43 Facts About Roger Hodgson

In 1983, Roger Hodgson left Supertramp and moved his family away from Los Angeles to live a simpler lifestyle close to nature.

Roger Hodgson returned to touring in 1997, and released a third solo album in 2000.

Roger Hodgson often writes about spiritual and philosophical topics, and his lyrics have been described as personal and meaningful.

Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on 21 March 1950, the son of Charles and Jill Roger Hodgson, and grew up in Oxford.

Roger Hodgson attended the boarding schools Woodcote House near Windlesham, Surrey, where he was the first boy to learn electric guitar, and Stowe School near Buckingham.

Roger Hodgson's first guitar, given to him when he was 12, was a parting gift from his father when his parents divorced.

Roger Hodgson took it to boarding school with him, where his teacher taught him three chords.

Roger Hodgson began composing his own music and lyrics and within a year gave his first concert at school with nine original songs at the age of 13.

Similar to fellow British prog rockers Genesis' search for a new lead vocalist, 93 guitarists auditioned before Roger Hodgson was chosen for the role, but when Richard Palmer arrived the next day to audition for the same spot, Roger Hodgson agreed to learn bass instead.

At the time, Roger Hodgson had a two-track tape recorder and made a "very magical" demo of the song on the spot with multiple vocal harmonies, using tin cans, lampshades and cardboard boxes for percussion.

Roger Hodgson has stated the song was inspired by the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love", released during the love and peace movement of the 1960s.

Diana, Princess of Wales loved the song, and Roger Hodgson performed it in her honour at the 2007 Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium.

From that same album, "The Logical Song", written by Roger Hodgson, is Supertramp's biggest chart hit in both the US and UK.

In 1980, Roger Hodgson was honoured with the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters for "The Logical Song" being named the best song both musically and lyrically.

Roger Hodgson composed the song from an autobiographical point of view, inspired by his experience of being sent away to boarding school for ten years.

Roger Hodgson has said that he wrote it during his late teens at a time when he "had a lot of dreams" and that it "still brings a smile to his face" when he sings it on stage.

Roger Hodgson brought it home and proceeded to write many songs on it immediately, "Breakfast in America" being one of them - because the harmonium "had a magical quality to it and still does".

In 1981, Roger Hodgson moved his family from Los Angeles to northern California, where he built a home studio and began contemplating solo recordings.

The rest of Supertramp remained in Los Angeles and the geographic separation created a rift between them and Roger Hodgson; feuding was virtually non-existent, but the group harmony was lost.

Roger Hodgson felt increasingly constrained in the group context, and during the tour for.

Roger Hodgson has denied any real problems in his relationship with Davies as speculated.

Roger Hodgson recorded three solo albums at his new home studio, the first before his departure from Supertramp.

However, at the last minute Roger Hodgson had second thoughts about the album's quality and decided to scrap it, planning to record a new and better album after his last tour with Supertramp.

However, just prior to the album's release, Roger Hodgson fell from a loft in his home and broke both wrists, which kept him him from promoting the album.

Roger Hodgson decided to take a long break from both touring and recording to spend more time with his children.

In 1990, Roger Hodgson declined an offer from Yes to join them as lead vocalist.

Roger Hodgson performed with a full band that included his son Andrew and Supertramp saxophonist John Helliwell.

Roger Hodgson played King Arthur in the rock opera Excalibur: La Legende Des Celtes and appeared on the album for two songs: "The Elements" and "The Will of God".

In 2000, Roger Hodgson contributed vocals on the track "The Moon Says Hello" by Carlos Nunez, on the CD Mayo Longo.

Roger Hodgson collaborated again with Alan Simon on the album.

AllMusic said of the album, "Fans will be delighted to hear Roger Hodgson returning to the craft of writing high-quality songs".

Roger Hodgson continued touring, often playing alone, and frequently joined by his band or a full orchestra.

Roger Hodgson took part in the Night of the Proms concert series in Belgium and Germany in late 2004, as well as the rock festival Bospop in 2005 with return performances in 2011,2013 and 2017.

In May 2006, Roger Hodgson was honored by ASCAP in recognition of his song "Give A Little Bit" being one of the most played songs in the ASCAP repertoire in 2005.

Roger Hodgson received another ASCAP award on 9April 2008 for the Gym Class Heroes' song "Cupid's Chokehold", a remake of Hodgson's "Breakfast in America", recognized as one of the most played songs in ASCAP's repertoire in 2007.

Roger Hodgson participated as a mentor on Canadian Idol along with Dennis DeYoung.

Roger Hodgson continued mentoring several of the finalists during his 2006 Canadian tour.

Roger Hodgson performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, on 1July 2007.

Roger Hodgson toured the US, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe and Canada in 2010.

Roger Hodgson's Classics Live is a collection of recordings taken from solo, band and orchestra shows from his 2010 world tour.

In May 2012, Roger Hodgson was honored by France as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Roger Hodgson was accompanied by saxophonist Michael Ghegan; Emily Bear performed "School" with him.

In 2018, Roger Hodgson kicked off his Breakfast in America world tour, in honour of the 40th anniversary of Supertramp's Breakfast in America album.