Status Quo
Status Quo began life as psychedelic/garage punk band The
Spectres in the mid 60s. Their success was minimal until Francis
Rossi and co changed their name to The Status Quo (having dabbled
with the name Traffic Jam). 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 band was 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. Such employment came to an abrupt
end the following year when the quintet's debut single, Rossi's Pictures
Of Matchstick Men, soared to number 7 in the UK.
One of the era's most distinctive performances, the song's
ringing, phased guitar pattern and de rigueur phasing courted pop
and psychedelic affectations. A follow-up release, Rossi's Black
Veils Of Melancholy, exaggerated latter trappings at the expense
of melody, but the band enjoyed another UK Top 10 hit with the
jaunty Ice In The Sun, co-written by former 50s singer Marty
Wilde.
 Subsequent
recordings in a similar vein struggled to match such success, and
despite reaching number 12 in 1970 with Down The Dustpipe,
the band (now known simply as Status Quo) was increasingly viewed as
a passé novelty.
However, the song itself, which featured a simple riff and
wailing harmonica, indicated the musical direction unveiled more
fully on Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon.
The album included the band's version of Steamhammer's Junior's
Wailing, which had inspired this conversion to a simpler, boogie
style. Gone too were the satin shirts, frock coats and kipper ties,
replaced by long hair, denim jeans and plimsolls.
The departure of Lynes en route to Scotland - "He just got
off the train and that was the last we ever saw of him" (Rossi)
- brought the unit's guitar work to the fore, although indifference
from their record company blighted progress.
Assiduous live appearances built up a grassroots following and
impressive slots at the Reading and Great Western Festivals (both in
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 quartet 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, 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.
At the same time Status Quo attempted to sue BBC Radio 1 for not
play listing the single or their latest album (Don't Stop).
As expected, they lost the case against Radio 1.
That incident aside, 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).
Parfitt had a health scare in April 1997 when he was rushed into
hospital for a quadruple heart bypass, but has since made an
excellent recovery. In 1999, the band played a short tour of UK
pubs. Rich was replaced by Matthew Letley the following year. The
band celebrated their 25th anniversary in August 2002 with a
surprise UK Top 20 hit, Jam Side Down and a highly commercial
album, Heavy Traffic.
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