How Supertramp’s homage to the 1960s sold 8,000,000 copies: “I saw the world needed love”

Supertramp’s “Give a Little Bit” carried the idealism of the 1960s into the band’s 1977 album *Even in the Quietest Moments…*. Written by Roger Hodgson in 1970 and shaped by the influence of The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”, its straightforward appeal for kindness became one of the group’s best-known songs.

The single reached number 15 in the US and number 29 in the UK. It has since been used for charity fundraising, including after Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami, and was performed at the 2007 Concert for Princess Diana. Hodgson still closes his shows with it, describing audiences singing and smiling together as part of its unifying effect.