Victoria fans are more than ready to give a little bit of their time to Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp — so much so that his Nov. 22 show at the Royal Theatre sold out in five days.Hodgson, a gifted musician and composer, co-founded the supergroup in 1969 and was with it until his departure in 1983. During his years with the band, he wrote, sang and arranged most of the enduring rock standards that made Supertramp a worldwide phenomenon. Hodgson says it all started where many great musicians start, with a love of The Beatles.“The first band that I really took to was The Shadows, but when The Beatles came along a few years later, that was really what changed my life,” he says. “Not only did they change my life, but I obviously saw the way they changed our whole culture and changed the world and certainly changed the musical world. So, when I got together with Rick (Davies) and formed Supertramp, I really wanted to see what we could do to have the same impact, or leave as powerful a legacy. I was really driven by the excellence and the bravery and the breaking of new boundaries that the Beatles taught me.”He was still a gangly preteen in Portsmouth, England when his parents divorced and his father gave him a guitar he’d spent many a day drooling over. “The moment I got it into my hands, my life changed forever,” he recalls. “A teacher showed me three chords and every spare moment, even between classes, I would go and play it. Within a year, I actually did my first concert at school of all original songs at age 13. I got the bug very, very quickly and started writing songs immediately.”The music comes first for Hodgson, who wrote mega-hits The Logical Song, Take The Long Way Home and Fool’s Overture. “There are usually a few lines of lyrics that come at the same time,” he explains. “For a two- or three-week period, I sing the new song every opportunity I get. It’s like a brief love affair; the emerging song just goes around and ‘round in my head the whole time. It has that consuming quality to it, like falling in love. The structure and melody come to me relatively quickly — the lyric usually takes much longer.”Supertramp was at its zenith with six studio albums including the quadruple platinum Breakfast In America when Hodgson walked away from the limelight. “I believe success is the hardest thing any artist can face, because the simple life goes out the window,” he says. “The creative muse is a very subtle energy that can easily be crowded out by the temptations, the complications and the demands of having to look after a whole lot of more life stuff. I had my lessons to learn when mega success happened to me with Breakfast in America.”He has no regrets for taking a 17-year hiatus from the music business to focus on raising his kids. “Because of what I learned during that time, I am back on tour again with a good head on my shoulders, some wisdom, and a healthy heart to give to people.”One of the most poignant moments for Hodgson came in 2007 when he was invited to perform at the Concert for Diana at Wembley stadium in London, by Prince William and Prince Harry. “I had never gotten to perform for Diana when she was alive, so paying tribute to her at that event was very special for me. “There was also an emotional moment after the show when Prince William whispered in my ear that he and his mother and brother used to dance around the kitchen singing Breakfast in America, Dreamer and Give a Little Bit. “I am grateful to still be sharing my gift of music with the world and look forward to playing Diana’s favourites, as well as The Logical Song, Take the Long Way Home, Fool’s Overture, and all the other songs you would like to hear in Victoria in November.” rmts.bc.ca rogerhodgson.com