August 2017
Hello all... A few words about the departed Russel Pope. He was part of the Supertramp family and effort before I was. I don’t know how long before me, but I think a while. Certainly long enough to have a good handle on the cast of characters and fill me in when I first came around.
He was bright, well spoken, forceful in conversation, committed, serious and more than a little zany. Beatles fan, John Lennon was his guy.
He was an absolute essential in all things Supertramp. The stage design was his idea, black curtains all around to focus on just the stage. He was a gear hound and made crucial relationships in what was then the early era of good PA’s and monitoring.
He suggested Ken Scott as the guy to produce ‘Crime of the Century'. He helped Roger with his lyrics. He was part of every conversation about everything. He and Tony Shepherd and Ken Allardyce were virtually inseparable.
A complete conspiracy nut and a good friend to me. I haven’t seen much of him since the debacle of pre and post 1983.
I loved Russel and never contemplated a world without him. Lucky bastard... He’s finding out what’s next right now...
Bob.