Rick Davies, Supertramp cofounder and vocalist, dies at 81

[playahaitian]

https://ew.com/rick-davies-cofounder-and-frontman-and-supertramp-dies-at-81-11805124

Rick Davies, Supertramp cofounder and vocalist, dies at 81​

The English rocker wrote, composed, and sang some of the band's most enduring hits, like "Bloody Well Right," "Give a Little Bit," and "Goodbye Stranger."

By Ryan Coleman

September 7, 2025 10:25 p.m. ET

Rick Davies performing with Supertramp in Cologne, Germany.Credit:
Brill/ullstein bild via Getty
Rick Davies, the influential cofounder, vocalist, and keyboard player of the English rock band Supertramp, died on Sept. 5 at the age of 81.


A representative for the band confirmed Davies' death to Variety on Sunday, noting the singer-songwriter died at his home on New York's Long Island after a long battle with multiple myeloma.


Supertramp is one of the most dynamic and original bands to rise out of the U.K. after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones took over the world. Davies' idiosyncratic songwriting combined with cofounder and singer Roger Hodgson's distinctive voice made for several bestselling albums, chart-topping singles, and a legacy that sees Supertramp songs used widely in film, television, and beyond.

Rick Davies performing with Supertramp in 1997.
Katja Lenz/picture alliance via Getty
Davies was born in Swindon, England, in 1944 to a hairdresser and merchant navy seaman. His passion for music was kindled at a young age, and as soon as he could leave the house, he was performing live, joining his first band (Vince and the Vigilantes) in 1959 and forming his own for the first time in 1962 (Rick's Blues).


It wasn't until 1969, when Davies was 25, that he put out a call for a collaborator that altered the course of his life. Roger Hodgson, a posh young guitarist whose post-private school rearing clashed with Davies' own humble origins, wound up gelling with Davies, and Supertramp was born — after a few months under the moniker of Daddy.


Though Hodgson took the lead on most songs on Supertramp's freshman effort, 1970's self-titled album, Davies began to sing more and more, eventually writing and providing the voice for some of the band's most indelible hits, like "Bloody Well Right" and "Goodbye Stranger."



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While other members came and went, Davies and Hodgson remained the band's core and key creative ingredients for over a decade. In that time, the band broke through to commercial success with the singles "Dreams" and "Bloody Well Right" off the 1974 album Crime of the Century, and 1977's In the Quietest Moments included the hit "Give a Little Bit."


In 1979, Breakfast in America spawned the chart-topping hits "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take the Long Way Home." Breakfast in America led to Supertramp winning two Grammy awards and became their bestselling album, reaching 4x Platinum certification.

John Helliwell, Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson, Bob Siebenberg, and Dougie Thomson of Supertramp in 1981.
Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty
Creative differences led to a bitter falling out between Davies and Hodgson, who left the band in 1983. Assorted legal disputes plagued the once fruitful creative partnership, sinking them into litigation that lasted decades, to as recently as April when a U.S. judge ordered Hodgson to give three other members of the band songwriting royalties on three songs.


Davies remained the band's anchor in the decades between, releasing four albums subsequent to Hodgson's exit and continuing to perform the band's music live in a variety of settings. Though Davies planned to reunite the band for a tour in 2015, it was canceled when the musician was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that attacks plasma cells.


Davies leaves behind his wife Sue, whom he married in 1977. In 1984, Sue stepped up to serve as their band manager, a position she's held onto ever since.

 

[playahaitian]

Rick Davies, Supertramp Co-Founder Who Wrote and Sang ‘Bloody Well Right’ and ‘Goodbye Stranger,’ Dies at 81

Supertramp Co-founder Rick Davies, who wrote and sang such hits as 'Bloody Well Right' and 'Goodbye Stranger,' has died. He was 81.

variety.com

Rick Davies, Supertramp Co-Founder Who Wrote and Sang ‘Bloody Well Right’ and ‘Goodbye Stranger,’ Dies at 81​

By Jem Aswad
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(Photo by Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images)
Rick Davies, one of the two co-founders, frontmen and chief songwriters of the British band Supertramp, which evolved from a progressive-rock group into an unexpected chart-topping ensemble with the album “Breakfast in America,” has died after a long battle with cancer, the band confirmed in a statement. He was 81

Davies, who wrote and sang such Supertramp hits as “Goodbye Stranger” and “Bloody Well Right,” had a deeper and less-distinctive voice than his erstwhile partner, Roger Hodgson, who wrote and sang the band’s biggest hit, “The Logical Song.” Yet it was he who continued the band after Hodgson split in 1983 over a variety of disputes, which began with creative differences but grew to include songwriting royalties and other matters, that carried on in court as recently as last month.

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“The Supertramp Partnership is very sad to announce the death of the Supertramp founder, Rick Davies after a long illness,” the statement reads. “Rick passed away at his home on Long Island on September 5th. We had the privilege of knowing him, and playing with him for over fifty years. We offer our sincere condolences to Sue Davies.”

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Davies was born in Swindon, England in 1944 and became obsessed with music at an early age, first as a drummer and later as a keyboardist. One of his early bands, Rick’s Blues, featured future “Alone Again, Naturally” singer Gilbert O’Sullivan on drums, who later acknowledged Davies as a key mentor. After performing with a series of bands, in 1969 he decided to form a new one, and Hodgson was one of the musicians who replied to his ad. Despite dramatic differences in their voices and backgrounds, they gelled musically and, after a brief period of being called Daddy, renamed themselves Supertramp in January of 1970.




The band signed with A&M and grew in popularity with each album, making its first breakthrough with the “Crime of the Century” album, powered by the Davies-penned single “Bloody Well Right.” Their success and profile grew with each successive album — including 1977’s “In the Quietest Moments,” which featured Hodgson’s hit “Give a Little Bit” — until they broke wide open with “Breakfast in America” album, released in the spring of 1979.

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“The Logical Song” may have been written and sung by Hodgson, but it was driven by Davies’ prominent electric piano; he also wrote the answering refrain on the song’s last chorus. His song “Goodbye Stranger” was the album’s second hit single, and Supertramp were suddenly a globally popular band.

However, they did not sustain that success, and Hodgson left after falling out with the bandmembers in 1983, following the band’s seventh album, “… Famous Last Words…” Davies continued the band for four more albums, the final being 2002’s “Slow Motion,” and continued to perform as recently as 2022, although often under the name Ricky and the Rockets. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015.

 

[playahaitian]

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/supertramp-singer-must-give-little-bit-ex-bandmates-us-court-rules-2025-08-20/

 

[playahaitian]

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[HNIC]

R.I.P

 

[LordSinister]

That first supertramp album was fire.