Francis Rossi - On 40 years with Status Quo

12:42pm Thursday 25th September 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

The last few years have seen their fair share of comebacks. Take That, the Spice Girls, Boyzone, New Kids on the Block but to name a few have all returned to the stage.

But in order to have a comeback you have first to go away and there’s one band that has refused to do that. Instead Status Quo will this year be celebrating 40 years on the road with a 32 date tour, a multi-format album and a star-studded auction. Not bad for a quintet approaching or having already turned 60.

They will be arriving at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on October 16 and 17.

Before the tour got underway, Messenger caught up with enigmatic front man Francis Rossi who remains as much of a character now as he did in the band’s 1970s heyday.

How does he feel about this momentous anniversary?

“It is a special year but then again except for 1984 we have been touring every year,” he said nonchalantly between spiels about his love of Christmas and how hypnosis has helped beat his smoking habit. Keeping the Grand Old Man of Rock 'n' Roll - as he is affectionately known - on message is easier said than done. He certainly has a lot to say.

Francis was one of the founding father’s of Status Quo’s predecessor The Scorpions which he formed in 1962 with Sedgehill Comprehensive School school mate Alan Lancaster. Over the years the band went through various names including Traffic and Traffic Jam before settling on Status Quo in 1968.

“I’d love to say that we came up with it because we thought we’d never change but we had no idea what it meant, we just thought it sounded good,” Francis reflects.

Now entering his fourth decade with the band, Francis clearly remains settled in his role.

He explained: “When we were younger and we toured, the big thing was to not be a one, two, three or four hit wonder. We wanted it to be a career. We kept our heads down and kept going then someone told us we’d had 20 hit singles, then 40, then 60 but you’re always pushing for the next one.

He added: “It’s actually better now than it was. When you’re 20 or 30-something you tend to believe all the rubbish about the business and you want to be the biggest thing on the planet. Then you get older and you get more content and we now know we’re not the biggest thing on the planet.”

Maybe not the biggest thing but they haven’t done badly. Over the years Francis and his band mates Rick Parfitt, Andy Bown, John 'Rhino' Edwards and Matt Letley have notched up 75 UK singles, inlcuding the Number 1 hit Down Down with record sales exceeding 118 million units.

But surely over such a long time frame, there must have been times when they nearly called it a day?

“Oh yes definitely. It very nearly all ended in 1984 but bands do that. You get times when you’ll just wind each other up by being there. I’ve seen these men every day of my life for the past 30 years. I have spent more time with Rick than I did with my parents or either of my wives or my children!”

But when does Francis see it all ending?

“In my mind we’ll stop when I’m older but I’m 59 now so when is older?” he laughed.