Roger Hodgson, legendary vocalist and singer-songwriter from Supertramp, is heading back to North America for a series of fall dates. Following extensive tours of Europe and Brazil, Hodgson kicks off his North America tour on November 4 in Wabash, Indiana.
Hodgson, one of the most gifted composers and lyricists of our time, co-founded the progressive rock band Supertramp in 1969. Roger was the driving force behind what fans call the “golden years” of the band that made Supertramp a worldwide phenomenon with album sales in excess of 60 million. He wrote, sang, and arranged the enduring rock standards such as “Breakfast in America,” “Give a Little Bit,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “The Logical Song,” “Dreamer,” “It’s Raining Again,” “School,” and “Fool’s Overture.”
Accompanied by a four-piece band, Roger Hodgson continues to perform all his hits he wrote and later recorded with Supertramp plus other classics of his such as “Child of Vision,” “Hide in Your Shell,” “Sister Moonshine,” and “Even in the Quietest Moments,” plus favorites from his solo albums – “Only Because of You,” “Lovers in the Wind,” and “In Jeopardy” – many of which can be found on his current CD release, Classics Live.
Uniting generations, Hodgson is transporting baby boomers back to their youth while giving younger concertgoers a taste of why his heartfelt songs have endured. In fact, this year marks the 40th Anniversary of “Crime of the Century,” released in September 1974 (see press release below). Hodgson’s song, “Dreamer,” became Supertramp’s first international runaway hit, driving the album to the top of the charts. “School,” “Hide in Your Shell,” and “If Everyone Was Listening” are also fan favorites from the album that Hodgson wrote and composed and often plays in concert.
Roger’s shows give North American audiences the opportunity to once again experience the magic and spirit that Hodgson created with Supertramp.
Roger Hodgson North America Tour Dates:
- November 4 – Wabash, IN – Honeywell Center
- November 6 – Detroit, MI – MotorCity Casino Hotel
- November 7 – Niagara Falls, NY – Seneca Niagara Falls Casino and Resort
- November 8 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse
- November 9 – Bethlehem, PA – Sands Bethlehem Event Center
- November 11 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
- November 14 & 15 – Rama, ON, Canada – Casino Rama
“Whether it’s the melodic complexity of his songs, the harmonies he weaves with his band, the lyrics that sweep you away or his ability to still command the incredible upper range of his voice, ‘beautiful’ was what kept coming to mind over and over again during his performance. ‘Breathtaking’ might also apply. ‘I want more’ certainly would.” ~ Ted Hansen – Mesa Classic Rock Music Examiner
“All these years I thought I was a Supertramp fan when actually I was and am a Roger Hodgson fan. What a show! WOW is all I can say.” ~ David Wild, Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone
Check out his latest release, “Classics Live.” This spectacular collection of Roger’s hit songs from concerts recorded around the world on his 2010 tour is available through his Store and iTunes.
For additional information on Roger Hodgson, visit the following links:
www.RogerHodgson.com
www.Facebook.com/RogerHodgson
www.Twitter.com/RogerHodgson
www.Youtube.com/RogerHodgson
www.Instagram.com/RogerHodgson
ABOUT SUPERTRAMP’S CRIME OF THE CENTURY:
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary since its release in 1974, Crime of the Century features the cream of Rick Davies’ and Roger Hodgson’s songwriting, was the first of the many peaks in Supertramp’s illustrious career; an album that had everything to prove and tunes that effortlessly straddled the world of pure pop and progressive rock. The significant change that happened with Supertramp on this album was that Hodgson and Davies had each found their strength as songwriters and were writing alone. With the unmistakable blend of the two songwriters – Davies’ and Hodgson’s – work, it married the sweetness of Hodgson’s ‘Dreamer’ — the band’s first big hit single — with the grit of Davies’ similarly beloved ‘Bloody Well Right.’ In ‘School,’ ‘Rudy,’ and the title track, the band – Davies, Hodgson, John Helliwell, Bob Siebenberg, and Dougie Thomson – helped define what would soon be known as ‘Adult Oriented Rock.’ This was — and is — not just an album that showed Supertramp’s increased maturity, but a timeless gem marked by the incredible melodies and thoughtful lyrics of Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies.
This 40th Anniversary edition will be released December 9 in the US and contains the classic original album, remastered by Ray Staff at Air Studios, and a second disc features their 1975 Hammersmith Odeon concert, mixed from the original tapes by original on-the-night engineer Ken Scott, capturing the band on the verge of stardom, showcasing all of Crime, and also previewing tracks from the then-as-yet-unreleased follow-up, Crisis? What Crisis? The LP eventually peaked at Number 4 on the UK charts and saw the band for the first time on the US Top 40.
‘Dreamer’ also became the band’s first hit single. “I’m fortunate to have written songs that have become hits without ever trying to write one,” Hodgson says. “I’ve never sat down and said ‘OK I’m going to write a hit song.’ Inspiration comes in many different ways. Usually it comes when I get out of the way losing myself in the sound of the instrument I am playing – it’s almost like being in a meditative state. With ‘Dreamer,’ the inspiration was born out of excitement and just erupted out of me.” Hodgson continues, “Looking back, it was quite serendipitous that as a young songwriter with so many dreams I had my first hit with a song named ‘Dreamer.’ It was certainly a thrill to hear it being played all over the radio. Creating our reality, I’ve since realised, often starts with our dreams.”
‘If Everyone Was Listening.’ Another of Hodgson’s philosophical musings, ‘If Everyone Was Listening’ reaches back to Shakespeare’s As You Like It adage (‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men are merely players’) for allegorical inspiration.
“It’s all simply a play,” says Hodgson, “The world is the stage for all of us, and the song is more about just becoming aware of what is really real in life. And it’s a longing for love in a world that is falling apart.” Hodgson added, “To this day it has always been my ambition as an artist to try to make the world a better place through my music ever since The Beatles inspired me by how they made such a difference in the world.”
