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“Paris” the double live album released in ’80, is also evidence of the musical quoting which John delights in. Take a listen to the album’s version of “Bloody Well Right” and you’ll find him skillfully inserting the opening bars of Duke Ellington's "Rockin' In Rhythm". He doesn't appear to have used the riff prior to this tour but it can be heard even more completely on Live '88. Whatever town he plays in on tour, he also likes to research its well known melodies then attempt to weave them into some of the show numbers that night.

RTL radio in Paris invited John and Roger Hodgson into their studios during one of the days of their autumn shows in ’79. John brought along his clarinet and the pair performed a breathtaking version of Even in the Quietest Moments but the biggest surprise of the entire session was when he suddenly took over the keyboards and played Joni Mitchell’s “Morning Morgantown”! Evidently his childhood piano lessons hadn’t been in vain.

With the touring ended soon after this, John had most of ’80 off and was able to spend time with his family back in LA. He was able to indulge in his pastimes, one of which was bicycling. He liked nothing better than to cycle up and down the steep hills around his canyon home but one day in January ’81 he simply rounded a corner too sharply, fell off and suffered a bad break to his leg, requiring surgery to fit a metal plate and pins which he has to this day. Once over this set back, it was time to regroup with his fellow musicians and think about their follow-up to “Paris”.

Work for the album “…famous last words…” took most of ’82. Just before its release in October, John guested on David Letterman’s “The Late Show” and was then dispatched in November on a solo round-the-world publicity jaunt for the album’s forthcoming singles. Over in London, BBC Radio 1’s “Newsbeat” caught up with him and asked him if he’d ever done the standard rock ‘n roll thing of wrecking his hotel room. Our man assured them that that had never happened but as an after thought added “but we did once throw a dead fish on to the roof of an ambassador’s car!”

Prior to his departure from the States, John took part in the video recording for both singles from the album. The second, “My Kind of Lady” had a 50s feel to it and required John and the others to shave off their trademark beards. He also found time to film intros for a music documentary “Les Enfants du Rock” for European tv w hich portrayed him tongue in cheek as a TV studio anchorman.

John packed his bags for yet another tour, playing the first of many ’tramp shows in Sweden at the start of June ’83.

On 24 th June he played in front of some 80 to 85 thousand souls at the Parc de Seaux in Paris which at that time was the largest ever audience assembled at a concert.

Just five days later the tour reached London’s Earl’s Court (29 th June). One piece from the British press at that time describes John as “tall, bearded and quite definitely the skinniest 38-year-old in rock 'n' roll. He's also the possessor of an enviable tan.”

The band got to the capital city just in time for the mens’ tennis finals at Wimbledon, an event which John and several of the others managed to get tickets to. John McEnroe, at that time one of the world’s top tennis stars, was obviously also a Supertramp fan and turned up in the front row at one of the London shows. John delighted in pointing him out to the crowd and “serving” an imaginary tennis ball at him from the stage.

In August the N. American part of the tour started, ending on the 25 th September ’83 at Irvine Meadows in California. This was to be Roger Hodgson’s last show with the band – it was John who presented him on stage with an inscribed gold watch. An emotional evening for all concerned.