dreamer" (1974), " Give a Little Bit", (1977) and " It's Raining Again" (1982). They reached their commercial peak with 1979's Breakfast in America, which yielded the international top 10 singles " The Logical Song", " Breakfast in America", " Goodbye Stranger", and " Take the Long Way Home". The band were initially a prog-rock group, but starting with their third album, Crime of the Century (1974), they began moving towards a more pop-oriented sound. Other longtime members included bassist Dougie Thomson, drummer Bob Siebenberg, and saxophonist John Helliwell. The group's line-up changed numerous times throughout their career, with Davies being the only consistent member throughout the decades. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles as well as for a sound that relied heavily on Wurlitzer electric piano. Supertramp were an English rock band formed in London, England in mid 1969.