Status Quo is one of the oldest British bands that have remained together for over six decades.
During most of this time, the band has been popular in the UK, where they have been in the top 10 of the top XNUMX singles for decades.
In rock style, everything was constantly changing: fashion, styles and trends, new trends, fashion trends. And only the group Status Quo, remaining the same as almost 60 years ago. With each new year, the team only increases the army of "fans".
The beginning of Status Quo's career
Status Quo's origins are in the London beat band The Ghosts.
The main members of the Ghosts band since their inception were Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster (guitarists and vocalist), then drummer John Coughlan and organist Roy Lins appeared in the group.
The beat band released three unsuccessful singles before changing their style to psychedelia and changed their name to Traffic Jam. With the new name, the musicians released the single "Almost, but not quite", but it was also unsuccessful.
The musicians were looking for ways to solve this problem and invited a new member to their group - Rick Parfitt from the cabaret band The Highlights. After that, the team changed its name and became the famous Status Quo group.
At first, the group acted as accompanists for British solo artists, including Tommy Quickly, while working on their own tracks.
The band's debut single, Pictures of Matchstick Men, was released in early 1968 and quickly reached No. 7 in the UK charts. Within a few months, the song became popular in America, taking an honorable 12th position in the American charts.
The next single Black Veils of Melancholy was unsuccessful. But, the composition Ice in the Sun became Status Quo's second top ten hit in the fall of 1968.
Over the next year, Status Quo tried to replicate the success of their first two singles with similar psychedelic material, but they weren't so lucky.
Finally, the musicians updated their sound and lineup, and in the summer of 1970 they debuted a new single, Down the Dustpipe, recorded in a new heavy blues rock style.
This track peaked at number 12, but Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon, a full-fledged collection of "heavy" music, did not attract significant public attention.
Career and recognition of popularity
Status Quo performed regularly throughout England, gradually gaining popularity. After excellent performances in 1972 at the Reading Festival and The Great Western, they enjoyed huge popularity.
The band signed with Vertigo Records and their first single (Paper Plane) hit the top 10 in early 1973, and their first album Piledriver (Vertigo Records) reached No. 5.
A little later, the composition Hello took the 1st position in the charts, and the accompanying single Caroline took the 5th position. In the same year, keyboardist Andy Bown appeared in the group.
1990-ies
One of the record-breaking events of the 1990s was a performance at the Knebworth Music Therapy Festival. Sir Paul McCartney and Elton John, Pink Floyd and Eric Clapton, other famous British artists have raised 6 million pounds for charity.
The group Status Quo gave a concert in honor of their 25th anniversary, two parts of the album "Jubilee Waltz" took 2nd and 16th positions in the English hit parade. The album “I light all these years” was released in a significant circulation and became triple platinum.
In 1991, the group was awarded twice for their contribution to the development of music, the musicians performed at the Pentoville prison.
A joint tour with Rod Stewart took place. It is noteworthy that in the London Wax Museum, places of honor were occupied by the figures of permanent leaders.
In 1994, the group created the second worldwide hit of their career, the football anthem Come On You Reds. The single was recorded with football champions Manchester United.
By the mid-1990s, the group had 50 UK hit singles. This was then more than any other band in the history of rock and roll.
2000-ies
Drummer Rich left the band in 2000. He was replaced by Matt Letley, who continued to work with the team.
The single Jam Side Down became a hit in the English top 20 in 2002. Two years later, the collection "Don't Stop" was released, followed by "Party in 2005" and "In Search of the Fourth Chord".
In 2010 Status Quo released Quid Pro Quo. It included 14 new tracks, and he triumphantly took 10th position in the English charts. Two years later, Parfitt and Rossi announced that they had made a feature-length feature film.
The album Bula Quo was released in the summer of 2013, with the soundtrack released just a few months earlier.
Status Quo Aquostic Hits Collection
In 2015, Status Quo Aquostic (Stripped Bare) was released. All singles are created in modern acoustic processing.
The album was very successful, reaching gold status and reaching the top 5 on the UK album charts. This was the band's biggest achievement in 18 years.
A second album based on the same concept, Aquostic II: It's a Fact, came out a year later. The group again attracted the attention of "fans".
However, Rick Parfitt's health problems continued. After suffering a heart attack at a performance in Turkey in 2016, he left the band. Unfortunately, he passed away on Christmas Eve of the same year.
Parfitt was replaced by guitarist Richie Malone.
The group continued their work and at the end of 2018 started recording a new album. The 33rd compilation album by Status Quo, which for the first time in so many years did not include Parfitt ...
The album Backbone, recorded in Rossi's own studio, was released in the fall of 2019. While the band went on tour supporting Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was on the UK leg of their farewell tour.
