Supertramp Later career
 Backed by a Dutch millionaire named Stanley August Miesegaes, vocalist and pianist Rick Davies (born Richard Davies, July 22, 1944 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England) used newspaper advertising in Melody Maker to recruit an early version of the band in August 1969, an effort which recruited vocalist/guitarist and keyboardist Roger Hodgson (born Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson, March 21, 1950 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England). Other members of this embryonic Supertramp group included Richard Palmer (guitar, balalaika, vocals) (born Richard Jeffrey Charles Palmer-James, 11 June 1947, in Bournemouth, Dorset) and Robert Millar (percussion, harmonica) (born 2 February 1950). Initially, Roger Hodgson sang and played bass guitar (and on the side, guitar, cello and flageolet). The band was called Daddy from August 1969 to Early 1970, when the band became Supertramp.
They were one of the first groups to be signed to UK A&M Records. The first album, Supertramp, was released in July 1970 in the UK only (it was first issued in the US in 1977). Although it was very interesting musically, it proved a commercial disappointment. Richard Palmer abruptly quit six months after the album's release and Robert Millar suffered a nervous breakdown shortly afterwards. For the next album, Frank Farrell (bass) (born in 1947 in Birmingham, Warwickshire), Kevin Currie (percussion) (born in Liverpool, Lancashire) and Dave Winthrop (flute and saxophone) (born 27 November 1948, in New Jersey, USA) replaced Millar and Palmer, Roger Hodgson switched to guitar and recorded the new album Indelibly Stamped, released in June 1971 (in both UK and US). It featured rocking Beatlesque tunes, with vocal harmonies similar to Simon and Garfunkel songs (Davies now serving as the band's second lead singer, alongside Hodgson, who suggested that the band should have two lead vocalists), more commercial approach and eye-catching cover artwork. Supertramp had established themselves as a cult band. Sales, however, failed to improve and sold even less than their debut. In early 1972, Miesegaes withdrew his support from the band after paying off debts. All members gradually quit except Hodgson and Davies.
(These two first albums were later reissued during Supertramp's popularity peak and have maintained a certain appeal with die-hard fans. The first album is melancholic and quieter and the songs are spread out more than they would be later on. Roger Hodgson once called it his favourite Supertramp album. The second album is their most traditionally rock album, and certainly their heaviest sound.)
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