Aachen
Panoramic view of Aachen, including Kaiser Karls Gymnasium (foreground), townhall (back center) and cathedral (back right)
Aachen
Location of the town of Aachen within Aachen district
Coordinates	50°46′31″N 6°4′58″E / 50.77528°N 6.08278°E / 50.77528; 6.08278Coordinates: 50°46′31″N 6°4′58″E / 50.77528°N 6.08278°E / 50.77528; 6.08278
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Cologne
District	Aachen
Lord Mayor	Marcel Philipp (CDU)
Governing parties	CDU / Greens
Basic statistics
Area	160.83 km2 (62.10 sq mi)
Elevation	266 m  (873 ft)
Population	258,664 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	1,608 /km2 (4,165 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	AC
Postal codes	52062–52080
Area codes	0241 / 02405 / 02407 / 02408
Website	www.aachen.de

Aachen (German pronunciation: [ˈʔaːxən] ( listen), French: Aix-la-Chapelle) has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost city of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km (40 mi) west of Cologne.^[2] RWTH Aachen University, one of Germany's Universities of Excellence, is located in the city.^[3][4] Aachen's predominant economic focus is on science, engineering, information technology and related sectors. In 2009, Aachen was ranked 8th among cities in Germany for innovation.^[5]

History[link]

Medieval architecture can be found in Aachen.

Construction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by Jean Fouquet.

A quarry on the Lousberg, which was first used in Neolithic times, attests to the long occupation of the site of Aachen.

No larger settlements, however, have been found to have existed in this remote rural area, located at least 15 km from the nearest road even in Roman times, up to the early medieval period when the place is mentioned as a king's mansion for the first time, not long before Charlemagne became ruler of the Germanic Franks.

Since Roman times, the hot springs at Aachen have been channeled into baths.^[2] There are currently two places to "take the waters", at the Carolus Thermen complex and the bathhouse in Burtscheid.^[6]

There is some documentary proof that the Romans named the hot sulfur springs of Aachen Aquis-Granum, and indeed to this day the city is known in Italian as Aquisgrana, in Spanish as Aquisgrán and in Polish as Akwizgran. The name Granus has lately been identified as that of a Celtic deity.

In French-speaking areas of the former Empire, the word aquis evolved into the modern Aix.

The Middle Ages[link]

After Roman times, Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pippin the Younger spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa ("Et celebravit natalem Domini in Aquis villa et pascha similiter."),^[7] which must have been sufficiently equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as King of Franks, 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. He went on to remain there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen (since 1929, cathedral) and the palatial presentation halls. Charlemagne spent most winters between 792 and his death in 814 in Aachen, which became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. After his death, the king was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never very widely acknowledged outside the bishopric of Liège where he may still be venerated by tradition.^[2]

In 936, Otto I was crowned king of the kingdom in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. Over the next 500 years, most kings of Germany destined to reign over the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen. The last king to be crowned here was Ferdinand I in 1531.^[2] During the Middle Ages, Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders, achieving a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a Free Imperial City, subject to the Emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had was over Burtscheid, a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess. It was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the "Aachener Reich". Even in the late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich; the city of Aachen even deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away the road-diggers.

From the early 16th century, Aachen lost power. A fire devastated the city in 1656.^[8] Aachen became attractive as a spa by the middle of the 17th century, not so much because of the effects of the hot springs on the health of its visitors but because Aachen was then — and remained well into the 19th century — a place of high-level prostitution in Europe. Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history is found in the 18th century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas; the main indication for visiting patients, ironically, was syphilis; only by the end of the 19th century had rheuma become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid. Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) in 1668, leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended the War of Devolution. The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, finishing the War of the Austrian Succession.^[2] The third congress took place in 1818 to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France.

The 19th century[link]

By the middle of the 19th century, industrialization swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the entirely corrupt remains of the city's mediæval constitution was kept in place (compare the famous remarks of Georg Forster in his Ansichten vom Niederrhein) until 1801, when Aachen became the "chef-lieu du département de la Roer" in Napoléon's First French Empire. In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Prussia took over and the city became one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century.^[2] Administered within the Rhine Province, by 1880 the population was 80,000. Starting in 1840, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen. The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions up to 1875 when the medieval fortifications were finally abandoned as a limit to building operations and new, less miserable quarters were built in the eastern part of the city, where drainage of waste liquids was easiest. In 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified. In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important for the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles, buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods.

The 20th century[link]

Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II. The city and its fortified sourroundings were encircled 13 September–16 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Armored Division in conjunction with the US 2nd Armored Division and 30th Infantry Division during the prolonged Battle of Aachen, later reinforced by US 28th Infantry Division elements. Direct assaults through the heavily defended city finally forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944.^[9] Aachen was the first German city to be captured by the Allies. The city was destroyed partially — and in some parts completely — during the fighting,^[2] mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included the medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral was largely unscathed. Only 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff, was murdered by an SS commando unit.

While the emperor's palace no longer exists, the church built by Charlemagne is still the main attraction of the city.^[10] In addition to holding the remains of its founder, it became the burial place of his successor Otto III. Aachen Cathedral has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Main sights[link]

This section requires expansion.

Aachen city hall

Aachen Cathedral

In the Carolus Thermen named for Charlemagne.

German–Dutch–Belgian border as seen from the town area

Aachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne in AD 786 and was on completion the largest cathedral north of the Alps. On his death Charlemagne's remains were interred in the cathedral and can be seen there to this day. The cathedral was extended several times in later ages, turning it into a curious and unique mixture of building styles. For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen Cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens.

The 14th century city hall lies between two central places, the Markt (market place) and the Katschhof (between city hall and cathedral). The coronation hall is on the first floor of the building. Inside you can find five frescoes by the Aachen artist Alfre Rethel which show legendary scenes from the life of Charlemagne, as well as Charlemagne's signature.

The Grashaus, a late medieval house at the Markt, is one of the oldest non-religious buildings in downtown Aachen. It hosts the city archive. The Grashaus was the former city hall before the present building took over this function.

The Elisenbrunnen is one of the most famous sights of Aachen. It is a neo-classical hall covering one of the city's famous fountains. It is just a minute away from the cathedral. Just a few steps in south-eastern direction lies the 19th century theatre.

Also well-known and well worth seeing are the two remaining city gates, the Ponttor, one half mile northwest of the cathedral, and the Kleinmarschiertor, close to the central railway station. There are also a few parts of both medieval city walls left, most of them integrated into more recent buildings, but some others still visible. There are even five towers left, some of which are used for housing.

There are many other places and objects worth seeing, for example a notable number of churches and monasteries, a few remarkable 17th- and 18th-century buildings in the particular Baroque style typical of the region, a collection of statues and monuments, park areas, cemeteries, among others. The area's industrial history is reflected in dozens of 19th- and early 20th-century manufacturing sites in the city.

Economy[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Ford Research Center, Aachen.

Aachen has a large number of spin-offs from the university's IT-technology department and is a major centre of IT development in Germany. Due to the low level of investment in cross-border railway projects, the city has preserved a slot within the Thalys high-speed train network which uses existing tracks on its last 70 km from Belgium to Cologne. The airport that serves Aachen, Maastricht Aachen Airport, is located about 40 km away in Dutch territory, close to the town of Beek. Aachen was the administrative centre for the coal-mining industries in neighbouring places to the northeast; it never played any role in brown coal mining, however, neither in administrative or industrial terms. Products manufactured in or around Aachen include electronics, chemicals, plastics, textiles, glass, cosmetics, and needles and pins. Its most important source of revenue, the textile industries, have been dead for almost half a century now.

Transport[link]

Aachen's railway station, the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), was constructed in 1841 at the Cologne-Aachen railway line and replaced in 1905, moving it significantly closer to the city centre. It serves main lines to Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Liège as well as branch lines to Heerlen, Alsdorf, Stolberg and Eschweiler. ICE high speed trains from Brussels via Cologne to Frankfurt am Main and Thalys trains from Paris to Cologne also stop at Aachen Central Station. Four RE lines and two RB lines connect Aachen with the Ruhrgebiet, Mönchengladbach, Liège, Düsseldorf and the Siegerland. The Euregiobahn, a regional railway system, reaches several minor cities in the Aachen region. There are four smaller stations in Aachen: Aachen West, Aachen Schanz, Aachen-Rothe Erde and Eilendorf. Only slower trains stop at these, but Aachen-West has developed enormous importance due to the expanding RWTH Aachen university.

Aachen is connected to the Autobahn A4 (West-East), A44 (North-South) and A544 (a smaller motorway from the A4 to the Europaplatz near the city centre). Due to the enormous amount of traffic at the Aachen road interchange, there is often serious traffic accumulation, which is why there are plans to expand the interchange in the coming years.

The nearest airports are Düsseldorf International Airport (80 km), Cologne Bonn Airport (90 km) and Maastricht Aachen Airport (40 km).

Sports[link]

The annual CHIO (short for the French term Concours Hippique International Officiel) is the biggest equestrian meeting of the world and among horsemen considered to be as prestigious for equitation as the tournament of Wimbledon for tennis. Aachen hosted the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games and 2011 CHIO Aachen.

The local football team Alemannia Aachen had a short run-out in Germany's first division, after its promotion in 2006. However, the team could not sustain its status and is now back in the second division. The stadium "Tivoli", opened in 1928, served as the venue for the team's home games and was well known for its incomparable atmosphere throughout the whole of the second division. Today, the stadium is used by the amateurs, whilst the Bundesliga Club holds its games in the new stadium "Neuer Tivoli" – meaning New Tivoli- a couple of metres down the road. The building work for the stadium which has a capacity of 32.960, began in May 2008 and was completed by the beginning of 2009.

In the South of the city you can find Aachen's biggest tennis club "TC Grün Weiss", which hosts the famous ATP Tournament once a year.

Awards[link]

Since 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens annually awards the Karlspreis (German for ‘Charlemagne Award’) to personalities of outstanding service to the unification of Europe. The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen was awarded in the year 2000 to the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, for his special personal contribution to cooperation with the states of Europe, for the preservation of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights in Europe, and for his support of the enlargement of the European Union. In 2003 the medal was awarded to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. In 2004, Pope John Paul II's efforts to unite Europe were honoured with an ‘Extraordinary Charlemagne Medal’, which was awarded for the first time ever. Most recently in 2011, the Charlemagne Award was conferred on Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank. He was acknowledged for his critical role in the stability of the euro despite the economic crises that prevailed in many economic powers.

Geography[link]

Aachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north. Aachen has the hottest springs of Central Europe with water temperatures of 74°C(165°F). The water contains a considerable percentage of common salt and other sodium salts and sulphur. As a spa city, Aachen could use the title Bad Aachen, but as the town then would not appear in first place on alphabetically ordered lists, it declined to do so.

Culture[link]

Aachen is also famous for its carnival (Karneval, Fasching), in which families dress in colorful costumes.

In 1372, Aachen became the first coin-minting city in the world to regularly place an Anno Domini date on a general circulation coin, a groschen.

The Scotch-Club in Aachen was the first discothèque since October 19, 1959. Klaus Quirini as DJ Heinrich was the first DJ ever.

The local specialty of Aachen is an originally stonehard type of sweet bread, baked in large flat loaves, called Aachener Printen. Unlike gingerbread (German: Lebkuchen), which is sweetened with honey, Printen are sweetened with sugar. Today, a soft version is sold under the same name which follows an entirely different recipe.

Notable residents[link]

House of the family of Mies van der Rohe.

King Ethelwulf of Wessex, father of Alfred the Great was born in Aachen. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the founders of modern architecture and the last director of the Bauhaus during its period in Dessau and Berlin was born in Aachen as well. In 1850 Paul Julius Reuter founded the Reuters News Agency in Aachen which transferred messages between Brussels and Aachen using carrier pigeons. Anne Frank's mother, Edith Frank was born here as well.

Education[link]

The main building of RWTH Aachen University

Typical Aachen street with early 20th century Gründerzeit houses

RWTH Aachen University, established as Polytechnicum in 1870, is one of the Germany's Universities of Excellence with strong emphasis on technological research, especially for electrical and mechanical engineering, computer sciences, physics, and chemistry. The university clinics attached to the RWTH, the Klinikum Aachen, is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe.^[11] Over time, a host of software and computer industries have developed around the university. It also maintains a botanical garden (the Botanischer Garten Aachen).

FH Aachen, Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS) was founded in 1971. The AcUAS offers a classic engineering education in professions like Mechatronics, Construction Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering. German and international students are educated in more than 20 international or foreign-oriented programs and can acquire German as well as international degrees (Bachelor/Master) or Doppeldiplome (double degrees). Foreign students accounts for more than 21% of the student body.

The German Army's Technical School (Technische Schule des Heeres und Fachschule des Heeres für Technik) is in Aachen.

International relations[link]

Aachen is twinned with:

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• Liège, Belgium; since 1955.
• Reims, France; since 1967.
• Halifax, England, United Kingdom; since 1979.
• Toledo, Castile–La Mancha, Spain; since 1985.
• Ningbo, China; since 1986.
• Naumburg, Germany; since 1988.
• Arlington County, Virginia, United States; since 1993.
• Cape Town, South Africa; since 1999.^[12]
• Kostroma, Russia; since 2005.
• Rosh HaAyin, Israel; since 2007.^{[citation needed]}
• Baltimore, Ireland; since 2010.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

Germany portal

• Aachen (district)
• Aachen tram
• Aachener
• Aachener Bachverein
• List of mayors of Aachen
• Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (disambiguation)

Notes[link]

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 edition of The Grocer's Encyclopedia.

Grocers

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aachen

• City of Aachen (partly available in English)
• Aachen-emotion.com – photos, interviews, stories, audio files and video clips featuring Aachen – presented by Aachen City Council. (in German and English)
• ASEAG (public bus transport) (in German)
• RWTH Aachen University (in German and English)
• Fachhochschule Aachen (Aachen University of Applied Sciences)
• Google Earth placemark with official image overlays
• Panorama pictures of landmarks and places of interest
• The Spirit of Aachen – documentary film by SportsQuest International
• Einhard's Annals: first mention of Aquis villa, 765
• (English) Aachen Zoo at Zoo-Infos.de
• Article on Aachen's historic buildings
• Map of the Aachen Area in 1789

v t e Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany Urban districts Bielefeld Bochum Bonn Bottrop Dortmund Duisburg Düsseldorf Essen Gelsenkirchen Hagen Hamm Herne Köln (Cologne) Krefeld Leverkusen Mönchengladbach Mülheim Münster Oberhausen Remscheid Solingen Wuppertal Rural districts Aachen Borken Coesfeld Düren Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis Euskirchen Gütersloh Heinsberg Herford Hochsauerlandkreis Höxter Kleve (Cleves) Lippe Märkischer Kreis Mettmann Minden-Lübbecke Oberbergischer Kreis Olpe Paderborn Recklinghausen Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Rhein-Erft-Kreis Rhein-Kreis Neuss Rhein-Sieg-Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein Soest Steinfurt Unna Viersen Warendorf Wesel

William "Bill" Woods (born 1962 in Moruya, New South Wales) is an Australian television broadcaster.

Woods is currently the presenter of Network Ten's Ten News at Five in Sydney, alongside Sandra Sully.

Early career[link]

In 1982 Woods graduated with a Bachelor Of Arts degree in Professional Writing at Canberra College of Advanced Education (now University Of Canberra) and in early 1983 began another 3 month course in Commercial Radio Broadcasting at the Australian Film and Television School. After that course he was employed, along with classmate Mike Hammond, by 2BS Bathurst owner Ron Camplin who then used the young DJs as morning and afternoon hosts for one of his other regional stations, 2LF Young.

In early 1984 Woods was offered a journalism cadetship with Radio 2WS in Sydney. He filled all kinds of news reporting and presenting roles, as well as major sporting event coverage. This included a trip to Wimbledon in 1987 to cover Pat Cash's historic win. The following year he accepted the role of 2WS Sports Director. In late 1988 he was offered a part time job at Network Ten which soon resulted in an offer of full-time work as a sports reporter for the evening news.

Television career[link]

Woods has been with Ten since 1989. He began as a reporter, progressing to fill-in presenting on weekends and by the end of the year became the main sports anchor alongside Ian Leslie in Ten's half-hour evening news. Soon after Eric Walters replaced Leslie, Woods was replaced by Graham Hughes. After stints on Good Morning Australia with Tim Webster and Kerri-Anne Kennerley as a sports commentator Woods was asked to fill in for Webster on a few occasions. This led to his appointment in a series of sport broadcasts outside the news department.

He was the presenter for Ten's National Basketball League coverage from 1992 to the mid-1990s, as well as acting as play-by-play commentator for Sydney Kings home games. Woods continued in the news room as regular weekend presenter on Ten's Sports Tonight from 1996 to 2005, as well as acting as a back-up presenter to Tim Webster on weeknights.^[1]

Woods was also the face of Ten's motorsport coverage from 1997 to 2005. He hosted the magazine programme RPM, six of those years with former World Champion Barry Sheene. Sheene and Woods also anchored and commentated on the World Motorcycle Championship (Motogp). The pair became firm friends, and Woods broke down during the episode dedicated to Sheene after his death from cancer in 2003.^[2] In 2004 Woods also filled the role of commentator in the V8 Supercar Championship Series alongside regular Commentator Neil Crompton.

Highlights[link]

Woods first major sports anchoring role was at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada. He fronted TEN's national news coverage of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and was prime-time anchor of the 2011 Delhi Commonwealth Games telecast.

The ill-fated 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was a particularly difficult role in the national spotlight. With Ten being the official TV broadcaster of the race, he delivered regular news updates from Hobart (along with yachting commentator Rob Mundle) on the unfolding tragedy brought about by severe gale-force winds and sea swells reaching several metres in height. Five competing boats were sunk and six people died.

He has also hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup from France, the David Beckham interview and match telecast, as well as numerous Australian F1 Grand Prix, Australian Motogp, Gold Coast Indy and Bathurst 1000 telecasts.

He has anchored five Logie award-winning telecasts: 4 for the Bathurst 1000 coverage one for the 1994 Commonwealth Games. He has also anchored and commentated on a variety of other events and series such as the 2007 and 2010 Federal Election Telecasts, Triathlon Grand Prix and Australian Ladies Masters Golf.

In 2009 and 2010 Woods hosted a two hour sports variety show called Thursday Night Live on the ONE HD channel.

Back to News[link]

In January 2006, Woods began presentingTen's Early News. In 2007, Woods permanently took over Ten's Weekend News replacing Tracey Spicer.

In January 2009, Woods replaced Ron Wilson as presenter of Ten News at Five in Sydney.^[3]

In June 2010, Woods took long service leave, Ron Wilson filled in for him. Woods returned on 2 August 2010.

Radio[link]

During the summer of 2007-2008, Bill Woods occasionally filled in as a stand-in on the nightly 2UE sports program, Sports Today. In 2009-10 he and Deborah Knight also filled in on "Weekends with George and Paul".

Author[link]

In his time away from television commitments, he has written a book, Legends of Speed. This book is about Australia's great race drivers. His second book, El Magic: The Life of Hazem El Masri, a biography of rugby league player Hazem El Masri, was released in 2007.^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bill Woods at the Internet Movie Database
• Bill Woods presenter profile
• Bill Woods currently writes Bill's Blog for the Ten News website.

Medal record
Equestrian
Competitor for  Great Britain

Emma Hindle (born 19 May 1975) is a British international equestrian. She first rode for her country in 2004, competing in the World Equestrian Games of that year, and competed for Great Britain in Dressage at both the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games.^[1]

Early life[link]

Hindle was born in Preston, Lancashire on 19 May 1975. After riding a donkey on the beach at Blackpool aged 4, she began taking regular riding lessons at her aunts stables. She began competitive showing in Working hunter classes, followed by eventing.^[2]

Career[link]

Aged 12, Hindle was under instruction from international dressage judge Stephen Clarke and at 18 she moved to Sweden to train with Kyra Kyrklund at the Flyinge Stud.

When Kyrklund moved to the UK in 1993, Hindle moved to the base of Netherlands Olympic dressage medallist Ellen Bontje in Frankfurt, Germany. It was from this base that she competed in the Beijing Olympics.^[2]

Now running the Brookhouse Stud in Erbach, Hessen, Hindle is part of the London 2012 World Class Performance Programme.^[2]

Results[link]

^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Team GB Profile
• Brookhouse stud

This biographical article related to British equestrianism is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2010)

Roger Hodgson
Roger Hodgson in France in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson
Born	(1950-03-21) 21 March 1950 (age 62)
Origin	Portsmouth, England
Genres	Progressive rock, pop rock, art rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass
Years active	1969–present
Labels	A&M, Unichord/Voiceprint, Epic
Associated acts	Supertramp, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, Argosy
Website	RogerHodgson.com

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman, and founding member, of progressive rock band Supertramp.^[1][2][3]

Hodgson composed and sang on the majority of the band's hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America", "Take the Long Way Home" and "It's Raining Again".

He left Supertramp in 1983 to pursue a solo career, but after two albums he retired from touring and other industry obligations. In 1997 he returned to doing solo tours, and released a third album in 2000. He is recognised for his tenor singing voice, which became a trademark of his former band Supertramp, and often writes about spiritual and philosophical topics.

Biography[link]

1950–1969: Early years[link]

Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, in 1950 and grew up in Oxford. He is the son of Charles Hodgson and Jill Hodgson (died in June 2009). He attended Woodcote House near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, where he was the first boy to learn electric guitar, and Stowe School near Buckingham, Buckinghamshire. His first guitar was a parting gift from his father at age 12 when his parents divorced.^[4] He took it to boarding school with him, where his teacher taught him three chords. He began composing his own music and lyrics and within a year gave his first concert at school with nine original songs. Hodgson's first band at school consisted of him on guitar and his friend Roy Hoby playing snare drums. They were dubbed the "H-bombs" because of their last names.

At age 19, Roger Hodgson made his first appearance in a recording studio as guitarist for People Like Us, a band he formed shortly after graduating from boarding school.^[4] The group recorded a single, "Duck Pond" b/w "Send Me No Flowers", which was never released.^[5]

After People Like Us disbanded, Hodgson auditioned for Island Records, with Traffic's road manager providing him a foot in the door with the label.^[4] Island set him up in a recording studio as vocalist for the one-off "flower power" pop band Argosy, which also included Reginald Dwight (later known as Elton John), Caleb Quaye, and Nigel Olsson.^[6] Their sole single, "Mr. Boyd" b/w "Imagine", consisted of two pieces of orchestrated pop (both penned by Hodgson) and was issued in 1969 on the DJM (U.K.) and Congress (U.S.) record labels.^[6] It sold poorly and consequently has become rare and sought after. "Mr. Boyd" was covered in 1997 by Jake Shillingford and his band My Life Story on their album "The Golden Mile".

1969–1983: Supertramp[link]

After the breakup of Argosy, Hodgson, responding to an advert placed in Melody Maker by Rick Davies, auditioned for the guitarist spot in the progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson was offered the job, but when Richard Palmer arrived the next day to audition for the same spot, Hodgson agreed to learn how to play bass instead.^[7]

The songs on Supertramp's self-titled first album, released in 1970, were composed by Roger Hodgson, Rick Davies, and Richard Palmer; however, since both Hodgson and Davies were unwilling to write lyrics, Palmer wrote all the album's lyrics.^[7] Palmer left shortly after the album's recording, allowing Hodgson to switch back to guitar, but leaving him and Davies no choice but to serve as the band's lyricists. Paralleling fellow British prog rockers Genesis and their search for a new lead vocalist, Supertramp auditioned 93 guitarists before turning the role over to Hodgson.^[8] The hugely successful Crime of the Century was released in 1974. Crisis? What Crisis?, released in 1975, was followed by Even in the Quietest Moments in 1977. In 1979, they released their most successful album, Breakfast in America. This album has sold over 20 million copies to date.^[9] The live album, Paris, was released in 1980. …Famous Last Words…, released in 1982, included Hodgson's first solo recording, "Know Who You Are".

From 1974 through 1983, all songs recorded by Supertramp were legally credited with a shared writing credit of Davies/Hodgson. Roger Hodgson was the writer of hits such as "Give a Little Bit", "Breakfast in America", "It's Raining Again", "Take the Long Way Home" and "Fool's Overture". Hodgson wrote "Breakfast in America", "The Logical Song", and some of "Fool's Overture" at home with a harmonium he had bought from a neighbour when he was 17 years old (this instrument is used in the background of "Breakfast in America", and prominently appears on "Two of Us" and his solo track "The Garden").

In 1981, Hodgson left Los Angeles and moved his family to Northern California, where he built a home studio and began contemplating solo recordings.^[10] The rest of Supertramp remained in Los Angeles, and the geographic separation created a rift between them and Hodgson; there was little to no feuding, but the group harmony was lost. Hodgson felt increasingly constrained in the group context, and during the tour for …Famous Last Words… he made the final decision to leave Supertramp.^[11] He has stated that there were not any real problems in his relationship with Davies, as was speculated.^[12]

1984–present: Solo career[link]

Hodgson recorded three solo albums at his new home studio, the first before his departure from Supertramp. Titled Sleeping With the Enemy, it was cut in the months between the release of …Famous Last Words… and its supporting tour, and mixed during Supertramp rehearsals for said tour in hopes of fitting in some solo promotion while on the road.^[11] However, at the last minute Hodgson had second thoughts about the album's quality and decided to scrap it, planning to record a new and better album after his last tour with Supertramp.^[11]

This second effort, In the Eye of The Storm, was released in 1984. Despite being heavily publicized as the solo album of a former member of Supertramp, it failed to break the top 40 in either the US or UK.^[13][14] The single "Had a Dream (Sleeping With the Enemy)" was able to reach no higher than number 48 in the US,^[15] while the follow-up single, "In Jeopardy", failed to chart at all.

Though a major commercial disappointment after his last six albums with Supertramp, In the Eye of the Storm would prove to be Hodgson's biggest success without the group. His second album was Hai Hai (1987), however, just prior to the release of Hai Hai, Hodgson fell from a loft in his home and broke both wrists, which disabled him from promoting the album.^[16] It would barely scrape into the Billboard 200,^[17] and did not make the UK Chart. He decided to take a long break from both touring and recording in order to spend more time with his children.^[16]

In 1990, Hodgson was approached by Yes to take the lead singer position but declined the offer. One of the songs he co-wrote with Trevor Rabin, "Walls", appears on Yes's 1994 Talk album, with lyrics revised by Anderson. A version of "Walls" with only Hodgson and Rabin on vocals was released on Trevor Rabin's 2003 archival release 90124.

After a long break, he launched into his first tour in over ten years, and released 1997's live Rites of Passage to document the tour. The live album was recorded at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City, California. He performed with a full band including his son Andrew and Supertramp sax player John Helliwell. The album was a total flop in both the UK and US, but gave Hodgson his only significant solo success in Germany, reaching number 34 in the charts there.^[18]

Hodgson played King Arthur in the rock opera Excalibur: La Legende Des Celtes, and appeared on the album for two songs: "The Elements," and "The Will of God." The project was headed by Alan Simon and released in 1999. In 2000, he contributed vocals on a track titled "The Moon Says Hello" by Carlos Núñez, on the CD Mayo Longo.

Hodgson's fourth solo effort Open the Door was released in 2000 and continued in the vein of his previous work. He collaborated again with Alan Simon on the album. In August 2000, Hodgson guested with Fairport Convention at that years Cropredy Festival. He performed "Breakfast In America", "The Logical Song", "Open The Door" and "Give A Little Bit".

Hodgson toured as a member of the All-Starr Band in 2001, playing lead guitar, and has since collaborated with Trevor Rabin (who appears on the track "The More I Look" on Open the Door) and Ringo Starr.

Hodgson is still touring, often playing alone, but from time to time he is joined by other musicians or a full orchestra. He took part in the Night of the Proms concert series in Belgium and Germany in late 2004, as well as the rock festival Bospop in 2005. On 30 November 2005, he held his first concert in England in over twenty years, at Shepherd's Bush, London. While the performance was filmed and scheduled for a DVD release, the plan was scrapped. Instead, the concert recorded at the Place Des Arts in Montreal, Canada on 6 June 2006 was his first DVD, released on 22 August 2006, entitled Take The Long Way Home - Live In Montreal. In October 2006, the DVD was certified multi-platinum by the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association).

In May 2006, Hodgson was honoured by ASCAP in recognition of his song "Give A Little Bit" being one of the most played songs in the ASCAP repertoire in 2005. He received another ASCAP award on 9 April 2008 for the Gym Class Heroes' song "Cupid's Chokehold", recognized as one of the most played songs in ASCAP's repertoire in 2007.

Hodgson participated as a mentor on Canadian Idol along with Dennis DeYoung. He continued mentoring several of the finalists during his 2006 Canadian Tour.

Hodgson performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, UK on 1 July 2007. He sang a medley of his most popular songs: "Dreamer", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America" and "Give A Little Bit".

On 18 September 2007, Eagle Vision released the DVD Take the Long Way Home - Live in Montreal worldwide, achieving gold in Germany and France.

Hodgson toured the US, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe, and Canada in 2010. Though Hodgson's former bandmates in Supertramp announced a 40th Anniversary reunion tour, he was not invited to join them, and his own touring schedule would have prohibited him from any participation beyond the occasional guest spot in any case.^[19] Both Hodgson and Supertramp released tour material on download only on their websites. Hodgson's Classics Live is a collection of recordings taken from solo, band, and orchestra shows from his 2010 world tour. Hodgson again toured worldwide in 2011 and is again on a world tour which started in February and will finish in November.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Hodgson has been a vegetarian all of his life. He said in a 1983 interview about the topic: "I've always loved going out in the woods with all the trees because I also have the respect for the wilderness because I am a vegetarian and I don't eat meat."^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

For his work with Supertramp, see Supertramp discography between 1969 and 1983

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roger Hodgson

• Official website
• Roger Hodgson on Myspace
• UK fansite

v t e Supertramp Rick Davies Bob Siebenberg John Helliwell Carl Verheyen Lee Thornburg Cliff Hugo Jesse Siebenberg Gabe Dixon Cassie Miller-Thornburg Past members: Roger Hodgson Dougie Thomson Richard Palmer Robert Millar Frank Farrell Kevin Currie Dave Winthrop Mark Hart Tom Walsh Keith Baker Touring members: Marty Walsh (1985–1988) Brad Cole (1986–1988) Scott Page (1983–1985) Fred Mandel (1983) Albums Supertramp Indelibly Stamped Crime of the Century Crisis? What Crisis? Even in the Quietest Moments... Breakfast in America ...Famous Last Words... Brother Where You Bound Free as a Bird Some Things Never Change Slow Motion Live albums Concert Classics Paris Live '88 It Was the Best of Times Is Everybody Listening? 70-10 Tour Compilations The Autobiography of Supertramp The Very Best of Supertramp The Very Best of Supertramp 2 Retrospectacle – The Supertramp Anthology Singles "Forever"" "Land Ho" "Dreamer" "Bloody Well Right" "Lady" "Ain't Nobody But Me" "Give a Little Bit" "Babaji" "From Now On" "The Logical Song" "Breakfast in America" "Goodbye Stranger" "Take the Long Way Home" "Dreamer (live)" "Breakfast in America (live)" "It's Raining Again" "Don't Leave Me Now" "Crazy" "My Kind of Lady" "Still in Love" "Cannonball" "Better Days" "I'm Beggin' You" "Free As A Bird" "Give a Little Bit (New Version)" "You Win, I Lose" "Listen To Me, Please" "Slow Motion" Selected songs "Brother Where You Bound" "Fool's Overture" Related articles Discography Band members Book:Supertramp