It's 1979: Supertramp releases “Breakfast In America” and it's a worldwide success. An international tour followed in support of the album, and the audio of this “stop” at the Pavillon in Paris would be published the following year, in the memorable live album “Paris”. Peter Clifton's documentary “Supertramp: Breakfast in America Live in Paris” tells the story, broadcast on Thursday 25 June at 11.55pm on Rai 5. The images, never published until 2025, convey all the harmony of a band at the peak of expressive maturity. All the songs from the celebrated album are in the setlist.
After the triumph of “Breakfast In America” and the long tour in support of the album in 1979, Supertramp became one of the best-known bands in the world. Recorded on 1 and 2 December 1979, the Parisian show immortalizes them at the height of their career. On stage the historic line-up: Rick Davies (singer, composer and keyboardist) and Roger Hodgson (singer, composer, guitarist and keyboardist) with John Helliwell (saxophone, wind instruments, vocals and keyboards) and a rhythm section formed by bassist Dougie Thomson and drummer Bob Siebenberg.
Supertramp toured for almost ten months in America, Canada and Europe in support of “Breakfast in America”, the best-selling album of 1979 (with over 20 million copies), winner of two Grammy Awards and the source of several hit singles, from “The Logical Song” to “Take The Long Way Home”.
The triumphal Parisian evening reviews some of their most memorable songs, such as “Even In The Quietest Moments”, “School”, “A Soapbox Opera”, “Hide In Your Shell”, “Fool's Overture”, “Dreamer”, “Rudy”, “The Logical Song”, “Breakfast In America”, “Goodbye Stranger”, “Take The Long Way Home”, “Child Of Vision”.
Meanwhile, Supertramp's 33 rpm masterpieces come back to light. After the recent reissues of “Crime Of The Century” and “Crisis? What Crisis?”, the historic band continues the celebrations for its fiftieth anniversary with a new chapter dedicated to some of the most representative titles from its catalogue. “Even In The Quietest Moments…”, “Breakfast In America” and “…Famous Last Words…” return on vinyl edition half speed masterwith publication scheduled for March 20, 2026. Also in this case, as with the previous releases of the project, the remastering was entrusted to Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.
Released in April 1977, “Even In The Quietest Moments…” is the band's fifth album and marked an immediate leap in quality in terms of commercial response and international visibility. The album reached number 16 on the Billboard Album Chart, driven by the opening single “Give A Little Bit”, which quickly entered the Billboard Hot 100 and today boasts over 800 million streaming plays. Confirming its historical relevance, the album was already included in 1978 in 63rd place in the World Critic Lists, dedicated to the 200 best albums of all time according to rock critics and reference DJs.
The sixth work, “Breakfast In America”, still represents Supertramp's commercial peak and bestseller. Released in March 1979, it has exceeded 22 million copies sold worldwide, totaled approximately 2 billion streams and remained on the Billboard 200 for 88 consecutive weeks. The singles “The Logical Song”, “Goodbye Stranger” and “Take The Long Way Home” all entered the Billboard Hot 100, with “The Logical Song” now exceeding 900 million plays. Even the title track “Breakfast In America” achieved a strong international impact, reaching the top 10 in the UK.
The album has collected numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards and an Ivor Novello Award for “The Logical Song”. Over the years it has been included in various reference rankings: 207th in Guinness' “Top 1000 Albums of All Time”, 69th in Classic Rock Magazine's “Greatest British Rock Album of All Time”, 43rd in the list of the 100 best albums of all time voted by Australian listeners and 294th in Colin Larkin's volume “All Time 1000 Albums”.
2025 for Supertramp was marked by a serious loss: the passing of Rick Davies, founding member and blues soul of the group. Precisely the contrast between Davies' baritone and harsh voice and Hodgson's ethereal falsetto became the band's trademark, capable of blending progressive rock and pop sensibility with a unique and immediately recognizable sound.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
