Rick Parfitt Francis Rossi Mick Wall Popular Books

Rick Parfitt Francis Rossi Mick Wall Biography & Facts

Status Quo are a British rock band. The group originated in London and was founded in 1962 by Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster while they were still schoolboys. After a number of name and lineup changes, which included the introduction of John Coghlan in 1963 and Rick Parfitt in 1967, the band became The Status Quo in 1967 and Status Quo in 1969. As of 2022, the group have been active for 60 consecutive years (despite announcing a breakup in 1984, they played Live Aid the following year and resumed normal activities in 1986). They have had over 60 chart hits in the UK – more than any other band – including "Pictures of Matchstick Men", "Down Down", "Rockin' All Over the World", "Whatever You Want", "In the Army Now", and "What You're Proposing". Twenty-two of these reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, and fifty-seven reached the Top 40. They have released over 100 singles and 33 albums, most of which were bestsellers. Since reaching number 5 on the UK albums chart in 1972 with Piledriver, Status Quo have achieved a career total of 25 UK top ten albums, extending all the way up to their most recent release, Backbone, in 2019. In 2012, they were announced as the tenth best-selling group of all time on the UK Singles Chart with 7.2 million singles sales in their homeland alone. As of 2015, they were one of only 50 artists to have achieved more than 500 total weeks on the UK Albums Chart. With their various records for both single and album releases, Status Quo are one of the most successful and bestselling bands of all time, especially in their home country. In July 1985 the band opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium with "Rockin' All Over the World". In 1991, Status Quo received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2014, preparing to headline that year's Download Festival, Status Quo won the Service to Rock award at the Kerrang! Awards. Status Quo appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops more than any other band. Their success and longevity as well, in part, as their connections to the British Royal Family, including philanthropic work with the Prince's Trust, have seen them frequently described as a "national institution" by the media. The band have sold approximately 108-118 million records worldwide. History 1962–1967: Formative years Status Quo were formed in 1962 under the name The Paladins by Francis Rossi (vocals, guitar) and Alan Lancaster (bass) at Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Catford, London, along with classmates Jess Jaworski (keyboards) and Alan Key (drums). Rossi and Lancaster played their first gig at the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich, London. In 1963, Key was replaced by John Coghlan and the band changed their name to The Spectres. After changing their name, Lancaster's father arranged for the group to perform weekly at a venue called the Samuel Jones Sports Club, where they were noticed by Pat Barlow, a gasfitter and budding pop music manager. Barlow became the group's manager and secured them spots at venues around London, such as El Partido in Lewisham and Café des Artistes in Chelsea. In 1965, when Rossi, Lancaster and Jaworski left school, Jaworski opted to leave the band and was replaced by Roy Lynes. They began writing their own material, and later that year met Rick Parfitt who was playing with a cabaret band called The Highlights. By the end of 1965, Rossi and Parfitt – who had become close friends after meeting at Butlins – made a commitment to continue working together. On 18 July 1966, the Spectres signed a five-year deal with Piccadilly Records, releasing two singles that year, "I (Who Have Nothing)" (first recorded by Joe Sentieri and most famously covered by Tom Jones) and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (an original song by Alan Lancaster), and one the next year called "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" (originally recorded by New York psychedelic band the Blues Magoos). All three singles failed to make an impact on the charts. In 1967, the group's sound began moving towards psychedelia and they renamed themselves Traffic, but were soon forced to change it to Traffic Jam to avoid confusion with Steve Winwood's Traffic, following an argument over who had registered the name first. The band secured an appearance on BBC Radio's Saturday Club, but in June their next single, "Almost But Not Quite There" (an original song by Francis Rossi), underperformed. The following month saw Parfitt, at the request of manager Pat Barlow, joining the band as rhythm guitarist and vocalist. Shortly after Parfitt's recruitment, in August 1967, the band officially became The Status Quo. 1968–1971: Breakthrough and development of classic style In January 1968, the group released the psychedelic-flavoured "Pictures of Matchstick Men". The song hit the UK Singles Chart, reaching number seven; "Matchstick Men" became the group's only Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. Although Status Quo's albums have been released in the United States throughout their career, they never achieved the same level of success there as they have in Britain. Though the follow-up was the unsuccessful single "Black Veils of Melancholy", they had a hit again the same year with a pop song penned by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott, "Ice in the Sun", which climbed to number eight. All three singles were included on the band's first album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo, released in September 1968. After the breakthrough, the band management hired Bob Young as a roadie and tour manager. Over the years Young became one of the most important songwriting partners for Status Quo, in addition to occasionally playing harmonica with them on stage and on record. After their second album, 1969's Spare Parts, failed commercially, the band's musical direction moved away from psychedelia towards a more hard rock/boogie rock sound. The change in sound also brought a change in image, away from Carnaby Street fashions to faded denims and T-shirts, an image which was to become their trademark throughout the 1970s. The new direction was first displayed on the band's third album, 1970's Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon and its preceding single "Down the Dustpipe". Lynes left the band in 1970 with the remaining members continuing as a four-piece, although they were often joined in the studio by guest keyboard players including Jimmy Horowitz, Tom Parker and Andy Bown, the latter an ex-member of The Herd and Judas Jump and part of the Peter Frampton Band. In 1976, Bown also began playing live with the band and was eventually made an official member of Status Quo in 1981. The band's first recording without Lynes was the late 1970 single "In My Chair", followed by their fourth album Dog of Two Head in 1971. 1972–1981: Signing to Vertigo and major success In 1972 the band left Pye Records and signed with the heavy rock and progressive label Vertigo Records. Their first album for Vertigo, Piledriver, was released in 1972, going Top 5 in th.... Discover the Rick Parfitt Francis Rossi Mick Wall popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Rick Parfitt Francis Rossi Mick Wall books.