In The 70s Supertramp

The group was formed in 1969 as Daddy, but luckily they changed their name to become one of the most popular British groups in the 1970s. Supertramp sold over 60 million albums, of which 20 million was just for Breakfast In America in 1979. Group member Rick Davies was vocalist and writer, and he also had a friend called Gilbert O'Sullivan.

Roger Hodgson was also in the group from the very beginning and was responsible for writing some of the biggest hits for the group, including Dreamer and Give A Little Bit.The band had their first album in 1970 called Supertramp and appeared at the Isle Of Wight festival that year. Money problems and other band members coming and going did not really get the band off to the right start.

Longer term members included John Helliwell, Bob Siebenberg and Douggie Thompson.


Their album Crime Of The Century produced their first top twenty UK hit with Dreamer. The song is all about a man who never acts on his dreams and therefore never gets to achieve any of his dreams.

The next big hit single did not come until 1977 with Give A Little Bit from the album Even In The Quietest Moments. The song was very much inspired by the Beatles The song had been recorded in Paris.

1979 was the groups biggest year in terms of hit singles, and that was thanks to the album Breakfast In America which won an Ivor Novello award for Hodsgon. The song reached No. 6 in the UK.

Roger wrote this hit when he was still in his teens, before he even met Rick and co-founded Supertramp. This classic is just as relevant today as it was when it was released. Probably most of us, if not all of us, can relate to the lyrics in one way or another. Questioning - wondering who we are.

Breakfast In America the title track was next to be released . This was technically the last top twenty hit for the group in the 1970s, although a small hit but with big radio play was heard in the same year called Take The Long Way Home.

The two main guys became to despise each other over the years and and now there is no "harmony" between them at all.