Details of new Supertramp biography revealed

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Supertramp saxist John Helliwell contributes foreword to The Logical Book

Supertramp
(Image credit: UMC)

A new book charting the highs and lows of Supertramp's career will be published by Wymer on April 17. The Logical Book - A Supertramp Compendium by Laura Shenton includes a foreword by the group's saxophone player John Helliwell.

The illustrated hardback documents the turbulent partnership between co-vocalists Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies. Also included are highlights such as their first commercial breakthrough in 1974 with Crime Of The Century and the success of Breakfast In America in 1979, as well as the local gigs and demanding tours in between.

As singer Hodgson said of Davies in 1979:  "We’re both oddballs and we’ve never been able to communicate too much on a verbal level. There’s a very deep bond, but it’s definitely mostly on a musical level. When there’s just the two of us playing together, there’s an incredible empathy."

Hodgson is currently on tour and will play six shows in the UK this summer.

Roger Hodgson 2020 UK Tour

Jun 13:  London Royal Hospital Chelsea
Jun 14:  Liverpool Empire
Jun 16:  Glasgow SEC Armadillo
Jun 17:  Birmingham Symphony Hall
Jul 07:  Brighton Centre
Jul 08:  Southend-On-Sea Cliff's Pavilion

Supertramp book cover

(Image credit: Wymer Publishing)
Natasha Scharf
Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.