Roger Hodgson is to many, the voice they think of when they think of the band Supertramp. And why not? He penned and sung most of their hits. But there was a schism with the band in the early 1980s and he left and then released the hit song Had a Dream.
For those who don’t know Kiss, they were a hard rock band that was best known for their painted faces. Indeed their gimmick in the 1970’s was that they always performed with their makeup and fans didn’t know what they really looked like.
I finally looked up the video for Hodgson’s Had a Dream and was taken by the fact that Hodgson has no less than two black and white painted faces. Was he trying to woo Kiss into taking him on as a band member? He was a known hit maker, with the two faces for his application.
Kiss has been silent on this matter all these years. So has Hodgson. But maybe, just maybe this happened,
The faces appear in the video at the 2nd and 3rd verses of Had a Dream. At roughly the 3:00 and 4:00 minute marks of the video.
The first one can be described as a going-to-war face. The black paint looks very angry. The white accentuates this a bit. Kiss purists might think that this paint is not covering enough of the face and is lazy. But aren’t the rest of Kiss lazy for not doing their necks or ears?
The second face can be described as lightning man. This particular look, to my mind, is more likely to win over Kiss fans, It’s black and white with the whole face done.
There are likely many reasons why the lineup of Kiss never included Roger Hodgson. Firstly he is a very high singer compared to that band’s more gruff singing. Secondly, Hodgson is an excellent piano player, which I doubt is a sound that Kiss wanted to add to the band. Thirdly, although Hodgson is also a good rhythm guitarist, I don’t think Paul Stanley ever left the lineup of Kiss. Thus, there was no opening for Roger Hodgson.
As for Roger Hodgson, he would likely have had to curtail his piano and keyboard playing. Although he was a known hit maker, his high, lilting voice might be forced out of the very songs he wrote. And Kiss isn’t just the faces, he would likely have to learn theatrics and how to walk in heels.
Anyhow, this marriage of two well known sounds never happened, Maybe the world is the poorer for it. But are we really?
