(Translation from French)
STATUS QUO – THE ROAD THAT NEVER ENDS
by Philippe Duponteil & Philippe Robin
THE FIRST FRENCH BIOGRAPHY, COMPLETE AND UPTODATE !
450 pages including over 150 photos & memorabilia, most of them never seen before !
special foreword by BOB YOUNG,
the « fifth » Quo !
bonus chapter : exclusive interviews with famous french artists such as Jean-Jacques Goldman , Michael Jones , Eddy Mitchell , Bernie Bonvoisin and Norbert Krief of Trust , Paul Personne , Patrick Fiori , Kent , Bill Deraime , Patrick Rondat , Murray Head , and many others who speak for the very first time about their love and passion for Status Quo.
Standing side by side, legs spread apart, the hair in the face and the eyes riveted on their guitars, Status Quo's musicians have been polishing for 40 years their muscular boogie-rock on all stages around the world. Their look is of the simplest ones - a pair of jeans, tennis shoes and long hair - but has established them as an obvious reference for generations of musicians. Their legendary concerts have left an imprint on millions of rock fans and stirred a large number of vocations. In our collective memory, “The Quo" - as its fans refer to it – is synonymous with gigging, heat and rock' roll. Without forgetting of course their 100% typical British mischievous and humorous style.
The press will probably always despise them and laugh behind their back, but nevertheless, Status Quo is monument of British rock music in the same way as the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and others such as Deep Purple or Queen. With 112 million records sold around the world, over 5500 concerts, loads of trophies and rewards, front covers of specialised magazines, etc., Status Quo is one of the last legends of rock music still alive and rocking'.
And no doubt they still are! Since their first hit "Pictures of Matchstick men" in 1968, Status Quo has been the band or British artist with the highest number of singles in the charts during the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the new millennium. From “Caroline” to "Down Down", from "Whatever You Want" to "In the Army Now" passing through "What You're Proposing" or "Again and Again", Status Quo's music has kept juke-boxes swinging worldwide. They were the first act since the Beatles to perform in front of a member of the British royal family, Prince Charles, one of their most enthusiastic supporters. In 1985, they have the honour to be chosen to open the mythical Live Aid concert with their anthem "Rockin' all Over the World". Headlining the biggest festivals ( Reading , Donington), Status Quo are invited in 1990 to take part in the gigantic Knebworth concert where they come out in a triumph. A year later, the band enters the “Guinness Book of records” by giving four concerts in less than twelve hours in four different cities of the United Kingdom . And this frantic pace still continues! Today, Status Quo performs over one hundred concerts a year throughout the world, and this boogie bulimia does not seem ready to stop, as demonstrates their latest album "The Party Ain' t Over Yet", which celebrates their 40th anniversary, and the 3h30 archive DVD which accompanies it.
Their rise towards glory and fortune was not without tragedy though. Excess in all kinds (alcohol, sex, drug), prison, broken personal lives, wasted fortunes, the members of Quo have all paid their tribute to fame and success and only their remarkable faith in their boogie music has enabled Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, the two leaders, to take the Status Quo ship through rough seas to safe shores. t is the very odyssey of this legendary band of rock history that is told by Philippe Duponteil and Philippe Robin through a rich and lively biography. Multiple anecdotes and exclusive conversations with the musicians and their entourage enrich this first French biography, illustrated by over 150 photographs and rare memorabilia.
As a bonus chapter, numerous famous French artists entrust their respect and admiration for "their" Status Quo in exclusive interviews. “Status Quo: The Road that never ends” tells the slow rise to success of this unique band, which after five decades, still remains at the top. The story of a legendary band which lives from the road, on the road and for the road…
Release date: 10 December 2005
réf.: ISBN 2-910196-42-9 ; 454 pages, 28 euros
Publisher: Camion Blanc ( http://www.camionblanc.com/ )
Press: France : +33(0)6 20 48 84 29 / Belgium : +32(0)473 26 37 30 / Switzerland : +41(0)79 687 57 55