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The legendary Status Quo have carved a large niche in music history by producing uncomplicated, unpretentious and infectious boogie-rock music.
The origins of this durable and now-legendary attraction lie in The Spectres, a London-based beat outfit. Founder members Francis Rossi (guitar, vocals) and Alan Lancaster (bass, vocals) led the act from its inception in 1962 until 1967, by which time Roy Lynes (organ) and John Coghlan (drums) completed its line-up. The Spectres' three singles encompassed several styles of music, ranging from pop to brash R&B, but the quartet took a new name, the Traffic Jam, when such releases proved commercially unsuccessful. A similar failure beset "Almost But Not Quite There", but the band was nonetheless buoyed by the arrival of Rick Parfitt (guitar, keyboards, vocals), lately of cabaret attraction the Highlights (where he was sometimes known as Rick Harrison).
The revamped unit assumed their "The Status Quo" appellation in August 1967 and initially sought work backing various solo artists, including Madeline Bell and Tommy Quickly.
The origins of this durable and now-legendary attraction lie in The Spectres, a London-based beat outfit. Founder members Francis Rossi (guitar, vocals) and Alan Lancaster (bass, vocals) led the act from its inception in 1962 until 1967, by which time Roy Lynes (organ) and John Coghlan (drums) completed its line-up. The Spectres' three singles encompassed several styles of music, ranging from pop to brash R&B, but the quartet took a new name, the Traffic Jam, when such releases proved commercially unsuccessful. A similar failure beset "Almost But Not Quite There", but the band was nonetheless buoyed by the arrival of Rick Parfitt (guitar, keyboards, vocals), lately of cabaret attraction the Highlights (where he was sometimes known as Rick Harrison).
The revamped unit assumed their "The Status Quo" appellation in August 1967 and initially sought work backing various solo artists, including Madeline Bell and Tommy Quickly.
Assiduous live appearances built up a grassroots following and impressive slots at the Reading and Great Western Festivals (both 1972) signalled a commercial turning point. Now signed to the renowned Vertigo Records label, Status Quo scored a UK Top 10 hit in January 1973 with "Paper Plane" but more importantly, reached number 5 in the album charts with Piledriver. A subsequent release, Hello!, entered at number 1, confirming the band's emergence as a major attraction.
Since this point the band's style has basically remained unchanged, fusing simple, 12-bar riffs to catchy melodies, while an unpretentious "lads" image has proved equally enduring. Each of their 70s albums reached the Top 5, while a consistent presence in the singles chart included such notable entries as "Caroline" (1973), "Down Down" (a chart-topper in 1974), "Roll Over Lay Down" (1975), "Whatever You Want" (1979), "What You're Proposing" (1980), "Lies"/"Don't Drive My Car" (1980), "Something 'Bout You Baby I Like" (1981), and "Rock N' Roll" (1981). An uncharacteristic ballad, "Living On An Island" (1979), showed a softer perspective while the band also proved adept at adapting outside material, as evinced by their cover version of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over The World" (1977). That song was later re-recorded as "Running All Over The World" to promote the charitable Race Against Time in 1988.
The group undertook a lengthy break during 1980, but answered rumours of a permanent split with Just Supposin'. However, a dissatisfied Coghlan left the band in 1982 in order to form his own act, Diesel. Pete Kircher (ex-Original Mirrors) took his place, but Status Quo was then undermined by the growing estrangement between Lancaster and Rossi and Parfitt. The bass player moved to Australia in 1983 - a cardboard cut-out substituted on several television appearances - but he remained a member for the next two years, during which time the band announced they would be quitting live work. They re-formed to play the opening slot at Live Aid in 1985, Lancaster's final appearance with the band, following which he unsuccessfully took out a High Court injunction to prevent Status Quo performing without him.
Rossi and Parfitt secured the rights to the name "Status Quo" and re-formed the band (as both a studio and live unit) around John "Rhino" Edwards (bass), Jeff Rich (drums) and Andy Bown (keyboards). The last-named musician, formerly of the Herd and Judas Jump, had begun his association with the band in 1973, and became an official member three years later.
Despite such traumas Status Quo continued to enjoy commercial approbation with Top 10 entries "Dear John" (1982), "Marguerita Time" (1983), "In The Army Now" (1986) and "Burning Bridges (On And Off And On Again)" (1988), while 1+9+8+2 was their fourth chart-topping album. The band celebrated its silver anniversary in October 1991 by entering The Guinness Book Of Records having completed four charity concerts in four UK cities in the space of 12 hours. This ambitious undertaking, the subject of a television documentary, was succeeded by a national tour which confirmed the band's continued mass-market popularity. They achieved another number 1 single in 1994 with "Come On You Reds", a musically dubious reworking of their own "Burning Bridges" recorded with soccer club Manchester United. An ill-chosen version of "Fun Fun Fun" in 1996 had the Beach Boys relegated to harmony backing vocals and did little for either band's reputation.
The band's track record is incredible: worldwide sales of over 100 million, and even with the dubious "Fun Fun Fun", they have racked up over 50 UK hit singles (more than any other band).
Since this point the band's style has basically remained unchanged, fusing simple, 12-bar riffs to catchy melodies, while an unpretentious "lads" image has proved equally enduring. Each of their 70s albums reached the Top 5, while a consistent presence in the singles chart included such notable entries as "Caroline" (1973), "Down Down" (a chart-topper in 1974), "Roll Over Lay Down" (1975), "Whatever You Want" (1979), "What You're Proposing" (1980), "Lies"/"Don't Drive My Car" (1980), "Something 'Bout You Baby I Like" (1981), and "Rock N' Roll" (1981). An uncharacteristic ballad, "Living On An Island" (1979), showed a softer perspective while the band also proved adept at adapting outside material, as evinced by their cover version of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over The World" (1977). That song was later re-recorded as "Running All Over The World" to promote the charitable Race Against Time in 1988.
The group undertook a lengthy break during 1980, but answered rumours of a permanent split with Just Supposin'. However, a dissatisfied Coghlan left the band in 1982 in order to form his own act, Diesel. Pete Kircher (ex-Original Mirrors) took his place, but Status Quo was then undermined by the growing estrangement between Lancaster and Rossi and Parfitt. The bass player moved to Australia in 1983 - a cardboard cut-out substituted on several television appearances - but he remained a member for the next two years, during which time the band announced they would be quitting live work. They re-formed to play the opening slot at Live Aid in 1985, Lancaster's final appearance with the band, following which he unsuccessfully took out a High Court injunction to prevent Status Quo performing without him.
Rossi and Parfitt secured the rights to the name "Status Quo" and re-formed the band (as both a studio and live unit) around John "Rhino" Edwards (bass), Jeff Rich (drums) and Andy Bown (keyboards). The last-named musician, formerly of the Herd and Judas Jump, had begun his association with the band in 1973, and became an official member three years later.
Despite such traumas Status Quo continued to enjoy commercial approbation with Top 10 entries "Dear John" (1982), "Marguerita Time" (1983), "In The Army Now" (1986) and "Burning Bridges (On And Off And On Again)" (1988), while 1+9+8+2 was their fourth chart-topping album. The band celebrated its silver anniversary in October 1991 by entering The Guinness Book Of Records having completed four charity concerts in four UK cities in the space of 12 hours. This ambitious undertaking, the subject of a television documentary, was succeeded by a national tour which confirmed the band's continued mass-market popularity. They achieved another number 1 single in 1994 with "Come On You Reds", a musically dubious reworking of their own "Burning Bridges" recorded with soccer club Manchester United. An ill-chosen version of "Fun Fun Fun" in 1996 had the Beach Boys relegated to harmony backing vocals and did little for either band's reputation.
The band's track record is incredible: worldwide sales of over 100 million, and even with the dubious "Fun Fun Fun", they have racked up over 50 UK hit singles (more than any other band).
