Supertramp Later career
 Hodgson and Davies' differing singing and songwriting styles provided these albums with an interesting counterpoint, contrasting Davies' determined blues-rockers and songs of broken relationships (Another Man's Woman, From Now On, Goodbye Stranger) with Hodgson's wistful introspection (Dreamer, School, Fool's Overture, The Logical Song), but Hodgson felt constrained by the arrangement and left the band after the tour for their next album, ...Famous Last Words... (1982) which contained the Top 20 hit It's Raining Again and the Top 40 hit My Kind of Lady. There was much speculation behind the reasons why Roger Hodgson left Supertramp. In an interview in the 90's Hodgson stated that family was the main reason he left the band. He also went on to say that his wife at the time and Rick Davies' wife did not get along very well and it became a big conflict for the group. He said there were never any real personal or professional problems between him and Rick Davies as some people thought.
Having left the band in 1983, Hodgson began a solo career, his biggest hit Had A Dream (Sleeping With the Enemy) coming from his first solo album In the Eye of the Storm, in 1984.
The Davies-led Supertramp soldiered on, releasing Brother Where You Bound the same year. This included a Top 30 hit single, Cannonball, along with the title track, a 16-minute exposition on Cold War themes highlighted by guitar solos from Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. The album reached #21 on the US charts. 1987's Free as a Bird included more straightforward Davies rockers, including I'm Beggin' You, which reached Number 1 on the US dance charts, a curious accomplishment for an art rock band.
After 1987's tour, Thomson left the band due to a disagreement with Davies about the use of Hodgson-penned songs during live performances. One of the conditions of allowing Davies to continue with the name Supertramp was that no Hodgson songs would be performed. Hodgson was dismayed to attend a concert and find that the band was performing his songs such as Take the Long Way Home and The Logical Song. These songs were usually sung by Crowded House's Mark Hart (Hodgson's replacement on stage), and the Scottish bass player was against this move. When Supertramp reunited in 1997, Thomson declined an invitation to return and eventually quit playing for good.
In 1993, Davies approached Hodgson in a failed attempt to bring him back into the band. In interviews published on his and other fan forums, Hodgson later claimed he had been more than willing to rejoin Supertramp, but only if Davies' wife, Susan, abstained from interfering in band affairs (an issue before Hodgson left). Sue Davies was A&R at A&M (in charge of welcoming the band and helping them settle) when Supertramp moved to Los Angeles in the mid-70s and, as the romance between Davies and her blossomed, she quit A&M and started managing the band. Having to deal with two Davieses instead of one increased Hodgson's frustrations and prompted his departure. Davies declined to exclude his wife from his professional affairs, and Hodgson never heard from him again.
In 1997 Davies re-formed Supertramp with former members Helliwell, Siebenberg and Hart, plus several new musicians. The result was Some Things Never Change, a polished effort which echoed the earlier Supertramp sound. Ironically, that same year saw the release of Rites of Passage, Roger Hodgson's first solo album since Hai Hai in 1987. Rites of Passage was a live album featuring both new works from Roger as well as three Supertramp songs (Take the Long Way Home, The Logical Song and Give a Little Bit).
In an ironic reversal two years later, the re-formed Supertramp released a live album, It Was The Best Of Times while Roger released a studio album. Open The Door.
Early 2002 saw the release of another album by Davies and Supertramp, Slow Motion (sold direct in North America). Another attempt to reunite the band, including Hodgson, fell apart in 2005.
Rick Davies has since left California and resides in Long Island (East Hampton).
In the past few years, Roger Hodgson has donated Give A Little Bit to raise funds for Tsunami Relief efforts and other causes. It's been used by the Red Cross, United Way, the Make a Wish Foundation, and The Oprah Winfrey show requested the use of Give A Little Bit as part of their ”Gift of Giving Back Program.“
2006 was a busy year for Roger Hodgson. Throughout the summer of 2006, he has been touring Europe (France, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany), as well as the US (St. Paul, MN) and Canada (fall 2006) and his DVD Take The Long Way Home – Live In Montreal has gone Platinum and to the #1 spot in Canada, in its first 7 weeks of release.
He has also been asked to mentor Canadian Idol’s Top 7 contestants, alongside Dennis DeYoung (a founding member of the group Styx).
In March 2006, Roger Hodgson was honoured for his song Give A Little Bit at the 23rd Annual ASCAP awards in Los Angeles. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers gave the award in acknowledgment of the song being one of the 50 most played songs of 2005.
Roger Hodgson appeared at the Diana Memorial Concert at Wembley Stadium on 1st July 2007. The band were one of the late princess's favourites.
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