Status Quo Newcastle City Hall 24th September 1973 Hello!
I was rapidly becoming a big Status Quo fan. I’d bought “Piledriver”, played it endlessly and was trying to learn the riffs to “Paper Plane”, “Big Fat Mama”, and “Don’t Waste My Time”. In September 1973 Quo released their 6th album “Hello!” which consolidated their success and went to No 1 in the UK chart. “Hello!” was the first of four Quo albums to top the UK Albums Chart, and the first album on which the group wrote all the songs (along with Bob Young the group’s roadie and harmonica player). Keyboard player Andy Bown played on “Forty-Five Hundred Times”. This was Andy’s first appearance on a Status Quo album, and he was of course soon to become a permanent member of the band. They hit the singles chart twice between “Piledriver” and “Hello”; first with “Mean Girl” which was an old song released by their previous label Pye, and reached No 20, and then with their trademark song “Caroline” which also appeared on “Hello!” and reached #5. This was the group’s first single to reach the UK top five. The relentless gigging continued (as it always has, and does to this day) and in September Status Quo went out on tour yet again to promote “Hello”. I saw them at Newcastle City Hall on 24th September 1973. This was the 8th time I had seen Status Quo within a couple of years. The concert was, as always, a triumph or rock and boogie, with Francis Rossi cracking on with us all as if we were his best mates. Quo were like that, just ordinary lads playing straightforward, no nonsense rock’n’roll. No airs and graces, no deep meaning to the songs. We all respected that, and just “got it” immediately and completely. 
The relentless touring up and down the country, with the gaps between tours of the city halls filled with club and festival appearances, the attitude, the approach, the authenticity, all forged a bond between Status Quo and the fans and created a loyalty that is, for many, still there to this day. Mick Rossi quietly became Francis Rossi some time in 1973. The Spring (Piledriver) programme lists him as “Mick”, while in the Autumn (Hello!) programme he is “Francis”. Support for the tour was the excellent blues band Savoy Brown, fronted by KIm Simmonds on guitar (who remains with the band to this day), and at the time, featuring the great Jackie Lynton on vocals. Jackie has a long association with Quo. His own band, the Jackie Lynton band, supported them on tour a couple of years later, and he used to announce them, his being the famous voice that says “Is there anybody out there that wants to rock? Tonight..Live..We have the No 1 rock’n’roll band in the land..Will you welcome the magnificent Status Quo!…” (cue Juniors Wailing) at the start of the Live album, recorded at Glasgow Apollo.
Typical setlist of the period: Junior’s Wailing, Someones Learning, In My Chair, Claudie, Roll over lay Down, Big Fat Mama, Railroad, Don’t waste my time, Caroline, Roadhouse Blues, Mean Girl, Bye Bye Johnny.
Archive for the ‘Status Quo’ Category
16 May
Status Quo Newcastle City Hall 24th September 1973 Hello!
15 May
Status Quo gigs 1973 Piledriver
1972 and 1973 were busy years for Status Quo. They gigged relentlessly, playing up and down the country, and further afield, in clubs, ballrooms, student unions and festivals. They were building up a reputation as one of the best and most consistent live acts, guaranteed to deliver a night of no-nonsense rock and boogie with a few slower numbers and blues thrown in. Mike Rossi was the cheeky front man, always good for a bit banter with the crowd. You felt like he was taking directly to you. Rick was the rhythm machine, as he continues to be today. Alan was the tough little rocker thumping away on that bass, and coming to the front to take the lead vocals on some of the harder rockers. And John was at the back, a mane of long hair, pounding away at his drums. The stage show was frantic and fast with the heads down routine, as pictured here from my early 1972 programme and on the back of the Piledriver album, featuring as the show progressed.
In 1972 Quo were back in the UK singles chart with “Paper Plane” and late that year they released their defining album “Piledriver”. “Piledriver” consolidated all their hard work on the live circuit in an album that had great rockers in “Don’t Waste My Time” and “Big Fat Mama” and slow blues ballads like “Unspoken Words” and “A Year”. I found a review on Amazon by A Customer which expresses just how great the album is much better than I could: “This album changed my life. When I first played through the irrepressible bounce of Don’t Waste My Time, the show-stopping drive of Big Fat Mama and Paper Plane and right through to the end of the long, heavy, pounding version of the Doors’ Roadhouse Blues, my listening habits were changed forever. It was the first time I had heard such energy and intensity committed to record. Even today, the sound has a fearsome edge, a live rawness that defies technology, but that can only be borne of real attitude. All these years on, the Quo themselves might have mellowed and achieved a state of comfortable familiarity, but this piece of work never will. It was forged in a raging furnace, and is still hot enough to burn.”
The impact of “Piledriver” mustn’t be underestimated. It was a big achievement as a band, and one of the must-have albums for all of us at the time. Quo are often scoffed at these days, but back in 1973 they were on a roll, and were simply the best live rock’n’roll machine in the land. I saw Status Quo three times during this period: 20th March 1973 at Newcastle City Hall, 27th April 1973 in Sunderland (the Quo gigography lists this gig as being at the Locarno but I recall seeing them at both the Locarno and at the Rink around this time), and on 25th August 1973 I saw them play another storming triumph at the Reading Festival. Support at the Newcastle City Hall gig was Byzantium who gigged a lot at that time. Byzantium were a psychedelic music band of the 1970s who released three albums and are perhaps best remembered for their role in the early career of Chaz Jankel of Ian Dury and the Blockheads fame.
A typical Status Quo Setlist of the period: Junior’s Wailing, Someones Learning, In My Chair, Umleitung, Railroad, Caroline, Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home, Big Fat Mama, Paper Plane, Don’t waste My time, Roadhouse Blues, Mean Girl, Bye Bye Johnny.
This was classic Quo, starting out on a period of massive success, some great songs and incredible live shows. Tomorrow I will move to the “Hello” period.
14 May
Status Quo live in 1971 and 1972 The birth of the boogie maestros
Status Quo live in 1971 and 1972
The birth of the boogie maestros
This is going to be a bit of a marathon.
I have seen Status Quo somewhere around 30 or 40 times, probably more than any other band apart from, perhaps, the Groundhogs. I am going to spend the next week or so reflecting on Status Quo live over the years (and by the end of this I might actually have a better idea of how many times I have actually seen them). I don’t intend to spend a day on each gig, rather I will combine some concerts I have seen into coverage of specific periods in the band’s career. Otherwise I will be writing about Quo for a month or so which will drive me crackers, and I don’t imagine it would be much fun for those who read my ramblings. However I will spend quite a bit of time discussing Quo in the 70s, when the classic “frantic four” line-up was at its peak. So off we go.
My first memory of Status Quo is, as it will be for many of us, hearing “Pictures of Matchstick Men” on the radio. My mate down the street had the single and played (and sang) that song endlessly, along with the B-side “Gentleman Joe’s Sidewalk Cafe”, which is also a great track. “Matchstick Men” was also played a lot at the Saturday morning disco that we used to go along to at Sunderland Top Rank (aka “The Rink”). We can’t have been more than 11 or 12 years old at the time. Along we went to the Rink every Saturday morning, having graduated onto this from the Saturday morning pictures (the ABC Minors), decked out in our finest mod kids gear; hipster trousers, kipper ties, and wide black plastic belts with double prongs (you got them in Woolies). I had a massive wide red plastic watch strap which was so 60s and I thought it was so cool to wear it. “Matchstick Men”, “Mony Mony”, “Jumping Jack Flash” and then “Ice in the Sun”. Happy days. Everything seemed so bright, so sunny and so simple.
The next time I saw Status Quo there were on the telly playing “Down the Dustpipe” or “In My Chair” and, hey they had long hair, looked scruffy and were dressed all in denim. Something had clearly changed. I recall seeing an advert in our local paper announcing a performance by Status Quo at a local club, Doxford Park Workingmen’s Club; it must have been around 1970. My mates and I talked about how we might go, and started to make plans (which would never have worked) to get in somehow, as we were only 13 years old at the time, and well below the age of “going to the club”. The gig didn’t happen (not sure why) so we didn’t have to enact our plans.
The first time I actually did get to see Status Quo was at Sunderland Locarno in 1971. I can’t be certain exactly when it was, and the gig doesn’t appear in any Quo gigographies, but I am certain that it happened. I think it may have been in December 1971, just after the release of “Dog of Two Heads”. By now Quo had made the transition from pop chart heroes to denim boogie merchants. So the Quo I saw at that gig (and three more times in 1972) was a full-on, loud, heads down, long haired, denim, boogie machine. Pure class. The band members were: Mike (he had not yet changed his name to Francis) Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster, John Coghlan, with road manager Bob Young joining them on stage on harmonica towards the end of the set. And the set…true rock’n’roll classics: always starting with Alan singing and leading on Junior’s Wailing, the wonderful Someones Learning, Umleitung, the great single In My Chair, Railroad, Is It really Me/Gotta Go Home, Mean Girl, a class cover of the Doors Roadhouse Blues, and the closer which was always their cover of Chuck Berry’s Bye Bye Johnny. It just didn’t get any better. Honestly.
One thing I forgot to mention about that gig at Suderland Mecca. Rick and Mike (soon to be Francis) were running around the small stage criss crossing their guitars and heads down hair flailing. Rick tripped over. He got up and discovered that he had snapped the neck of his guitar. The show was halted and Quo went off stage. After a few minutes someone came on stage to tell us that Rick didn’t have another guitar and the gig was abandoned. The story goes that he asked the guitarist in the support act to borrow his guitar, but he didn’t want to lend his precise 60s Strat to Rick. And so it was back to the disco (“See Emily Play”, “Southern Man” and “Gypsy” always went down well, filling the dance floor).
I was lucky enough to see Quo three more times during this period, before “Piledriver” and “Paper Plane” took them back into the mass public eye. These were on 29th May 1972 at the Lincoln Pop Festival, on 13th August 1972 at the Reading Rock Festival, and then on 23rd September 1972 at the Grangemouth Pop Festival, just north of Edinburgh. The Lincoln Bardley Great Western Festival is often rated as “one of Quo’s most influential appearances.” According to the QuoGigography site, this was “the festival that got Quo recognised as a high class live act and cemented their change to the 12-bar boogie rock that would prove to be their trademark for decades to come.”
Those festival performances were amazing. John Peel was a great supporter and champion of the band, and he was DJ at Reading and Grangemouth, telling us all that Quo were the “best rock’n’roll band in the world” (or something like that). Happy days. Tomorrow I will move on to Piledriver, Paper Plane, renewed success, and nationwide concert tours, always calling at Newcastle City Hall. Oh and a tradition of strong support acts.
11 Mar
Queen St James Park Newcastle 9th July 1986
Queen St James Park Newcastle 9th July 1986
Support acts: Status Quo, Zeno
The Magic Tour was the biggest and final tour by Queen. Over a million people saw them, making it one of the largest tours ever. The Magic Tour took in 26 dates around Europe’s stadiums, in support of their latest album A Kind of Magic. The UK leg of the tour played at Wembley Stadium, Manchester Maine Road, and Newcastle St James Park (which I attended). The tour ended with a massive show at Knebworth Park. Support acts for the Newcastle gig were Status Quo and Zeno (featuring Zeno Roth, the brother of Uli Roth). Status Quo had just reformed with a new line-up of original front men Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, and new members Rhino (bass) and Jeff Rich (drums). It was good to see the mighty Quo back out on the road again, although it must be said that it was only a couple of years since their 1984 farewell “End of the Road” tour. I’m a big fan of Quo and continue to go and see them today. Their set was a classic hits sing (and rock) along. One song I miss is Dirty Water which was a great crowd favourite in the ’80s. 
Status Quo setlist: Whatever You Want; Paper Plane; Roll Over Lay Down; Little Lady; Mystery Song / Railroad / Most of the Time / Wild Side of Life / Rollin’ Home / Again and Again / Slow Train; Hold You Back; Don’t Drive My Car; Dirty Water; Rockin’ All Over the World; Big Fat Mama; Don’t Waste My Time; Roadhouse Blues. Encore: Caroline; Rain.
By 1986 Queen were in the groove of delivering mega stadium concerts, and Freddie had grown into a spectacular front man. The set consists of Queen classics, a few album tracks (some of which were not so good in my view) and great rock n roll covers. The tour was captured on the album Live Magic.
Queen setlist: One Vision; Tie Your Mother Down; In the Lap of the Gods… Revisited; Seven Seas of Rhye; Tear It Up; A Kind of Magic; Under Pressure; Another One Bites the Dust; Who Wants to Live Forever; 
I Want to Break Free; Impromptu; Now I’m Here; Love of My Life; Is This the World We Created…?; (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care/Hello Mary Lou/Tutti Frutti; Bohemian Rhapsody; Hammer to Fall; Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Encore 1: Radio Ga Ga. Encore 2: We Will Rock You; Friends Will Be Friends; We Are the Champions; God Save the Queen.
Queen ceased touring in 1987, due to Freddie’s illness. They would not tour again until 19 years later, when the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour began in 2005, after the tragic death of Freddie Mercury on 24 November 1991, and the retirement of John Deacon in 1997.
19 Jan
The Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1973
The Reading Festival 24th – 26th August 1973
August 1973 and I was back at the Reading Festival. This year I hooked up with a large group of mates from town who had traveled down in a Transit van. I discovered Reading town centre, and the local pubs for the first time this year, and as a result missed some of the bands. The line-up was pretty mixed, with a clear attempt to become international; featuring bands from France, Italy and the USA, and also retaining jazz elements with appearances by Chris Barber and George Melly (who was great and a surprise success).
Friday line-up: Embryo (Germany), Alquin (Holland), Stray Dog (USA), Greenslade, Capability Brown, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen (USA), Jo’Burg Hawk (South Africa), Rory Gallagher. The successes of the day were Commander Cody and of course Rory, who was just amazing. This was classic Rory at his best: Messin’ With the Kid; Laundromat; Walk on Hot Coals; Pistol Slapper Blues; Going to My Home Town; and Bullfrog Blues. The crowd loved him. Capability Brown grew out of the ’60s band Harmony Grass; prog rock with great harmonies. 
The other thing I discovered was the bridge over the Thames, and we spent many an hour watching people dive off and down into the river (which seemed crazy and dangerous to me).
Saturday line-up: Dave Ellis, Clare Hamill, Tasavallan Presidentti (Finland), Riff Raff, Fumble, Magma (France), Lindisfarne (Mk II), Chris Barber band, Status Quo, Sensation Alex Harvey Band, Strider, Andy Bown, The Faces.
My memories of the Saturday are of Status Quo going down a storm, and the Faces being OK, but the real success of the day being the Sensation Alex Harvey Band. SAHB were just about to release “Next”; I think they started the set with “Faith Healer” which sounded incredible, the intro throbbing across the field. Alex was electric and made a lot of new friends that day. 
The Faces set was nowhere near as strong as the previous year. This was one of their first gigs after Ronnie Lane had been replaced by Tetsu (who was great by the way); you could sense that the band were losing their enthusiasm and a Rod would soon be on his way. Lots of footballs into the crowd again. Oh and Jesus dancing naked during the afternoon. I don’t recall Andy Bown’s set and didn’t know much about him at the time, other than he was in The Herd with Peter Frampton. I do remember being surprised as how high up on the bill he was. I think this was where he made friends with Quo; he joined them shortly afterwards on keyboards. Fumble were a rock’n’roll revival band who played a lot of gigs at the time; I recall seeing them several times at local student union dances.
Sunday line-up: Aj Webber, John Martyn and Danny Thompson, Ange (France), Tim Hardin and Lesley Duncan with the Tim Horovitz Orchestra, PFM (Italy), Jack the Lad, Medicine Head, Stackridge, George Melly and the Feetwarmers, Jon Hiseman’s Tempest, Mahatma, Jimmy Witherspoon (USA), Spencer Davis, Genesis. I think Roy Buchanan may have played also; he was advertised in early flyers, but doesn’t feature in the programme; I think I recall watching him. The stand-outs on Sunday were (surprisingly) George Melly who wore an incredibly sharp suit and totally engaged the crowd with his crazy jazz campness, and of course Genesis, with Peter Gabriel appearing with a strange pyramid arrangement on his head. Stackridge were good as always (Slark still a favourite of mine); Spencer Davis played all the hits, and had a great band featuring Charlie McCracken, Pete York, Ray Fenwick and Eddie Hardin. Tim Hardin sang his beautiful moving songs (If I was a Carpenter, Reason to Believe) and John Martyn went down well in his early slot, accompanied by the excellent Danny Thompson on double bass. The weather was pretty good as I recall, I don’t think we got much, if any, rain. Not one of the strongest Reading line-ups, but still a good weekend of music and fun, with excellent performances by Rory, George Melly, Alex Harvey, Quo and Genesis. Thanks to Ben Sutherland for making his photograph of the Reading Bridge available through WikiMedia Commons. The programme was once again produced by the local newspaper and cost all of 10p 🙂 . The poster of the Faces comes from the centrepages of the programme.
12 Jan
The Reading Festival 11th – 13th August 1972
The Reading Festival 1972
I first went to the Reading Festival in 1972 (is it really over 41 years ago 🙂 ?), and continued to go every year until 1980. I missed 1981 as it clashed with a local “Rock on the Tyne” Festival, and have never returned, although I did think of doing so on several occasions. I’m aiming to reflect on one year each week for the next few weeks, starting today with my first Reading experience.
I’d already been to the Lincoln Festival in May 1972 so I felt, as a 15 year old, I was already a hardened festival goer. I didn’t know anyone who wanted to go to Reading, so decided to go along myself. My parents weren’t keen on my idea of hitching so I agreed to go by train. The festival took place over the weekend of August 11th to 13th, 1972 starting on Friday afternoon. For some reason I decided to get the train down to London early on the Thursday night, arriving around midnight. Having nowhere to spend the night I took a tube to Piccadilly Circus and found an all-night cinema. It was showing Elvis films all night; I paid my money and sat close to the front. The cinema was quite empty, the audience was a few couples, some Elvis fans and several people alone like me, and just looking for somewhere to spend the night. I don’t recall which films were shown, I think there were six, and I’m pretty sure one was “Kid Galahad” (which, by the way, is a good movie), and I think another may have been “Fun in Acapulco” and “Girls, Girls, Girls” (not so good). I emerged, very tired, from the cinema in the early hours of the morning, and went across London to get the train to Reading. I didn’t have a ticket for the festival, so when I arrived I joined the queue and bought a weekend ticket. In those days it was all about seeing the bands, so I stayed in the queue to get a good spot in front of the stage. All I had taken was a sleeping bag; no tent; no change of clothes (I told you that I thought myself a hardened festival goer).
The Friday line-up was: Good Habit, Nazareth, Cottonwood, Steamhammer, Jackson Heights, Genesis, Mungo Jerry, Curved Air. The music started at 4pm and there were two stages set alongside each other to make for quick changeovers. I positioned myself close to the front somewhere between the two stages so I had a good view of both. There was a press enclosure right down front, and an area where the Hells Angels would encamp, so you couldn’t get that close to the stage. I got talking to a guy next to me; he was also alone, still at school and a similar age. We stuck together throughout the weekend, keeping each others place in the crowd, and sleeping there on a night in our sleeping bags. This seems crazy now, but hey I was young and just so excited about seeing the bands. You could sleep in the main enclosure in those days; you had to leave in the early morning so that they could clear up and get ready for the next day. Some clearing happened during the night; this didn’t make for a good night sleep as there was a danger that someone stood on you (this happened to me several times). The organisers stopped letting people sleep in the main enclosure a few years later; a punter was run over by a vehicle that was driving around collecting litter….The bands I recall on Friday were: Good Habit (saw them a few times, they used to were monks habits on stage), Nazareth (this was before “Broken Down Angel”; they played a great version of “Morning Dew”); Genesis (Simply amazing. I was a big fan at the time and have written separately about their set which included The Knife, Twilight Alehouse, Watcher Of The Skies, The Musical box, and The Return Of The Giant Hogweed. Classic); Mungo Jerry (got the crowd rocking), and Curved Air (also amazing; It happened today, Backstreet Luv, Sonja Kristina).
The Saturday line-up was: Jonathan Kelly, Solid Gold Cadillac, Man, Linda Lewis, Focus, Edgar Broughton, Jericho, If, Johnny Otis Show, Electric Light Orchestra, The Faces. I watched all of the bands, and also took some time to have a look around the stalls in the arena. I didn’t see any need to venture into town (that would come in later years) and spent the entire weekend within the confines of the festival. The weather was quite warm, sunny with a little drizzle now and then but nothing major, and certainly nothing compared to the rain I experienced at the Lincoln festival earlier in the year. Highlights I can dimly recall now are: Jonathan Kelly (Ballad of Cursed Anna simply wonderful), Solid Gold Cadillac (very jazzy), Man (very long guitar solos; Spunk Rock; great!), Linda Lewis (she looked so tiny on that stage and admitted to being scared), Focus (went down well with the crowd and were one of the successes of the weekend), Edgar Broughton (amazing, I was already a fan. Edgar very unspoken as always. Out Demons Out!!), If (jazzy, great guitarist), Johnny Otis Show (just blogged on them), Electric Light Orchestra (this was a very early performance and one of their first since Roy Wood’s departure. Wasn’t sure what to expect; they were good), The Faces (Rod and the guys on great form, lots of footballs kicked into the crowd, Twisting the Night Away and I’m Losing You were big live favourites of mine at the time).
The Sunday line-up was: Sutherland Brothers, Gillian McPherson, String Driven Thing, Matching Mole, Stackridge, Vinegar Joe, Status Quo, Stray, Roy Wood’s Wizzard, Mahatma Kane Jeeves, Ten Years After, Quintessence. John Peel and Jerry Floyd were comperes for the weekend. Jerry was the regular DJ at the Marquee Club, who organised the festival at the time. I spend much of the weekend chatting about music to the guy that I met on the first day and we struck up quite a friendship. I made a few friend at festivals in those days and would see some people every year but I never ran into this guy again. Wonder where he is now. Highlights of the day were: Matching Mole (featuring Robert Wyatt), Stackridge (“Slark” was a favourite of mine at the time), Vinegar Joe (Elkie just stunning), Status Quo (this was one of the shows that helped them break back. Peel was a big champion of theirs at the time; I think he introduced them as the “Finest rock’n’roll band in the world”, or something like that. They were playing amazing boogie at the time, with Francis giving it some cheeky banter. Someones Learning was a favourite), Stray (excellent, Del in mirror suit), Roy Wood’s Wizzard (pretty good, very retro rock’n’roll. Ballpark Incident had just been released), and Ten Years After (Alvin’s guitar playing was stunning, I’d just seen “Woodstock” and was a big fan). I left as Quintessence’s took to the stage as did many others (TYA were official headliners) to catch the last train to London. The tubes had stopped so I walked across London. I’d missed the midnight train so I spent the night in Kings Cross station.
Monday morning: I was stiff, tired, and scruffy. I got the first train home and went straight to bed 🙂
Wow! that took longer than I thought it would! The scans come from the newspaper style programme which was produced by the Reading Evening Post. The poster (it looks like a cartoon of Leo Lyons from TYA to me?) is from the middle of the programme. Oh and I forgot to mention the “Wally!” chants, which seemed to go on all night.
6 Jul
Bula Quo! Durham Gala Cinema 5 July 2013
Bula Quo! Durham Gala Cinema 5 July 2013
When I was a kid in the 60s I remember going to see Cliff in Summer Holiday, the Beatles in Help! and Dave Clark in Catch Us if You Can. They were all good clean fun, with great songs and some good humour from my pop group heroes. Then in the 70s I saw Woodstock, Slade in Flame, and Tommy. Again, all great in their own way. And last night I went to see Status Quo star in their movie, Bula Quo. Now I love Status Quo. I don’t care if people think they are naff, can only play three chords, etc. I know how awesome they were in the 70s, and how they can still rock today. But I have to say this film isn’t great (sorry Francis and Rick). Sure its a bit of fun, but with a bit more thought and some more good songs, it could have been a lot better. The plot goes something like this. Quo are playing a few gigs in Fiji. Francis and Rick slip away from the rest of the band and witness a russian roulette game, that turns into a murder. They film it, but the gangster behind it all is also one of the sponsors of their gig. 
They get chased around the island, along with some press people, their manager and an intern who is working with them called (of course) Caroline. It turns out the gangsters are also trading in human organs (?) and selling the left-overs in a restaurant (?!). Lots of chasing and stunts. The bad guys kidnap Caroline and our two heroes go to rescue her and end up playing russian roulette themselves. They escape of course. Oh and they play Living on as Island and a few other songs. I enjoyed it, along with the 5 (I kid you not :)) other people who were in the audience. But hey Cliff was much better in Summer Holiday. And there were more people there to see him too. How times changes. Roll on the Bula Quo tour, and the gig at Newcastle Arena in December. Hope I win the holiday in Fiji.
13 Mar
Status Quo Reunion Tour Manchester Apollo March 12th 2013
Status Quo Reunion Tour Manchester Apollo March 12th 2013
When I was growing up with rock music in the early 70s, there was a band who played great rock and boogies, put on amazing concerts, and released a sequence of great albums. They toured constantly up and down the country, and played at all the festivals. They were championed by John Peel, and wherever and whenever they played a loyal group of denim clad fans turned out and gave them the best reception that you could wish for. Sadlt somewhere over the years the members fell out, which resulted in acrimony and legal wranglings. The band reformed reformed with a couple of original members and started to tour again. They managed to regain some of their former glory, and many of us stayed with them, or in my case regained the faith and started to go and see them again. Over time the band lost the respect of the media and in the public consciousness the band became something from the past, and often the subject of some mockery. That band was (and is) called Status Quo.
Last night I saw that band again. I didn’t quite realise how important the event, or indeed the event was, until I got into Manchester Apollo last night. You could just feel the anticipation. This was the reunion we had all hoped for but we thought would never happen. The Apollo was packed to the rafters; these reunion gigs sold out quickly and more dates were added. The support band The Treatment put on a good show; they are a your rock band from the AC/DC mould with hints of glam. The crowd gave them a warm reception, but we were all there for one thing. To see the Frantic Four, the Mighty Quo reunited and ready to rock us like the old days. We had our doubts; would it still be the same? Was it really that good anyway? Could they still do it? After all these are older guys, and time must have taken its toll. The stage was set with a backdrop of the Hello album, the lights went down.
8.35pm. On the dot. As advertised. Jackie Lynott’s recorded introduction from the Live album roars out over the PA: “Is there anybody out there who wants to rock? Is there anybody out there who wants to roll? Is there anybody out there who wants to boogie? Tonight! We have the number one rock’n’roll band in the land! Will you welcome? The magnificent! STATUS! QUO!” And the curtain drops and it starts. The four are there and ready, standing in front of lines of AC30s and Marshall stacks. The first thing I noticed was the volume. And the clarity of the sound. And looking down from the slipper at the left side of the circle, the crowd are going crazy downstairs (all standing). The band all look well and they seem genuinely pleased to be together, old wounds have been healed, and they seem to be mates again. So it has finally happened. I got to see the original line-up again: cheeky Francis (didn’t he used to Mike in the days when I first got into this band?) Rossi, human rock rhythm machine Rick Parfitt, pure hard rocker bassist Alan Lancaster and solid powerhouse drummer John Coghlan. Much has been written about Alan’s ill health; well last night he seemed just fine and the fist few songs featured his vocals. I’d forgotten how important he was to the band. Important for his vocals, for his solid bass, and for maintaining the heavier and rockier side of the band. The opener was Juniors Wailing just as it was when I first saw Status Quo. Is it really 42 years ago since I first saw them? Where have all the years gone? Francis was on great form. Not as much cheeky chat as usual, but there was some, but great guitar playing. Slick, fluid and very loud. Rick looks slim and healthy with a new short hair cut and sporting a leather jacket. He kept the pace and the rhythm up throughout, sometimes it looked like he might explode. John Coghlan sat on a raised drumstool, twirling his sticks as he did in the old days. It felt right to have him and Alan back there, and I realised just how important John’s drumming was to the Quo sound. The set was drawn from the Live album, and the early 70s period, with a lack of the hits. No Caroline or Rocking All Over the World. Instead we got In My Chair, Backwater, Don’t Waste My Time, Big Fat Mama. This was a lean, loud, heavy rock n roll machine. It made me realise just how great the old band were in the 70s. Their old mate Bob Young joined them on mouth harp on Railroad and closing song (the Doors) Roadhouse Blues. The guy a couple of seats away told me that he had flown over from New York for the gig. I can’t express how good it was. Amazing; breath taking, emotional, and just good honest simple rock.
Setlist: Junior’s Wailing; Backwater; Just Take Me; Is There a Better Way; In My Chair; Blue Eyed Lady; Little Lady; Most of the Time; (April), Spring, Summer and Wednesdays; Railroad; Oh Baby; Forty-Five Hundred Times;Rain; Big Fat Mama; Down Down; Roadhouse Blues. Encore: Don’t Waste My Time; Bye Bye Johnny
13 Dec
Status Quo The Sage Gateshead 12 December 2012
Status Quo The Sage Gateshead 12 December 2012
It’s Christmas time and Quo are on tour again. The tour concept is once again “QuoFestive” but unlike last year, the strong support acts (Bonnie Tyler, and Eddie and the Hot Rods) are limited to a few venues. Support at the Sage Gateshead came from Bad Influence, who have been getting good reviews on the tour. I was feeling pretty ropey with a flu bug, so turned up late, just in time for the Mighty Quo, and missed the support. This year has seen some changes to the set, with Marguerita Time in, alongside Living on an Island; both songs bringing a respite from the high energy rock pace of the rest of the set. The Sage was sold out, and the crowd in good spirits, although a little reserved compared to some of the gigs I have attended at the City Hall. Maybe that was down to the venue which Francis deemed as being “posh”. 
Rick has a new short haircut, looks fit and is, as always, the relentless rhythm guitar machine. Francis is as cheeky as ever, and on good form, Good gig, if pretty standard. Roll on next March and the Frantic Four reunion tour. Setlist: Caroline; Paper Plane; Hold You Back; Rain; Mystery Song; Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ You; Beginning of the End; What You’re Proposing / Wild Side Of Life / Railroad / Again And Again; Big Fat Mama; The Oriental; Creepin’ Up On You; Marguerita Time; Living on an Island; In the Army Now; Drum Solo / The Killer; Roll Over Lay Down; Down Down; Whatever You Want; Rockin’ All Over the World. Encore: Walking in a Winter Wonderland / Rocking Around The Christmas Tree / It’s Christmas Time; Burning Bridges
20 Aug
Joe Cocker and many others Great Western Festival Lincoln 1972
Joe Cocker and many others Great Western Express Festival Lincoln May Bank holiday weekend 1972
I was 15 at the time and so excited about going to a real pop festival. My dad drove me and a couple of mates down on the Friday night, after we’d been to the local Mecca ballroom. We arrived in the early hours of Saturday morning, having missed the Friday night bands, and slept in a big crash tent for a few hours. We soon ran into a group of other lads who had also come down from Sunderland, and between us we built a cabin out of bails of hay and planks of wood which were lying around in the fields. I swear there were around 20 of us sleeping in there. We were quite close to the stage, and I pretty much stayed in that cabin all weekend. We could also stand on the roof and watch the bands. There was a massive (and very empty) press enclosure which divided the crowd from the stage, so no-one could get that close, which was bad planning. The weather was wet, with rain for most of the weekend. But I didn’t care; this was a real pop festival, and I was determined to enjoy every minute. The line-up for the remaining three days of the event was really strong. I’ll try and recall as much as I can.
Saturday. Nazareth opened the day around noon. I remember them playing Morning Dew, and thinking that they were ok. They were followed by Locomotive GT, Roxy Music who were playing their first major gig and Heads, Hands and Feet, featuring the great Albert Lee, who I remember playing “Warming up the band”. The first band I have strong memories of was Wishbone Ash. They hd just released “Argus” and their set consisted of all the classic Ash songs: Time Was, Blowin’ Free, Jailbait, The King Will Come, Phoenix etc. They were just wonderful at that time. Helen Reddy did not perform, and was replaced by Rory Gallagher, who had stayed on from the Friday to play again, as I understand his Friday set was cut short because of the weather. The Strawbs featured the classic Cousins/Hudson/Ford line-up at the time. This was before any of the hits. Pretty sure they played “The Hangman and the Papist” and “The Man who called himself Jesus”. Stone The Crows were next up. This was their first performance after Les Harvey’s death, and Steve Howe from Yes stood in on guitar. Maggie Bell’s performance was highly emotional and the crowd gave her the strongest reception of the day, sensing how real the blues was to her that night, coming only a few weeks after she had lost her boyfriend. Rod Stewart and The Faces closed Saturday night. I remember Rod wearing a silver lame jacket and that they were pretty ramshackle, but good.
Sunday. The Natural Acoustic Band started the day, followed by Focus who warmed the crowd up with Sylvia, and Brewers Droop who were a raunchy boogie band who popped up at a few festivals in those days. Spencer Davis played with his new band, which was heavy on steel guitar and country oriented, followed by The Incredible String Band. Lindisfarne were the first band to get the crowd going and were a big hit of the weekend. We were all on the roof of our cabin, singing along to Fog on the Tyne. Average White Band were followed by The Persuasions who were an a cappella soul band, and were impressive. The next big hit of the day were Slade, who just tore the place apart. They started this performance with a lot to prove to a “Hippy” crowd, who viewed slade as a pop act. By the end of the performance everyone was singing along and converted. They were just great. Monty Python’s Flying Circus, with the entire cast, did all their great sketches: Dead Parrot, Lumberjack Song, Argument; great fun. The Beach Boys closed the evening and were wonderful singing all the hits. Great end to a great day.
Monday. The morning featured some folk acts, who had been moved to the main stage because the folk tent had been damaged by the weather. I remember Jonathan Kelly performing and singing “Ballad of Cursed Anna” which is a favourite of mine to this day. Jackson Heights, featuring Lee Jackson from the Nice started the main part of the day off, followed by Atomic Rooster, Vincent Crane collapsing (as he normally did) during Gershatzer. Vinegar Joe with Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer were next up, followed by the Sutherland Brothers. The next two bands were both up and coming at the time: Genesis and Status Quo. They were both festival favourites, Peter Gabriel with his shaved forehead, telling those great stories to introduce beautiful songs such as Musical Box, and Quo were still trying to establish themselves as a proper rock band and shake off the pop image, which they were doing very well with tracks such as Someones Learning and Is It Really Me? Don McLean sang American Pie and the rain stopped for him. Humble Pie were something else. Steve Marriott was at the top of his game and was fully into his “My skin is white but my soul is black” routine. I Don’t Need No Doctor!! Just great. Sha Na Na, still featuring in all our minds from the Woodstock movie, had us all singing along. Joe Cocker closed the festival. He came on very late as I recall. There was a long wait and he took to the stage in the early hours of the morning. I remember him singing The Letter and Cry Me a River. He was good, but I was tired and cold by that time. All my mates had gone to sleep.
Other memories of the weekend. A large black and white screen above the stage, which worked some of the time. They showed movies on it throughout the night. I watched Marlon Brando in The Wild One, which was banned in the UK (!) at the time. Lots of chants of Wally. People openly selling dope with price lists on their tents. Hari Krishna’s giving out free food. A straw fight during (I think) Lindisfarne’s set. Everyone around me had also been to the Bickershaw festival a couple of weeks before, and were taking about how great The Grateful Dead and Captain Beefheart were. I was dead jealous.
I caught the train back on Tuesday. My mates variously hitched and scored lifts. I arrived home tired, unwashed, and determined to go to as many festivals as I could in the future, which I sort of stuck to for the remainder of the 70s.
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