...THE
OF A SOPHISTO-ROCK SAXOPHONIST BY ANNIE McCLEAN
Just a few weeks after John’s return, Dougie got back in touch
and invited him down informally for a bit of a session with Supertramp.
They’d all become aware of his considerable musical prowess due
to the fact that both Supertramp and The Alan Bown had occasionally played
together on the same bill but his permanent inclusion in the band seems
to have been clinched by his equal talents in the joke telling department,
a skill which he would later use to good effect on stage in his role as
Supertramp’s master of ceremonies.
He is rumoured to have broken the ice with his future band mates by telling
one of his many jokes. "Did you hear the one about the Irishman who
received water skis for Christmas?” [Answer: He spent the whole
holiday looking for a lake with a slope]. And thus, at Dougie’s
invitation, John sat in with the band and was instantly impressed. That
first day they worked on a number of songs which would eventually see
the light of day as Crime of the Century tracks.
One
of the first songs that John recalls hearing was “From Now On.”
John continued to return to successive ‘tramp rehearsals until he
eventually began performing gigs with them. No one, least not our sax
player, can remember exactly when this was or can even remember him being
asked to join formally! Supertramp were also in a pretty bad way both
in terms of finance and band morale. John like the other members, realized
that some day-work was necessary to keep body and soul together whilst
the band were in rehearsal time and so worked as a petrol pump attendant
and even took mind numbing work screwing nuts and bolts together on pipes
before resorting to going out on tour for a stint with the soul singer
Jimmy Ruffin.
Finally, with enough Supertramp demo tracks recorded, A&M gave the
go ahead for a third album to be recorded and in Nov. ‘73 John and
Christine moved out of London to join the rest of the band and their families
for a spot of communal living in an isolated Somerset cottage “Southcombe
Farm”.
Three months later Crime of the Century was ready to be recorded and
the Helliwells relocated back to Maidenhead outside London. John started
recording tracks at Trident studios in Jan ‘74 including a single
“Land Ho/ Summer Romance” which was subsequently remixed and
released in February just after John turned 29.
The first Helliwell official public appearance with Supertramp was in
March ’74 at the Queens Club in Westcliff although he had also performed
the new single with them on the BBCs “Rock On” some weeks
previously. Recording for Crime of the Century was finished by June and
released in September.
The band showcased it to assorted music industry heavyweights including
A&M founder Jerry Moss at Chelsea’s King’s Road Theatre
with John’s better half Christine on hand to reprieve her recording
role as one of the trampettes who provided backing vocals for “Hide
in your Shell”.
Prior to Dreamer being released in December ’74 as the new single,
Supertramp had actually performed it several times that autumn on BBC
tv. John is memorable in these clips for “playing” water-filled
wine glasses by rubbing the rims.
This was supposed to be providing some of the sustained synth sounds
but was merely an eye catching stage device. John headed off in October
with Supertramp mk. III on their first tour of Great Britain which ended
just before Christmas ‘74, at which point COTC was at number 4 in
the UK charts and the nation’s music press were clamoring to run
pieces on the band and the album.
OF A SOPHISTO-ROCK SAXOPHONIST BY ANNIE McCLEAN
One
of the first songs that John recalls hearing was “From Now On.”
John continued to return to successive ‘tramp rehearsals until he
eventually began performing gigs with them. No one, least not our sax
player, can remember exactly when this was or can even remember him being
asked to join formally! Supertramp were also in a pretty bad way both
in terms of finance and band morale. John like the other members, realized
that some day-work was necessary to keep body and soul together whilst
the band were in rehearsal time and so worked as a petrol pump attendant
and even took mind numbing work screwing nuts and bolts together on pipes
before resorting to going out on tour for a stint with the soul singer
Jimmy Ruffin.