Супертрамп: Британдық рок тобының тарихы

British rock band

Supertramp were a British rock band that formed in London in 1970. They experienced their greatest global success in 1979 with their sixth album Breakfast in America. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles as well as for a sound that relied heavily on Wurlitzer electric piano. The group's lineup changed numerous times throughout their career, with Davies being the only constant member throughout its history. The classic lineup, which lasted ten years from 1973 to 1983, comprised Davies, Hodgson, Dougie Thomson (bass), Bob Siebenberg (drums) and John Helliwell (saxophone). Initially a prog rock group, they began moving towards a more pop oriented sound with their third album, Crime of the Century (1974), the first album with the classic lineup. 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").

On 14 April 1993 at the Beverly Hills Hilton, for a special dinner honoring Jerry Moss, 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" 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.

In 1996 Davies re formed Supertramp with Helliwell, Siebenberg and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Mark Hart, 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, horn player Lee Thornburg and former America 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. and reached number 74 in the UK. In the summer of 1997, Supertramp returned to the road, resulting in the live It Was the Best of Times (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.

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'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 [Davies] has 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'." On 21 April 2010, it was announced 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. The group's lineup for their 2010–11 tours was Davies, Helliwell, Siebenberg, Jesse Siebenberg (now assuming Mark Hart's role on vocals, keyboards and guitar), Cliff Hugo, Carl Verheyen, Lee Thornburg, Gabe Dixon (vocals, keyboards, percussion) and Cassie Miller (backing vocals). Supertramp played what turned out to be its last concert on 15 November 2012 in Madrid, during a private event at the IFEMA fairgrounds, which coincidentally a few years before had used 'From Now On' in its advertising commercials. The show, that was held in front of several thousand people, lasted about eighty minutes and the set list was a shortened version of the one used on the '70 10' tour. The band was also the same as that of the 2010 11 tour, except for John Helliwell, who was unable to get there due to another professional commitment with Egbert Derix on that same date. Saxophonist Rob Hardt, an American musician who was a friend of Lee Thornburg and used to work with Latin American salsa percussionist and singer Poncho Sánchez, stood in for Helliwell. From 2012 to 2015, Supertramp went dormant again. Meanwhile, Hodgson toured his "Breakfast in America World Tour" from 2012 onwards. On 25 January 2015 at Cirque Royal in Brussels, Belgium, Hodgson continued his "Breakfast in America World Tour" with a European leg concluding 7 September 2015 at Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany and the North American leg of the tour extending from November in Tarrytown, New York, concluding on 13 December in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2015, Supertramp announced their first tour in more than four years: a 25 date European tour entitled "Supertramp Forever" set to launch on 3 November 2015 in Porto, Portugal. The tour would include a London show on 7 December at The O2 Arena and would end on 11 December 2015 at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 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 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. He also stated that Supertramp were unlikely to return as a structured band.