Roger Hodgson
“My first introduction to progressive music came when I was 10 years old. I used to hang out at a friend’s house, and there was a photograph in their lavatory of this guy shaking hands with Prince Charles. One day I asked who he was, and my friend’s dad said: ‘Oh, that’s my other son. He lives in America now.’ It turned out that his son was Roger Hodgson.
“Supertramp’s [single] Breakfast In America was in the UK Top 10 around the same time. I took great interest in the music and bought the album. I love melody, and that album is full of melody and great songs. Roger Hodgson was quite a vocalist but he’s really underappreciated as a singer and as a songwriter. I don’t think I’ll ever write a song as good as any of his, so I take my hat off to him. He was also the first person who made me think I could be a musician, have a band and take over the world. Because that’s what Supertramp were doing.
“After that, I became quite obsessed with Roger Hodgson and Supertramp. I went on a bit of a spree and bought Crime Of The Century and all the classic albums. They had an almost power-pop approach in a progressive structure and they wrote some particularly beautiful songs. Take The Long Way Home is actually my favourite one. I think that loneliness of being is something that everyone can relate to.
“To this day I’ve never met Roger Hodgson, and sadly I’ve never seen him play live, but while Roger was taking America by storm, his brother and I dreamed of forming a worlddominating band.
“Although I never tried singing them at the time, many years later I was invited to the studio to record some Supertramp songs with Bob Dalton from It Bites. I did three or four tracks, and I have to say they’re not the easiest songs to sing. Vocally, Roger Hodgson’s got a high voice and he’s a great vocalist, so I take my hat off to him. They were challenging songs.
“Roger Hodgson has been a huge influence on my whole approach to songwriting and I have a lot of respect for him. He was the spark for me to pursue what I wanted to do, and he’s brought a lot of joy and happiness to my life.”