20 Amazing Facts About Rick Davies

Richard “Rick” Davies (22 July 1944 – 5 September 2025) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the founder, vocalist and keyboardist of Supertramp. As the band’s only constant member, Davies shaped its sound with his bluesy piano solos, jazz-infused progressive rock, and sharp, often cynical lyrics. With his passing, we look back at 20 amazing and facts about his remarkable life and music.

  1. Rick Davies was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, in 1944 to Betty and Dick Davies.
  2. His mother was a hairdresser, his father a merchant navy man who died in 1973.
  3. Music was the only school subject he excelled at, according to his mother.
  4. At age 8, a Gene Krupa record, “Drummin’ Man,” inspired his lifelong passion for rhythm.
  5. He built his first drum kit from a biscuit tin before joining a brass band as a snare drummer.
  6. Though he started as a drummer, he later taught himself keyboards without formal lessons.
  7. By 1959, he joined a rock ’n’ roll band called Vince and the Vigilantes.
  8. In 1962, he formed Rick’s Blues, which included Gilbert O’Sullivan on drums.
  9. Davies taught Gilbert O’Sullivan to play both piano and drums.
  10. He worked as a welder at Square D in Swindon when his father fell ill.
  11. He once lied about being able to play organ to join a band called The Lonely Ones.
  12. While in Munich, he met Dutch millionaire Stanley August Miesegaes, who funded his next band.
  13. He formed Supertramp in 1969 after placing an ad in Melody Maker.
  14. Although he often sang in a raspy baritone, he occasionally used falsetto, as on “Goodbye Stranger.”
  15. His songs include classics like “Bloody Well Right,” “Crime of the Century,” and “Goodbye Stranger.”
  16. When Roger Hodgson left in 1983, Davies became Supertramp’s sole lead vocalist.
  17. Supertramp’s Breakfast in America became their best-selling album, topping the U.S. charts.
  18. In 1977, he married Sue, who became Supertramp’s manager in 1984.
  19. He battled multiple myeloma, leading to the cancellation of the band’s 2015 tour.
  20. Even late in life, he performed locally with Ricky and the Rockets, keeping music close at heart.