Sabine in Gozo

The day Roger Hodgson gave more than a little bit

Give A Little Bit is one of Supertramp’s hits that was penned by the band’s co-founder Roger Hodgson, has become an ear-worm over the years, especially so after Roger ‘donated’ the song to aid fund-raising efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As a matter of fact, most of the big hits that catapulted Supertramp to mega stardom in the late seventies and early eighties were written by Roger.

You all know by now how much I value Roger Hodgson not only as a gifted musician, but also as a person. I hardly ever mention his name without also referring to our little (but steadfastly growing!) circle of friends, who mostly met through – and are held together by – Kathy’s Roger Hodgson fan-site, and who are all similarly affected by Roger’s music and sincerity.

When we met up for Roger’s Tollwood concert in Munich last July, we all were certain to meet again in Nuremberg’s Meistersingerhalle in March 2011, where most of us had met up for the first time in March 2009. Although I had already health troubles at the time, it never crossed my mind that I could be too ill to travel, but as we all know that’s precisely what happened. Still, until late January I hadn’t given up hope altogether that I might feel better by March; when it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, I was obviously deeply disappointed.

Then, just one week before the gig, I received a short but sweet email from Linda Tyler, Roger’s manager, proposing to let me join the gang virtually using Skype if there was an internet connection available at the hall. I couldn’t believe what I was reading!

A couple of days before the concert my friend Gregor and I set up our Skype connection and for the next 48 hours I was almost breathless in anticipation! Events on the 15^th March kicked off with a brief telephone chat with my friends (thank you Mick!), while they were having lunch at Sausalito’s. Awesome!

Big Hug for Miriam

Here is a special hug for our friend Miriam, who was supposed to be there with the others in Nuremberg but sadly learned – almost in the last minute – that she was not able to, also for health reasons. Olaf tried setting her up with a Skype connection too, but for some reason it didn’t work out as well as mine, which must have been so disappointing for her. Dear Miriam, as I said: Let’s make a big wish for the next time, so that we’ll both be there – and share a hug in person!!

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Sound Check

Gregor – to whom I’ll be indebted forever! – set up his laptop in the hall, and you can believe me when I say that I felt the atmosphere there, it was kind of crackling! Excitement increased when he placed me on the edge of the stage, and Roger came over to greet me.

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A brief chat with Roger before the soundcheck

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After that, Roger carried me over and set me up on his keyboard! There I was, sitting face to face with the man… surreal is the only word that’s halfway fitting! Linda had asked whether I wanted Roger to sing a particular song for me, and I’d decided on The More I Look. Here I must clarify that there are many other songs that I love, but this one sort of “speaks to me” and often comes into my mind when I’m out and about on my own with the camera. And he would sing most of the others during the concert anyway. So Roger sat in front of me, singing The More I Look for me – did I mention surreal?

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Sabine "sitting" on Roger's keyboard

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The Concert

There’s one little snag in attending a concert via Skype; I had two options, either enjoy an excellent view at the expense of sound, or get better quality sound but from far away…I decided on being close to the action, but unfortunately the laptop’s mic was unable to pick up anything Roger said during the concert, and the music was barely recognizable. Sitting right on top of a bank of loudspeakers was of course not helping things. But I could live with it – especially in view of what was still to come!

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Sabine & Miriam "sitting" on stage (photo by Gregor)

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A technical problem with an amplifier gave Roger a hard time during this particular concert – which must have been the first in his long career that saw Roger not playing a guitar! Another glitch forced him to abandon Breakfast In America halfway through and restart after a brief interruption. I couldn’t help feeling that somehow I was responsible, that I was jinxing it with my presence… Yet despite the obstacles Roger had to struggle with, the crowd was wonderful (applause was the only sound that came over almost perfectly!!).

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Roger & Aaron during the show

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Hardcore fans know that the first few chords of Dreamer are the starting shot for the audience to abandon their seats and crowd in on the stage… and it was no different last Tuesday. But would you believe it: that’s precisely when Skype decided to hang up on me and deprive me of not one but two encores, which apparently included the only song he played on the guitar that night (Two Of Us, I believe).

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After Show

Of course I didn’t give up hoping that my Skype connection to the hall would be restored after the show, but it was a looong wait. I even nodded off a couple of times and was seriously scared I’d miss the call in the end! Thankfully I succeeded to stay awake – I would have been devastated had I missed what was still to come…

Together with the others, I waited backstage for Roger to arrive after the gig. Every now and then one of my friends would come to me for a chat; it was a very peculiar feeling, I was really there… so strange! Finally Roger and Linda entered the room and the usual photo session ensued, interspersed with chats and hugs and autographs. “Usual” is, perhaps, not quite the right word for this photo-shoot in particular – have a look:

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Roger, Sabine & the gang! (Photo by Olaf)

Gregor carrying Sabine around (Photo by Olaf)

Mick ensuring that Sabine has a good view on things! (Photo by Olaf)

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The gang had arranged for another “Garden Gate Gang” t-shirt to be printed for me, which they all signed on the back, while Roger wrote on its front, “For beautiful Sabine…  Roger Hodgson” – and he also signed the large banner (beautifully made by Claudia!), which they’d decided to send me… I’m really lost for words!

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Roger signing my t-shirt (Photo by Christine)

Roger signing the Garden Gate Gang banner for me (Photo by Christine)

Roger showing me the t-shirt (Photo by Anina)

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Some time after 11.30pm the meet & greet came to an end. However, there was yet another surprise lying in wait, as Linda told me that she’d “take me” to Roger’s dressing room because he wanted to speak with me somewhere quieter, away from the large crowd of people. And so my wonderful day in Nuremberg finished with a “private audience” with Roger Hodgson… Awesome… Surreal!

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Thank You!

Just saying thank you isn’t enough, but what else can I possibly say? I’m sure that everybody will agree that there aren’t many “stars” in the music business who would go to such great lengths for a fan who can’t attend their gig.

A huge, heartfelt thank-you to Roger Hodgson and Linda Tyler, and to all my Garden Gate Gang friends, for making the 15^th March 2011 one of the best days of my life!

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Thanks are also in order for the photos of the great night. A few of the pics in this post are snapshots that I took through Skype, but the others (the better ones!) are from Gregor, Olaf, Christine and Anina. I hope I marked all the photographers correctly!

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Tags: give a little bit, Roger Hodgson, Roger's Garden Gate Gang