Status Quo interviews and international press reviews
Taken from different newspapers, magzines & web sites and compiled by Patrick Specht.
Something to add ? send me a mail : quofrance@yahoo.fr
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Interview With Rick Parfitt
Rick Parfitt talks about Status Quo's 25th Anniversary at Butlins Minehead. © Quotations Magazine Issue six,1990 .
Can you tell me about the new single?
Rick:Well it is twenty five years since I first met Francis at Butlins and we wanted to do something special. Our Manager came up with the idea to put together some of the songs we've liked over the years. So we went through the Guinness book of hit singles and came up with about thirty songs. We went to work on putting them together, in four sides. Then we whittled it down and took the best two sides, of the four. Consequently we now have a medley of some of our favorite songs. Many of which have influenced us over the last twenty five years.
What better way to celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary.
Rick:Yes. It is the happening thing to do. A must for parties. If I have a party I'll play it! Music video's might be on TV for four or five minutes but they sure take longer to make. The original idea was for the 'Anniversary Waltz' video was for the band to change clothes at each change of song (sounds a bit rude but you know what I mean) and for Francis to stay the same. Anyway, the idea was dropped and they decided to use the juke box theme. The band had originally wanted to invite just fan club members to take part in the video, but it was such short notice that we couldn't contact everybody. So, Radio 1, announced that any fans were welcome to go along and appear on the video. The video was filmed in two parts, the fans being filmed during the day and the band in the evening. Just filming the band took three hours. Then the whole thing had to be mixed together which was another mornings work. I'm sure you'll all agree the end result has made it all worthwhile.
On the 10th October it will be twenty five years to the day that Rick and Francis first met up at Butlins in Minehead. Francis playing with 'The Spectres' and Rick with the cabaret outfit 'The Highlights'. To celebrate the anniversary Quo are playing a special concert at Butlins' Sommerwest World.
Rick:It is gonna be fun. Apparently there has been over twelve thousand applications to come and see the gig and the concert halls only hold three thousand people, at a push. It is going to be so nostalgic for Francis and me to go back and see the changes. I suppose it is a treat for the Fans, but it will be just as much a treat for Francis and me. The band will be doing a first by playing on two different floors of the building at the same time! They will be playing 'live'in one ballroom and because of the capacity restraints there will be a huge video screen in the ballroom underneath showing the gig to those unable to get upstairs. A special train has been chartered to take the band accompanying press from London to the Camp. The band are throwing a celebrity silver jubilee party. Holiday makers at the camp can get complimentary tickets to see the show. Combined with the single, I feel it all slots into place.
The last album 'Perfect Remedy' wasn't as successfull as past Quo albums. What went wrong?
Rick:Good songs but I think on reflection, there was lack of direction. I think we recorded it wrongly but it has taught us something in as much that we've got to leave the rough edges in and keep that Quo raw sound. We will be recording the next album in a "semi" live situation, just using a mobile as opposed to sitting in a studio and recording each instrument seperatly. The single (Anniversary Waltz) was recorded in "one take" without any edits and I think you can tell the difference.
The next studio album is due to be recorded early next year, with a possible summer release. Have any new songs been written yet?
Rick:I've written three songs with Francis, four with Pip Williams (the bands producer) and one with Rhino. There is still a lot of writing to be done, but on the strenght of what we've done so far, I think it is going to come out really good. It will be in a different vein to the last two albums, much harder and recorded in a "live" type situation. It should turn out more like a Quo album that I feel the fans will want.
After the "End Of The Road" tour both Francis and Rick started recording solo albums. Francis (with his song writing partner Bernie Frost) released two singles but Rick's solo album, provisionally titled "Recorded Delivery" has never been released.
What happend? Rick: Well it took painstakingly long to do, went over budget and it was never released. It wasn't a bad album, I'm not saying it was a great album, but I feel it should have got an airing. Particularly the track "Halloween", which is still one of my favorite songs and was re - recorded by Quo. A few of the songs have appeared as Quo b - sides, but we used my original recordings.Some of Francis' solo album material has also been re - recorded and issued by Quo. His solo album had been given the provisional title "Flying In Debris", but has yet to be released.
Rick has made several appearances with other artists over the Years. One of which was with Jimmy Nail's hit single "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"(a cover of Rose Royce 1978 hit). How did you get involved?
Rick: I'm always up for doing something different. Roger Taylor (Queen) was producing the single and asked me to go along. I'd worked with Roger before and it was good fun. I thought the video was good.
Some fans have been asking why the earlier Vertigo material isn't available on CD yet?
Rick: Personally I don't think it would work. If you listen to some of the earlier Beatles' albums I think they've lost their realism going on CD. For example take "Piledriver", it was such a raw album it just wasn't meant for CD.
The UK December tour plans seem to be going well. The tickets have now nearly sold out. Any plans to change the set list around?
Rick: We are keeping the basic set list, but there will be some new songs included.
Interview with Francis Rossi by Chris Rodda
THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME
Brisbane Rave News, 5th March, 1997
It's been two decades since, in their prime as a worldwide supergroup, Status Quo visited Australian shores. In the intervening years, the band have travelled along the peaks and gullies of rock popularity. Since first hitting the charts with Pictures Of Matchstick Men in 1967, the band have had 22 UK Top Ten singles from their sixteen albums, (most recently, The Anniversary Waltz Part 1 in 1990) as well as two live records and three hits compilations. In the early eighties, the acrimonious severance between Status Quo's ongoing core of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt and founding bass player Alan Lancaster (of Party Boys fame) led to litigation and warring biographies of the band which led to more courtroom disputes. On the eve of the band's second trip to Australia, I answer an early morning phone call and am surprised to hear, not the expected telecom operator but Francis Rossi calling direct. Bouncing off each other in my half asleep brain are the strains of the classic boogie monster Whatever You Want and the just-read Q Magazine interview from 1993 in which he says: 'So what if we're boring and only do three chords? There's no point in getting hung up about it.' The quote, combined with the fact that Francis has his shit together enough to ring direct reveal the lack of rock star pretension on the part of a songwriter who contributed largely to the shaping of a musical generation with the banal but anthemic Rocking All Over The World. Ah 1974! I can remember being knee high to a grasshopper and sitting in front of the 14-inch black and white set watching a performance clip of Down Down in tropical Northern heat. The lights! The platforms! I ask Francis if he has ever wondered what it is that has made Status Quo such an enduring cult entity. He is vague, unable to put into words the thing he feels. 'It's possibly the thing that happens between me and Rick,' he says slowly. 'Whether it's good musically or not. The time movement; the way we move. We push and drag and push and whatever it is that happens between us and I think that's why people who criticise say that it sounds the same is that invariably it's going to have that element of those two guitars in it somewhere and to restructure that you either lose your feel or you lose your identity." The criticisms of similitude between songs across Status Quo's career could equally be seen as the band delivering an enduring formula and the fact is, they still fill stadiums across Europe and the UK. Asked whether he feels significant pressure to deliver a certain thing, Francis admits he has a definite desire to please. 'I see the reaction of people when we do play. Whatever anybody else says... and you can get down about the times people knock it and blah blah blah but when you see their reactions and we go out each year and they still come and they still enjoy it.' 'I don't think I ever wanted to be a musician. It was to be. initially like the Everly Brothers or something like that and then later on like certain rock people, I suppose. To be famous and to be liked.' There's few ways to fulfill that personal need more obviously than to fill a stadium with head banging fans and that is something the Quo do for six or seven months out of every year, traditionally winding up with a Christmas tour of the UK. 'Everything just disappears and you're from Christmas to Christmas.' 'Obviously as you get older each year seems to go quicker. By us doing the British tour each year it’s almost like it was only a couple of months ago.' 'For people who work nine to five, with no disrespect intended!, it must be a long time, a year. I find a year can sometimes go really quickly. If we make an album in that year as well then that time just goes.' The most recent album the band have done was to commemorate their Thirtieth Anniversary last year which Francis says surprised him in just how well it did in the UK. 'The album we did, Don't Stop, was to kind of as our manager put it to commemorate the 30 year thing to do all that kind of shit that you do and he suggested that we do this album of covers and things that we always wanted to do.. Stuff we'd missed in the studio blah blah blah. I didn't think it was a good idea. Making it was really enjoyable. I really like the way it turned out or most of it at least and it was very successful so it was a bit of a smack in the face to me. You always think you know what's right. You know?" Given Don't Stop's old and borrowed content, Francis says the band has had longer to write material for their next album which should be recorded late this year or early next and he is confident it will make for a strong album, perhaps stronger than their last few. There has been some talk in the Quo camp, he says, of following a slightly different line, perhaps doing a country or blues album or even the great Status Quo: Unplugged. 'I don't think we're well versed enough in the blues really to actually sing that... The rockier stuff perhaps you can get away with it but I think true blues... I don't think I know blues enough. Noworrameen? People have dedicated their life to it.' 'I've always been very, very keen on country and I think Rick has or sometimes he is, put it that way.' 'I like it even more now. Some of the new crop, they really lean towards rock. I can't see a line between rock and country in that area. The line between rock and country is really going. I've always felt pop, rock, blues and country. There's not much difference in them really. They're basically love stories and lots of similar chord sequences and melody lines. Not that that's a problem. I like them all.' Francis remains non-committal about the direction the band will take with their next album, saying it won't become evident until the members get together and pool their latest efforts. 'At the moment I think I've got ten or twelve tracks and I know the others have got four and five each and we tend to pool them all together and look through them. Some work and some don't-and all the bitching ,goes on or whatever goes on to make the decisions. We try to make it as democratically as possible.... -ish.' In the meantime, Status Quo are continuing their touring ethic with stopoffs in Japan and Australia. For Aussie fans it's been a long dry spell and there are plenty of new songs which have never been played in this country. 'We’ve been trying to get down there for some time," Francis says in a voice that sounds half bemused and ..half apologetic about the lapse between Australian tours. 'I don't understand why. I think something went wrong in the seventies somewhere between a manager of ours and a record company guy. There was a row, I remember that... We've had lots of excuses why it couldn't be done. Promoters and this and that.' 'We're not going to ask why any more. We're just coming.' My mind flashes to the opening Status Quo Live which sums up the Quo's attitude as an unknown MC bellows to the roaring crowd: 'Is there anybody out there ready to rock?!'
Chris Rodda
Interview with Francis Rossi of Status Quo by Ashley Gray:
On The Street, Sydney
"You leave your credibility at the door when you come and see us", declares Francis Rossi, leadman and ace pinstripe vest wearer with platinum-selling, Guinness Book of Records breaking, Royals entertaining Status Quo. Yes, the Quo are back in town after 20 years, ready to shake and break any high fallutin' notions about good ol' Rock'n' Roll. Francis elaborates, "Look, my songs aren't about much, nothing deep, just fantasy stuff off the top of my head. The funny thing is I don't even know what they're about till ten years later." Doubtless, Francis has a very cool knack for making unintentionally funny statements, but then he can afford to; Quo are the most successful band in British chart history having sold more than 110 million units worldwide. Their easy lad rock and boys' own stage antics have set the mould for several insipid imitators, but Quo have outlasted them all, if only just. Francis is keen to let everyone know that these days the Quo are clean living boys. "I'm 47, and I never thought I'd make it to 45. Suddenly I realised I wanted to live longer, so now I swim 3 times a day and have a healthy diet. It keeps my lungs going, coz I smoke, and if I get on stage and can't breathe it pisses me off." As well it might, though Francis is adamant that the Quo have always been a little abnormal in the Rock'n'Roll if not life scheme of things. In fact, sex, drugs and R'n'R have long been over for the Quo: "Well the sex ain't over", Francis protests. "I've got 8 kids, so I've had the full 16 minutes. I never believed in Sex, drugs and Rock'n'Roll. On the road after a show I tend to do nothing at all. Rick (Parfitt) is usually in his room in his dressing gown, drinking a cup of tea, and the rest of us are playing wist. "Sex, cards and bedtime stories aside, an astute musical observer once noted that Status Quo is 'beer reaching' music, - doesn't matter where you are, as soon as you hear those first bars you'll be groping for the glass of amber, available or not. For Francis though, drinking just messes up his throat, a situation that would have been very unwelcome on their Guinness Book of Records breaking 4 gigs in 11 hours and 9 minutes marathon. "You bet your arse it was tough," Francis moans. "By the second gig we were like 'this could be tricky', and by the fourth we were just plodding." But they made it, and now they hold the honour of having played most shows in a night anywhere on the planet. And the Quo have just about played everywhere on the planet too. Indeed Francis rates their pre-Olympics 1980 Moscow gigs the strangest he's ever played. "We were playing at this stadium that was being built for the Moscow games, and we were playing 14 nights in a row to 17 thousand people each night. These people filed in quietly at 6:30 and sat down. After each song there was just a ripple. All the things that normally work for a show, lights, lasers, whatever, just didn't happen. They just didn't know. One night I started to announce something, I pointed to Rick and I said 'he's a bit pissed off tonight' and the whole place went into rapturous applause. And when I said it again the next night the crowd did it again, so I just kept on doing it, it was the only way to get 'em going. Then they left quietly at the end, no mess, no arguments, - it was weird." The Quo's propensity for Spinal Tap like situations is not lust on Francis who is quite happy to be sent up. "We still live on that movie, most nights when we go on some wag'll shout 'Hello Cleveland!'" (In the movie the Tap couldn't find their way on stage and before each locked door they'd cry out hopefully, 'Hello Cleveland!') But Francis has his frustrations too, "I always thought we'd have time machines by now so I could go to the gig at 4 and do a sound check, hop in the time machine go back to my wife for dinner, then hop back in, go to the gig , have a few drinks afterwards and then go back to my wife having wasted no time and have a game of wist," he complains bitterly. He is not so bitter however about erstwhile bass player and Australian resident Alan Lancaster though the chances of him returning are non-existent. "Well we fell out years ago, and he's probably not happy with us coming out. But we're happy and it would be an insult to the guys we've had over the last 10 years to have him back." On the prospect of the Australian tour Francis is ecstatic "It's one of the most beautiful countries in the world", and now that he's fit and trim he's got more of those trademark blue and white vests to wear. "I bought some in Stockholm recently, it's wherever you can find 'em." Which is the same with his musical influences, "I love those guys who wrote for Abba, and look at that Britpop thing, everything goes. I also like songwriters like Jeff Lynn (ELO) and the Everly Brothers. "For the Australian tour Quo will be playing a mixture of all their hits over the last 25 years. So leave everything at the door and get on down. Their show is at the Enmore Theatre on Thursday March 6.
Ashley Gray.
Other recent Interviews
An interview with Francis Rossi during the recent tour of the States.
Q&A with Francis Rossi by Sheila Rene'
Sheila Rene': Hello Francis. I've been messed up lately with time. Thanks for getting back to me.
Francis Rossi: We definitely had two Fridays this week. We left Australia at 7 PM Friday evening and arrived here at 1 PM Friday afternoon.
SR: You're only playing three shows this time.
FR: We're playing one in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles. It was all the agents idea I think. I don'tknow what will come of it.
SR: You never toured the U.S. much ever.
FR: We did in the early days of the band, but never a substantial tour..maybe four or five. The reaction would be good but we couldn't get much interest from radio.
SR: Guess what? It would be worse now.
FR: Yeah, I'll bet. It's the time of the two-week single. Everybody's into the two week single and then it's finished.
SR: That's true. Rocking All Over The World and Don't Stop are the albums you're tour behind now celebrating 30 years in the biz.
FR: The compilation and the cover album.
SR: Don't Stop was a lot of fun.
FR: I thought it was a bad idea at first because of the obvious stigma attached to doing cover tunes.It was really enjoyable to make and was very successful on our side of the world.
SR: You guys haven't really had to leave Europe.
FR: We've been very, very lucky.
SR: 120 million albums sold world-wide since 1962.
FR: Not bad going.
SR: Now we've got the tune, your biggest hit, "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" covered by Peter Steele of Type O Negative and Ozzy Osbourne for Howard Stern's movie soundtrack.
FR: I just heard about that the other week. I was talking to a guy doing an interview and he brought it up. I said who's Howard Stern? I didn't know of him then, but I do now. I understand it's doing quite well.
SR: It's doing quite well and being heard by many generations of music lovers.
FR: Suits me. I can't wait to hear it.
SR: I think people will now want to hear more of Status Quo. What is "Pictures of Matchbook Men" all about?
FR: To be honest I had not been married very long at that time. I was trying to write something while my wife and mother-in-law were out and I was fascinated with Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe." His chord sequences were different at that time and I did something with the guitar and those chord sequences and it just came out. Not many people know this and I don't say this in England too much but I had an idea ...pictures of something but I didn't know what. Back then it was pictures in the mind and pictures of this and that. My ex-wife came up with the title of the song but she doesn't know that. It was just off the top of my head back then. Everyone thought we were into drugs, but I didn't even know what drugs were at that point.
SR: You guys have had an awful lot of hits in your long career. There were 51 British hit singles and 22 were Top 10 hits. They're on this album, Rocking All Over The Years.
FR: We've been lucky let's face it.
SR: "Paper Plane," "Caroline" and more.
FR: It's all luck isn't it?
SR: Maybe, but I think in your case it's good writing and playing.
FR: Some people like it, I like it and we're lucky that a few more like it. We're very realistic in as much as if we sell three million albums in England which is very big news, but it means roughly 57 million people didn't buy it. I always think like that I'm afraid. When we first came to the U.S. the overwhelming feeling was of being so insignificant in such a large population. At the same time our manager said 'how would like an American manager?' and we all said 'no.' Instead of saying, 'we need representation in America. I'll give away 20% of the band which is nothing.' We should have had representation over here back then. The attitude of the band at the time was wrong. The old band had its magic here and there but it wasn't as good as the band we have today. All I ever wanted to be was famous. I can't pretend I wanted to be a musician. Perhaps I do now want to play better, but when I was younger it was just to be famous. I saw the Everly Brothers and I wanted to do that. In my 20s I was very adamant, I didn't need to learn anything and in the past five or ten years one of my sons is a particularly good guitar player and I felt ashamed that he was that much better than me.
SR: I was going to ask if any of your children will take up the musical cross.
FR: Number two and number three (I do them in numbers, it's easier) are in a band called Little Egypt and they're doing reasonably well so far. Like you said it's extremely difficult these days to get a record deal. I've got eight children in all. My eldest son works with us on the road. It's becoming nepotism rules here.
SR: For all the people who might find your name foreign and your music a mystery what albums would you send people to pick up to get caught up with your music now that it's back in the news because of the Howard Stern movie. Would it be this new compilation?
FR: Honestly, no. (laughing) That's not very good PR move is it? I think because that one has the singles perhaps it's good from that point of view, but people who are serious should hear the albums. They're more diverse in material. Criticism of the band has always been that the singles were all alike which to me was logical. Record companies would do that...pick the ones that were similar and the ones that had worked before. I suppose it would be better, which is a dream of mine, that people would take some of the albums.
SR: Piledriver in '73 and what else?
FR: Piledriver and Hello in '73 were quite good for the early period. Rock Til You Drop was very good for '91.
SR: You toured with Rod Stewart on Rock Til You Drop. He's still kicking out the jams.
FR: We did some dates with him. He's always at it. It depends on if he drinks or not. If he stops drinking he's good. We were under the same management for years. We broke at the same time in England. We had the wrong attitude over here. I don't know what was wrong with us. We were very anti-America. When I was growing up everything about the U.S. was new, fresh and modern. Whether it was because we had been struggling and had attained success again from Europe and elsewhere, but coming here we had to start over almost. We all found that difficult at the time.
SR: As far as reading the most realistic story of the band and the beginning would you suggest Just For The Record which came out in '93.
FR: Yeah, but I still think there are things that you can't really talk about.
SR: Only because they're still on the scene.
FR: We've had two or three books before that were written by other people but this one was at least Rick and I telling the stories. We were interviewed and we talked and talked and talked. Most of that book is 100% truth. A contradiction there about most of...never mind. It does talk about the new band. The new band has been together 11 years now. It's certainly longer than most bands survive and that's another thing I find that people mention a lot these days is the older bands. It just seems logical to me that if rock and roll was born in the 50s, grew up in the '60s and '70s, it's logical that it'll be older bands. I surprised there aren't more around. It's fuckin' hard work staying together sometimes. Once success comes along and money comes with it, then that tends to make people think they're better than they are. I've got money so I must be good which is completely wrong.
SR: I would have to say considering Status Quo's status, that it's an extremely successful status. You've made a good living on just doing what you like to do. That's success.
FR: Definitely. It's a certain amount of perseverance but it's luck. That's an understatement isn't it? A certain amount of perservering, but it's luck. I can't say that shear talent is luck and I've always believed that the best people aren't in rock and roll. The best musicians are entertainers.
SR: That's the word, entertainer, that separates the men from the boys. Just as we were talking about Rod Stewart. He's an entertainer for sure. That whole Live Aid show was brilliant.
FR: (laughing) Exactly. The whole thing was unique. Stewart kept pestering us. The first time he asked us we said 'no.' They wanted the older bands first and once that happened it just snowboarded. The feeling and the gig on the day was totally unique. The audience weren't just paying to see a show, they knew they were taking part in something. The feeling in the stadium was unbelievable.
SR: I taped the whole thing.
FR: We were also lucky to get the opening slot. We were either going on late with Paul McCartney and do "Rock and Roll All Over The World" or as the opener. I wanted to open mainly because I wanted to get finished to be honest. We made it on every newsreel in the world and everyone who was going to watch it would at least watch the first ten or fifteen minutes.
SR: Another big concert in '90, the Knebworth Fest for Music Therapy.
FR: That's another one that came off rather well, but it's funny. Rick and I did most of the promo on that before that show. We did some with Dave Gilmour, but the main question everyone was asking was 'Do you get nervous?' I don't get nervous, not anymore. On that show I was bloody nervous so I get extremely annoyed if people ask me that question now. I think that set was the fastest we've played really. We don't mind doing charities, those were worthwhile, but it has gotten to be a thing in England where the charity idea has gotten a little bit out of control.
SR: You guys were the first to work with Prince Charles Trust Concert.
FR: We used to dream about it when we were teenagers. We'd think how great it would be to ask Prince Charles to come and play cello on something on one of our songs. We never thought we'd actually do something with him. We're older now and we just take it as a gig. This royal thing is a bit strange to me. I hate that system. For a while he'd come to see us as part of his gig. The last time he came to see us, he stayed for some time and actually enjoyed the show.
SR: In '96 you played the whole Don't Stop album with some big stars including Brian May, who is one of the most underrated guitarists alive today.
FR: He's also the nicest guy you'll ever meet as well. Totally unaffected and extremely pleasant. He still wears his clogs. Everybody stopped wearing them in the '70s but not him. He doesn't care.
SR: Eric Clapton was on that show with the Beach Boys. It must have been a great time.
FR: It was indeed and it came together out of the blue. I wasn't keen on it at first but I came around. It was enjoyable to make. Everyone knew the melodies of the songs and on covers you have to right on. Brian came to my house and we sent some stuff to the Beach Boys and they did some stuff. They came over and did two weeks promo in Europe with us. We became a ten-piece band for a while.
SR: Every ten years it's a different period in music. It turns just that quickly.
FR: It's true isn't it?
SR: You have out a solo album now as well called King Of The Dog House.
FR: That was strange because when we did the first four tracks which we did at my house, the "King Of The Dog House" and "Oh, Darlin" and two other tracks which were particularly good everyone got excited. We got to work on the album a bit more and the producer...a friend of a friend...had never had success before so it went to his head. He suddenly got to be a star and eventually there were wrong mixes and all sorts of things went wrong from there. I just put it all down to experience now. It could have been better than it is but, that's life, isn't it?
SR: You bet. Hopefully we all live and learn.
FR: It was a learn on that one I'll tell you.
SR: Any chance you'll do another solo?
FR: I'd probably like to but I shouldn't think Virgin would take up the option on the contract because so many things went wrong.
SR: The big rumor on the websites for Status Quo is that you'll come out with a new album in '88, I mean '98.
FR: I keep doing just what you did. It sounds recent enough doesn't it?
SR: I mean '98 and that you'll tour.
FR: We're working on material. Just before we left on this tour we broke up at Christmas. We always break up at Christmas time and until we left to come out here we were doing new material. I want to try and take more time over the material. We usually do x amount of songs in a period and we go to record them and that's that. Then I get together with my songwriting partner again later. This time we've already done ten songs and we'll be able to go over them again. I've already started cutting them to bits and I'm hoping that will improve the material. Perhaps we may get a show at doing a second batch as it were. We're all preparing to do something album-wise.
SR: It says that it would be made in the older more rocking-style of Status Quo. You guys have never compromised a second on your music.
FR: It's great to talk about making this kind of album and that kind of album. I have to see what the material is going to be first. You put that down and then you say what kind of album it'll be. So far it seems quite rockin' I suppose. To me the ultimate Status Quo albums were, apart from the two you mentioned earlier Piledriver and Hello. When someone says raw to me I think rough. The Rock Til You Drop and the Thirsty Work album is where we should roughly be today.
SR: Are your fans getting younger and younger?
FR: We just toured Japan and Australia and we haven't been to those places for about 18 years. We really didn't know what to expect. We expected polite applause from the Japanese, but I didn't know what to expect from Australia. It always seems, throughout Europe, although we draw people of 40 and 50 years of age and sometimes older, we still seem to have the younger people in the front. I find it flattering and fascinating. It's certainly good for the band, but it's very hard to understand why younger people will turn out particularly because of the way the press speak about any older band. You don't expect all that. We have a lot of kids that show up in QuoOasis T-shirts. They like Status Quo and Oasis too. That's the bonus. We also see a lot of older fans who bring their children who are five and six years old. When we were younger, the idea of being an act that could entertain people from five and six years old to 50+ years old was crazy. You very much wanted to be the 18-25 year old crowd which now as I look back is totally stupid.
SR: It has always been like that.
FR: When the punk movement came around I remember we were in the Marquee in London finishing Rock and Roll All Over The World and it was next door to the club. There was a punk band on and I was 26 or 27 years old and this guy about 18 or 19 turned around and said 'fuck off you boring old fart.' I thought to myself am I this boring old fart? There should be young angst but I don't see why people of my age shouldn't like a younger band and people of younger ages shouldn't like musicians in their 40s and 50s. You just like the music or you don't. Age is irrelevant.
SR: Are you looking forward to the U.S. dates?
FR: Very much. I feel better about being here now than I used to feel. It's a more positive attitude in the band generally.
SR: There's nothing like a positive attitude.
FR: I'm more that way the older I get.
SR: You're still a Fender man.
FR: I'm afraid so. Leo Fender before he died, made a GNL series of guitars. I just stayed with this guitar. It's next to me now and goes everywhere with me. I've got two or three GNL's that are really superb. My old Telecasters were a love/hate situation. I'm not one of those people who want to be buried with his guitar. It's a piece of wood with strings to me. I've heard that there are people who would kill for their guitars. That's a bit much. There's a guy who used to play in YES, whose name I've forgotten, who always talked about wanting to be buried with his guitar.
SR: Well, if he believes in "the other side" theory, he'll be prepared having carried his favorite guitar with him.
FR: I do believe in that spiritual thing in going over and so on. If you do none of this material shit is going to be any good to anybody.
SR: What are you the most proud of concerning your 30+ years in the business?
FR: Just hanging on, I think, in the face of adversity I suppose. I'm always aware that most people don't like you whoever you are. I'm quite proud that we've managed to hang on and we still sell-out shows. We're extremely lucky that we can do that.
SR: You've got some festivals planned for May and June.
FR: Festivals in Scandinavia and Germany are popular. They're good days out. We've become what we call "semi-pro." We work the weekends and we get the week off.
SR: Now that we have the Internet? In 1962 when you started, Internet what?
FR: That's getting serious for sure. In fact in '67 and '68 when we were touring the hovercraft hadn't been around long, we figured that cars would be floating and that we would possibly by the '90s have some sort of time travel. I always fantasized that we'd be able to come off the side of the stage, get in this box and go straight to our own bathroom, shower and be home. You could hang out a couple of hours with the guys and have a drink and then go home to your own bed. It just didn't happen yet. I'd love that I promise you.
SR: I would too.
FR: The only thing I don't like anymore is the traveling, the hotels and all that shit.
SR: That was always terrible.
FR: When we were younger it was still fairly new. Hey, I'm on an airplane mum. I've seen hotels and busses.
SR: Has the Internet helped peak interest in Status Quo that you know about?
FR: From what we can tell there seem to be little unofficial websites all over the place. It has come home to us that there are more people out there than we thought who are interested in the band. Our management is very keen in England, in particular, in the idea of the Internet because there's this whole rip-off thing over there. If you buy five tickets to Quo shows you'll have to pay a booking fee on each ticket and if you purchase by credit card you pay the booking fee and the credit card fee. That's ripping people off big time. Lots of record companies are getting very worried because there are a few acts like David Bowie and others who have advertised their gigs on the Internet and sold them out on the Internet.
SR: That is correct.
FR: The idea now is people are saying why don't we do this with records? You can sell them to the people cheaper and this is before we start downloading them. People get the product cheaper and the band themselves make more money. You bypass the record companies who for years have had this love/hate thing with musicians. All that is definitely coming on and there has to be a lot of executives who're getting extremely worried.
SR: I'm excited about all the possibilities.
FR: I think the people will really benefit by it. Record companies will become redundant as lots of other big businesses. Let's go straight to the people.
SR: What's the best song you ever wrote?
FR: Oh, shit! I was proud of "Pictures..." at the time. In 1980 something I wrote called "Marguerita Time" was a country-rocky thing. I was very keen at the time on country and I remember being desperate to get it released. The band, at that time, weren't sure if it was too soft or too this or that.
SR: Track 17 on the compilation.
FR: I thought it was going to change so much and do so much for me. It was a bit hit at Christmas, it was lovely and I enjoyed it, but as the whole thing with this business is, you go and do another one. In any other business in the world you get to the top of your tree and you can lay back a bit. I've done that now you think. If you're a president or a prime minister you do that gig and then they look after you. In rock and roll or show biz, you do that big hit and then they ask where's the next big hit? I realized that with "Marguerita Time." It didn't do what I thought it was going to do for me. I had to find another one. I had to find another one.
SR: Well, Francis I really appreciate your time and your saving my ass by letting me do this interview a day late.
FR: No problem. I'm very happy to have had this time with you.
John 'Rhino' Edwards
Born: 9th May 1953
From: Whitton, Middlesex.
Now Lives: South west London.
Personal: Married to Kathy, three children.
Plays: Bass, guitar, vocals, songwriting.
John has played with many other artistes but for him there is only one band and he is where he wants to be, in the engine room of Status Quo. He is known to all as 'Rhino' and also as 'The Bludgeon' because he is the clumsiest man in the world and somehow he manages to break things wherever he goes.
An enthusiastic supporter of Brentford Football Club and a 'Do it Yourself' (demolition) expert, he is married to Kathy and has three children, Mae, Freddie and Max.
Rhino loves touring and when Quo are on the road, he and Andrew can often be found wandering the streets, taking in Art Galleries, seeing the sights and tasting the local brews.
With possibly the biggest stereo system in West London and the best neighbours (not), he is a musicoholic, always listening to new and old records of all kinds and recording tracks in his home studio.......loudly. With Rhino in the band, Quo will never stop rocking...
Equipment
Rhino mainly uses Status basses, (aptly named, but no relation!) He has a collection of others which he sometimes uses when recording, including an Alembic, a Fender Jazz, a Fender Precision and various others, but on the road with Quo he only uses the Status basses because they sound great and stand up to the rigors of touring. He has two headless Status four strings and a Status five string.For amplification he uses two Marshall Dynamic Bass System heads and two Marshall cabinets, a 2x15" and a 4x10", and for effects he uses a Roland B5 multi-effect system mainly for chorus and flange. Rhino plays guitar in the song 'Gerundula" and uses a Tanglewood guitar and a Marshall JCM800 amp with a 4x12" cabinet.
From: David Walker Status Quo Manager.
To: All Interested Fans.
Date: 6th August 1997.
Since the introduction of our web-site a small number of fans have expressed a genuine concern about the release of Mercury Records forthcoming Greatest Hits album entitled "Whatever You Want". One fan in particular has suggested that the only motive for this album is financial and that it is unfair of us to arrange for such an album to be released.
Throughout the period that I have been priveliged to represent Quo I would like to think that the treatment of fans has been and will remain of paramount importance to me and for that reason, I set out below a number of observations that the few disgruntled amongst you will consider in the hope that you will understand why this album is being released.
-1. Since the release of the last compilation album "Rockin All Over The Years" 1990, which only contained 22 hits, this office and Mercury Records have been inundated with requests from all over the world to release an album containing all, or as many as is technically possible, of the band's hits on one album. As you are already aware the new album will contain 41 tracks.
-2. We are very fortunate that over the course of the last 7 years, the popularity of the band has continued to grow and there are thousands of new fans that never had the opportunity of purchasing a copy of "Rockin All Over The Years" when originally released.
-3. Due to the terms of the contract that I inherited, the final decision as to the release of back catalogue is not vested with either myself or the band but the record company.
-4. Notwithstanding this, I still believe that in the interests of the majority of fans an album of this nature will be most welcome.
-5. To suggest that to release this album would be unfair to anybody I find somewhat confusing - those amongst you that feel that there is nothing extra for them on this new album are not being forced to purchase a copy.
-6. What would be unfair to all those amongst you that would like to purchase this package, would be to attempt to stop the record company releasing it in fear of offending the small minority for reasons that I am still at a loss to understand.
It has been suggested that an anthology album containing previously unreleased tracks and early demos would be appreciated. You would be interested to know that we are at present scouring the archives and compiling a DAT of such material and hope that at some time in the future a release of this nature will be possible.
I would urge you all to accept that we would never intentionally do anything to offend you but when agreeing to support the record companies decision to release this album we did it with the best intentions and in the interests of the majority of you.
In the light of the above I would appreciate your understanding and invite you to continue to keep me informed of your thoughts and I will do my utmost to respond to any of your queries. I promise not to "yes" you to death and will continue to be totally frank with my responses.
David.
LiveDaily Interview: Status Quo's John "Rhino" Edwards
Status Quo has been together for more than 30 years. What many have labeled Britain's
version of Spinal Tap (except it isn't a parody) metamorphosed in 1967 out of a London group
called the Spectres, which was originally led by original Quo members Alan Lancaster and
Francis Rossi in 1967. In its 33 years, Status Quo has put out dozens of albums and singles,
including the 1994 hit "Come On You Reds," a collaboration with the U.K. football team
Manchester United that reached No. 1 on the British charts.
After 15 years playing bass with the Quo, John "Rhino" Edwards as decided to make a solo album,
"Rhino's Revenge "due in the U.K on September 11 through Eagle Records. Alexa Williamson
finds out why exactly Rhino is out to get his "revenge," along with
his views on Republicans, Napster and on why Quo fans haven't
stayed the same through the decades.
LiveDaily: It took 4.5 years to record "Rhino's Revenge", yet you initially only thought
it would take a few months. Why did it take so long in the end?
Edwards: I began work on the album on Jan. 3, 1996. It took so long because I had to get
everyone together. I knew whom I wanted to play on the album and it took awhile to get them in
the studio.
LiveDaily: Was the rest of Status Quo keen to contribute?
Edwards: Yes! Francis Rossi solos on "Spend, Spend, Spend," while Rick Parfitt plays on "Jungle Love"
and "Republican," and Quo's keyboardist Andrew Brown plays on "Rocker" and "Mine All
Mine." Our new drummer Matt also plays the drums on a couple of tracks.
LiveDaily: How's he fitting in with the group [since his arrival in April]?
Edwards: Matt's a top man. He's quite quiet, but an utter animal behind the drums.
LiveDaily: What inspired the song "Republican?" With lyrics like "I wouldn't save a drowning
man/If he wasn't a Republican/If he was not a good Republican," it's obvious you're
not crazy about them.
Edwards: Ronald Reagan, the Oklahoma Bombing, all that right-wing thinking in America. I think a lot of
people living in America don't realize there's a world outside of there.
LiveDaily: So you don't like America?
Edwards: No, I'm not saying that. I don't like what I see of America on TV. Jerry Springer is the anti-Christ
for me. He is exploiting a gap in the market. I can't believe that people want to go on his show.
I've been on both coasts of America with Status Quo and Dexy's Midnight Runners and I've
loved it. It's scary to look at from the outside, but not when you visit. I want to go to Boise,
Albuquerque and Montana. They seem like they'd be very quiet.
LiveDaily: What about American bands? Do you have any favorites?
Edwards: The eels are my favorite. Their first album was the best. The last one was pretty good too. Blink
182 is OK. They have a lot of attitude and are there to be enjoyed. They don't rely on devices.
Eminem is absolutely amazing and absolutely horrible at the same time. I got the first album,
but I think he's lost the plot now and is a bit of a whiner. Some of the content on the album is
very worrying.
LiveDaily: Are you familiar with Napster and the lawsuits that are going on in America?
Edwards: Yes.
LiveDaily: What do you think of the concept of people being able to download artists songs from
a large "library" for free and then burn them onto a CD for their personal use?
Edwards: Crap, really. Napster is doing it so when they sell their database, they'll make an absolute
fortune. Yet, I'm not a big fan of major record labels or the fact that they throw money at stuff so
that's all you hear on the radio. Because of this, I think the live side of music [in the U.K.] has
dried up.
LiveDaily: On "Rhino's Revenge," you jump between playing keyboards, guitar, bass and all
vocal responsibilities. Which was your favorite to perform?
Edwards: My favorite was guitar, as there were no barriers about what was played. Whereas because I
usually play the bass and write on the bass, there are certain things you know you can and can't
do. It's good to write on an instrument you're not necessarily offay with.
LiveDaily: You've said that this album is a "custard pie in the face of people who have slagged
me off." Who "slagged" you off?
Edwards: When Status Quo's original bassist Alan Lancaster left and I took over, I got hate mail from
some of the old fans saying I was "shit" and saying that I'd never be as good as him. So I
decided to show them by doing a solo album.
LiveDaily: Speaking of Status Quo... has the fan bases changed much between the '80s and the
last two years since the Quo released "Under The Influence" and "Famous In The
Last Century?" Is there a different atmosphere at concerts or is it pretty much the
same?
Edwards: Quo fans are exactly the same... nothing's really changed. They come to the gigs to have a
great time and we make sure they always do.
LiveDaily: Does Status Quo have a lot of international fans?
Edwards: Yes! We play all over the world. The last time we played in L.A., someone told us there were a
lot of Mexican fans at the gig. I didn't know we were big in Mexico--a lot of fans come from
Europe and Australia. We play in the States every couple of years. We're a British ZZ Top, if
you will.
LiveDaily: You co-penned Status Quo's No. 1 single from '94, "Come On You Reds," which was
recorded with Britain's top soccer team Manchester United, as well as the Top 10
follow up to it, "We're Gonna Do It Again" in '96. Who in Status Quo are the big
Manchester United fans? How did recording the songs with them come about?
Edwards: It got set up through their manager. I was [soiling] my pants when I met the Man United players.
No one in the band is a big Man United fan, but you have to support them because they are the
best team in country.
LiveDaily: You got the nickname Rhino because "you are the clumsiest man in the world" and
you manage to break things wherever you go. What's the most amount of damage
you've ever caused?
Edwards: I am the Austin Powers of rock... an international man of mystery. No, I'm terribly clumsy.
Objects fall off walls around me. The worst time, I think, was when I bought a guitar once from a
guy and as I walked downstairs in his house, I knocked down some plates on the wall worth
thousands of pounds! Another time on tour, I got my arm stuck in the bus door for three hours.
published: 01-Sep-2000
LiveDaily Interview: Status Quo's John "Rhino" Edwards
Status Quo has been together for more than 30 years. What many have labeled Britain's version of Spinal Tap (except it isn't a parody) metamorphosed in 1967 out of a London group called the Spectres, which was originally led by original Quo members Alan Lancaster and Francis Rossi in 1967. In its 33 years, Status Quo has put out dozens of albums and singles, including the 1994 hit "Come On You Reds," a collaboration with the U.K. football team Manchester United that reached No. 1 on the British charts.
After 15 years playing bass with the Quo, John "Rhino" Edwards as decided to make a solo album, "Rhino's Revenge "due in the U.K on September 11 through Eagle Records. Alexa Williamson finds out why exactly Rhino is out to get his "revenge," along with his views on Republicans, Napster and on why Quo fans haven't stayed the same through the decades.
LiveDaily: It took 4.5 years to record "Rhino's Revenge", yet you initially only thought it would take a few months. Why did it take so long in the end?
Edwards: I began work on the album on Jan. 3, 1996. It took so long because I had to get everyone together. I knew whom I wanted to play on the album and it took awhile to get them in the studio.
LiveDaily: Was the rest of Status Quo keen to contribute?
Edwards: Yes! Francis Rossi solos on "Spend, Spend, Spend," while Rick Parfitt plays on "Jungle Love" and "Republican," and Quo's keyboardist Andrew Brown plays on "Rocker" and "Mine All Mine." Our new drummer Matt also plays the drums on a couple of tracks.
LiveDaily: How's he fitting in with the group [since his arrival in April]?
Edwards: Matt's a top man. He's quite quiet, but an utter animal behind the drums.
LiveDaily: What inspired the song "Republican?" With lyrics like "I wouldn't save a drowning man/If he wasn't a Republican/If he was not a good Republican," it's obvious you're not crazy about them.
Edwards: Ronald Reagan, the Oklahoma Bombing, all that right-wing thinking in America. I think a lot of people living in America don't realize there's a world outside of there.
LiveDaily: So you don't like America?
Edwards: No, I'm not saying that. I don't like what I see of America on TV. Jerry Springer is the anti Christ for me. He is exploiting a gap in the market. I can't believe that people want to go on his show. I've been on both coasts of America with Status Quo and Dexy's Midnight Runners and I've loved it. It's scary to look at from the outside, but not when you visit. I want to go to Boise, Albuquerque and Montana. They seem like they'd be very quiet.
LiveDaily: What about American bands? Do you have any favorites?
Edwards: The eels are my favorite. Their first album was the best. The last one was pretty good too. Blink 182 is OK. They have a lot of attitude and are there to be enjoyed. They don't rely on devices. Eminem is absolutely amazing and absolutely horrible at the same time. I got the first album, but I think he's lost the plot now and is a bit of a whiner. Some of the content on the album is very worrying.
LiveDaily: Are you familiar with Napster and the lawsuits that are going on in America?
Edwards: Yes.
LiveDaily: What do you think of the concept of people being able to download artists songs from a large "library" for free and then burn them onto a CD for their personal use?
Edwards: Crap, really. Napster is doing it so when they sell their database, they'll make an absolute fortune. Yet, I'm not a big fan of major record labels or the fact that they throw money at stuff so hat's all you hear on the radio. Because of this, I think the live side of music [in the U.K.] has dried up.
LiveDaily: On "Rhino's Revenge," you jump between playing keyboards, guitar, bass and all vocal responsibilities. Which was your favorite to perform?
Edwards: My favorite was guitar, as there were no barriers about what was played. Whereas because I usually play the bass and write on the bass, there are certain things you know you can and can't do. It's good to write on an instrument you're not necessarily offay with.
LiveDaily: You've said that this album is a "custard pie in the face of people who have slagged me off." Who "slagged" you off?
Edwards: When Status Quo's original bassist Alan Lancaster left and I took over, I got hate mail from some of the old fans saying I was "shit" and saying that I'd never be as good as him. So I decided to show them by doing a solo album.
LiveDaily: Speaking of Status Quo... has the fan bases changed much between the '80s and the last two years since the Quo released "Under The Influence" and "Famous In The Last Century?" Is there a different atmosphere at concerts or is it pretty much the same?
Edwards: Quo fans are exactly the same... nothing's really changed. They come to the gigs to have a great time and we make sure they always do.
LiveDaily: Does Status Quo have a lot of international fans?
Edwards: Yes! We play all over the world. The last time we played in L.A., someone told us there were a lot of Mexican fans at the gig. I didn't know we were big in Mexico a lot of fans come from Europe and Australia. We play in the States every couple of years. We're a British ZZ Top, if you will.
LiveDaily: You co-penned Status Quo's No. 1 single from '94, "Come On You Reds," which was recorded with Britain's top soccer team Manchester United, as well as the Top 10 follow up to it, "We're Gonna Do It Again" in '96. Who in Status Quo are the big Manchester United fans? How did recording the songs with them come about?
Edwards: It got set up through their manager. I was [soiling] my pants when I met the Man United players. No one in the band is a big Man United fan, but you have to support them because they are the best team in country.
LiveDaily: You got the nickname Rhino because "you are the clumsiest man in the world" and you manage to break things wherever you go. What's the most amount of damage you've ever caused?
Edwards: I am the Austin Powers of rock... an international man of mystery. No, I'm terribly clumsy. Objects fall off walls around me. The worst time, I think, was when I bought a guitar once from a guy and as I walked downstairs in his house, I knocked down some plates on the wall worth thousands of pounds! Another time on tour, I got my arm stuck in the bus door for three hours.
published: 01-Sep-2000
