Rick Davies

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Rick Davies
Supertramp - Rick Davies (1979).png
Davies, 1979
Background information
Birth nameRichard Davies
Born (1944-07-22) 22 July 1944 (age 80)
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Genres Progressive rock, pop rock, art rock, blues
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, singer
Instruments
Years active1956–present
Labels A&M, Rick Davies Productions
Formerly of Supertramp
Website supertramp.com

Richard Davies (born 22 July 1944) is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, [2] and composed some of the band's best-known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "From Now On", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "My Kind of Lady", "Cannonball" and "I'm Beggin' You". [3] He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.

Contents

Starting with the self-titled Supertramp in 1970, Davies shared lead vocals with Supertramp songwriting partner Roger Hodgson until the latter's departure in 1983, [4] at which point he became the sole lead vocalist of the group. Davies's voice is deeper than Hodgson's, and he usually employs a raspy baritone which stands in stark contrast to his bandmate's tenor. However, he occasionally sings in a falsetto which superficially resembles Hodgson's vocals, such as on "Goodbye Stranger" and "My Kind of Lady".

Biography and career

Early life

Richard Davies was born in Swindon, Wiltshire in 1944 to Betty and Dick Davies. Betty was a hairdresser and ran a salon, and Dick was a merchant navy man, who died in 1973. Rick went to Sanford Street School and, according to mother Betty: "Music was the only thing he was any good at at school." [5]

His first musical stirrings were at the age of eight, when his parents gave him a secondhand radiogram which included a few records left by the previous owner. Among them were Drummin' Man by drumming legend Gene Krupa, and, in Davies's own words, "it hit like a thunderbolt". "I must have played it 2,000 times," he said. "That was it." [5] A friend of the family made Rick a makeshift drum kit out of a biscuit tin, and at the age of 12 he joined the British Railways Staff Association Brass and Silver Jubilee Band as a snare drummer. [6] In an interview in 2002 he said: "As a kid, I used to hear the drums marching along the street in England, in my home town, when there was some kind of parade, and it was the most fantastic sound to me. Then, eventually, I got some drums and I took lessons. I was serious about it... I figured if I could do that – I mean a real drummer, read music and play with big bands, rock bands, classical, Latin, and know what I was going to do – I would be in demand and my life was set... Eventually, I started fiddling with the keyboards, and that seemed to go over better than my drumming, for some reason. So you've gotta go with what people react to." He never had lessons for keyboards, but, according to Betty Davies, "taught himself most of what he knows about music". [5]

By 1959, his attention had been captured by rock 'n' roll, and he joined a band called Vince and the Vigilantes. [6] In 1962, while studying in the art department at Swindon College, he formed his own band, called Rick's Blues, and was now playing a Hohner electric piano instead of drums. The band included Gilbert O'Sullivan on drums for a time; he later was the best man at Davies's wedding. In a March 1972 interview, O'Sullivan said "Rick had originally taught me how to play the drums and piano – in fact, he taught me everything about music." [6] When his father became ill, Davies disbanded Rick's Blues, left college, and took a job as a welder at Square D, [6] a firm making industrial control products and systems, which had a factory on the Cheney Manor Trading Estate in Swindon. Any hopes of an artistic career were temporarily put on ice.

In 1966 he became the organist for The Lonely Ones (best known for being one of Noel Redding's first bands, though Redding had left by the time Davies joined), who later changed their name to The Joint and recorded the soundtracks for a number of German films. [6] He later confessed that he lied about his abilities to get into the group, admitting he could not actually play the organ at the time. [5] While the band was in Munich, Davies met Dutch millionaire Stanley August Miesegaes, who offered to fund him if he started a new group. [7]

Supertramp

Rick Davies in 2002. Rick Davies.jpg
Rick Davies in 2002.

Davies decided to form a new band, and returned home from Switzerland to place an ad in the music magazine Melody Maker in August 1969. Roger Hodgson was auditioned and, despite their contrasting backgrounds – Davies's working class upbringing and Hodgson's private school education – they struck up an instant rapport [8] and began writing virtually all of their songs together. The band was initially called Daddy, but renamed Supertramp in January 1970. [9]

Supertramp became one of the first acts to sign to the emerging UK branch of A&M Records and by the summer of 1970 they had recorded their first album, simply called Supertramp . Hodgson performed most of the lead vocals on this first effort but by the time of their second album Indelibly Stamped , Davies had stepped up as a singer with he and Hodgson sharing lead vocal duties equally.

After five years with Davies and Hodgson as the mainstays of a continuously changing group, Supertramp settled into a stable lineup and recorded Crime of the Century , which finally brought them critical and commercial success when it was released in 1974. It reached number four in the UK Albums Chart. [10] Though their singles were only moderately successful, their albums consistently scored high in the charts. Davies's relationship with Hodgson was changing and the two began writing most of their songs separately again, though they agreed to have them all credited to Davies/Hodgson by contract. Among the songs credited to both but actually written solely by Davies are the hits "Bloody Well Right" and "Goodbye Stranger". [11]

The group had relocated to the United States by 1977 and it was there that they recorded their best-selling album, Breakfast in America from April 1978 to February 1979. Davies and Hodgson were observed by engineer Peter Henderson to be getting along "fantastically well and everyone was really happy" throughout the long months of recording and mixing. [12] Davies is credited with writing the answering lyric in the second chorus of Hodgson's "The Logical Song". [12] With more hit singles than their first five albums combined, the album reached number three in the UK, [10] and top of the charts in America.

Rick Davies in 2010 RickDavies2.JPG
Rick Davies in 2010

Hodgson quit Supertramp in 1983. Davies' relationship with him had deteriorated[ citation needed ] and the group's last hit before his departure, "My Kind of Lady", featured little involvement from Hodgson as either a writer or performer. The song was a showcase for Davies's vocal range, with him singing in everything from a booming bass to a piercing falsetto to his natural raspy baritone. With Davies firmly at the helm, Supertramp returned to a more non-commercial, progressive rock-oriented sound with the album Brother Where You Bound and had another hit with "Cannonball". The band continued to tour and record for another five years before disbanding, with a mutual agreement between the members that Supertramp had run its course. [13]

In 1997, during work on what would have been his first solo album, Davies decided to reform Supertramp. The band promptly returned to recording and touring, which yielded another two studio albums before they split again. [9] Supertramp reunited in 2010 for their 70–10 tour. A 2015 tour was announced but ultimately cancelled due to Davies' health issues as he was battling multiple myeloma. [2]

In late August 2018, Rick Davies gave a rare interview in which he expressed that, for the most part, he has overcome his health problems and enjoys playing music again, something he could not do around 2016, when he was under medical treatment. Davies later performed a few tracks as Ricky and the Rockets in a rehearsal/sound check at a bar, along with Supertramp's current members. However, he also stated that it was unlikely that they would ever perform again as Supertramp. [14] Ricky and the Rockets performed another show on 10 June 2022 at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York. [15]

Personal life

Davies married Sue (who has been Supertramp's manager since 1984) in 1977.

Davies' mother died in late 2008 at a nursing home in Stratton St Margaret. He travelled from his Long Island, New York, home every Christmas to visit her. His last trip back was in January 2009 to organise a memorial service for his mother.

Davies currently owns Rick Davies Productions which is the copyright holder of Supertramp's recordings.

Davies was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and cancelled the band's 2015 tour. [2]

Discography

Supertramp

Collaboration

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Supertramp</span> British rock band

    Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles. The classic lineup, which lasted ten years from 1973 to 1983, comprised Davies, Hodgson, Dougie Thomson (bass), Bob Siebenberg (drums) and John Helliwell (saxophone), after which the group's lineup changed numerous times, with Davies eventually becoming the only constant member throughout its history.

    <i>Breakfast in America</i> 1979 studio album by Supertramp

    Breakfast in America is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released on 16 March 1979, by A&M Records. It was recorded in 1978 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. It spawned three US Billboard hit singles: "The Logical Song", "Goodbye Stranger", and "Take the Long Way Home". In the UK, "The Logical Song" and the title track were both top 10 hits, the only two the group had in their native country.

    <i>Supertramp</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Supertramp

    Supertramp is the debut album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in August 1970. The first UK press was released under the title "And I'm Not Like Other", but this title was printed on the labels only. In some countries it was released under the titles Surely (Singapore), and Now and Then (Spain).

    <i>Indelibly Stamped</i> 1971 studio album by Supertramp

    Indelibly Stamped is the second album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1971. It marked a dramatic change in direction to a more straightforward rock sound, and by admission of the band's own liner notes, "Travelled" is the only song with any resemblance to their debut album. Like their debut, this album was a commercial failure upon release, but in later decades it went gold in France and Canada. Original editions have a colour gate-fold cover and different text for the band name and album title. The cover photograph features the tattooed torso and arms of a topless woman. This is the first Supertramp album issued in the U.S. The album was banned from a number of record stores in Australia, while others sold each copy inside a brown paper sleeve.

    <i>Crime of the Century</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Supertramp

    Crime of the Century is the third studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in October 1974 on A&M Records. Crime of the Century was Supertramp's commercial breakthrough in many countries, most notably in the UK, Canada and Germany where it peaked in the Top 5 while also making the Top 20 in Australia and France. It was an improvement over their previous sales in the US, but still only peaked at No. 38, with the US hit being "Bloody Well Right". "School" was another popular track, particularly on album rock-oriented radio stations. The album was eventually certified Gold in the US in 1977 after the release of Even in the Quietest Moments.... In Canada, it was eventually certified Diamond. The album was Supertramp's first to feature drummer Bob Siebenberg, saxophone and clarinet player and vocalist John Helliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, and co-producer Ken Scott. The album has received critical acclaim, including its inclusion in Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time".

    <i>Crisis? What Crisis?</i> 1975 studio album by Supertramp

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    <i>Paris</i> (Supertramp album) 1980 live album by Supertramp

    Paris is a live album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1980. It was recorded on Supertramp's Breakfast in America tour in Paris, France, with most of the tracks taken from a 29 November 1979 show at the Pavillon de Paris, a venue which was once a slaughterhouse. The album was originally going to be called Roadworks. Paris reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 in late 1980 and went Gold immediately, while the live version of "Dreamer" hit the US Top 20.

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    <i>Hai Hai</i> 1987 studio album by Roger Hodgson

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    References

    1. ↑ Fuentes, Abel (January 2011). Interview with Richard Palmer , Supertramp Soap Box Asylum. Retrieved 10 October 2012. "Rick Davies is one of the best drummers I've ever played with (...) We forgot Robert Millar on this one. Travelling from London in two vehicles, each driver mistakenly thought that Robert was with the other. Rick played drums and Andy played bass."
    2. 1 2 3 "Supertramp cancels European tour because of singer's cancer". Yahoo! . 4 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
    3. ↑ "Supertramp" Archived 10 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine , 107.1 Nash Icon, ©2019 Triton Digital. All Rights Reserved. 4.19.2-009
    4. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Leahey, Andrew. "Biography: Supertramp". AMG . Retrieved 17 May 2010.
    5. 1 2 3 4 (8 March 2009). "30 Years on From Breakfast in America", Swindonweb.
    6. 1 2 3 4 5 Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. pp. 17–22. ISBN   0-9691272-2-7.
    7. ↑ Joynson, Vernon (1995). The Tapestry of Delights Archived 25 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine . London: Borderline Books.
    8. ↑ Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. p. 28. ISBN   0-9691272-2-7.
    9. 1 2 "Supertramp", www.classicbands.com. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
    10. 1 2 Supertramp in the UK Charts Archived 17 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine , The Official Charts. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
    11. ↑ Quill, Greg (30 May 2011). "Roger Hodgson to Supertramp: Stop Playing My Songs". Toronto Star. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
    12. 1 2 Buskin, Richard (July 2005). Classic Tracks: Supertramp's 'Logical Song', Sound on Sound .
    13. ↑ Stevenson, Jane (25 July 1997). Supertramp Reunion Was Logical Thing to Do [usurped] , Jam! Music.
    14. ↑ Exclusive: RARE Interview to Rick Davies (Supertramp) - 28/8/2018 (Alma RadioTv) YouTube
    15. ↑ Walsh, Christopher (9 June 2022). "Ricky and the Rockets Return to Amagansett". www.easthamptonstar.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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