OUT OUT QUOING

STATUS QUO are delighted to announce a brand new tour for 2022. The ‘Out Out Quoing’ tour will see the band’s long overdue return to stages in the UK and Europe. There are a string of UK dates in February and March 2022, with the second leg returning to the UK’s stages in November / December.Probably the first live show to resume after restrictions lifted, Francis Rossi’s [delayed] spoken word tour returned to UK theatres from July to September 2021 and saw Francis reveal the real stories behind the creation of some of the greatest rock music of all time.

BACKBONE

In September 2019, STATUS QUO released ‘Backbone’ through earMUSIC / Edel. As well as being their 33rd studio 33rpm, ‘Backbone’ also completed their first run of 5 consecutive Top 10 studio albums for 33 years! (The last such run ended with In The Army Now in 1986)! The album was hailed by Powerplay as “an essential addition to any right-thinking Quo fan’s collection”. QUO performed at the huge BBC Radio 2 ‘Festival In A Day’ show in Hyde Park in Sept 2019. That turned out to be their last UK show to date as the planned ‘Backbone’ Winter Tour of 2020 was cancelled in its entirety due to Covid-19. 2019 was a busy year for Francis Rossi. March saw the release of ‘We Talk Too Much’, an album by Rossi / Rickard, a collection of Country-flavoured duets. In the same month, the new autobiography, ‘I Talk Too Much’, published by Little, Brown hit the Sunday Times Best Seller List. Created with award-winning writer and broadcaster Mick Wall, the book tells the real stories behind the creation of some of the greatest rock music of all time. Francis also took to the stage for an intimate evening at 36 theatres across the UK on the ‘I Talk Too Much’ spoken word tour – which was such a success that a further 60 dates will follow in 2020!2017 saw STATUS QUO performing across the world, bringing the fans what they wanted and keeping the flame burning. The band performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Wacken and Glastonbury, closing the year out with the Aquostic Live – It Rocks! tour of Europe and the Plugged In: Live & Rockin’ tour of the UK.On Christmas Eve 2016 the news broke that RICK PARFITT, already forced to retire from performing live with the band, had died. The news of his passing was reported the world over. He will never be forgotten by those who knew and loved him.LAST NIGHT OF THE ELECTRICS In late 2016, Francis Rossi, Andrew Bown, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards, Leon Cave and Richie Malone brought the thunderous electric live show back to the UK once more. Following the incredible reaction and success of the Tour and as a result of requests from fans, the Last Night of the Electrics tour was extended into 2017, initially visiting territories not included on the current tour. The live album recorded at the London shows, “Last Night Of The Electrics”, was a huge success, giving the band their best charting live album in 40 years.

AQUOSTIC (THAT’S A FACT)

AQUOSTIC II – THAT’S A FACT was released in October 2016 as a 2CD, Deluxe and Vinyl with 14 reimagined Quo classics such as ‘In The Army Now’, ‘Hold You Back’, ‘Roll Over Lay Down’, ‘Ice In The Sun’ and two brand new tracks. That year, the band performed some of these new tracks at BBC Radio 2’s massive Festival In A Day in Hyde Park.Following the success of Quo’s ‘Piledriver’ Beer which sold in excess of 1,000,000 pints in 9 months, in 2016 the band teamed up with a further pair of great British producers, Hobsons Brewery and Celtic Marches, to create a duo of classic drinks: the ‘Dog Of Two Head’ ale and the ‘Down Down’ cider. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTE! THE DEFINITIVE HITS was released in 2015 as a 3CD collection and, with different material, as a 2DVD collection material from throughout their six decade career.

AQUOSTIC (STRIPPED BARE)

The 2014 album gave the band a number five UK hit, their highest for 18 years, was certified Gold and saw them notch up their 500th week in the Album charts!Aquostic (Stripped Bare) was the best selling independent UK album of 2014.The BBC’s broadcast of the Roundhouse show was the most watched ‘red button’ programme in the month of release across all channels.April 2014 saw the band take the Aquostic live experience to 5 UK venues – as well as the intimate Roundhouse event they also road-tested it in front of 8,000 fans who saw the show at the Schleyerhalle arena in Stuttgart.

THE LOWDOWN

STATUS QUO’S total world-wide record sales exceed 118 million units.In 2013 QUO released their 100th single. The first hit was ‘Pictures Of Matchstick Men’ which reached Number 7 in January 1968, in 2014 the ‘Aquostic’ version of the track was A-Listed by BBC Radio 2.Founder members Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt are joined in the current QUO line up by keyboard player Andrew Bown [since 1976], bassist John ‘Rhino’ Edwards [1986] and drummer Leon Cave [2013].QUO have made 106 appearances on BBC TV’s ‘Top of the Pops’ - More than any other group.QUO have spent in excess of seven and a half years (415 weeks) in the British Singles Chart - the eleventh highest ever. QUO have had 43 hit albums (27 studio albums of new material, 11 compilations, 5 live albums) in the British Albums Chart; more than any other band apart from The Rolling Stones.In 1985 QUO opened Live Aid with the song which was to become the event’s anthem ‘Rockin’ All Over The World’.QUO have been immortalisted by both Madame Tussauds and Royal Doulton, starred in their own feature film ‘Bula Quo’ which was premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and raised millions for charity along the way!QUO also created a best-selling beer brand ‘Piledriver’, in conjunction with Wychwood / Marston’s breweries in its first nine months it sold over a million pints!In their 48 year history, it is estimated that QUO have played over 6000 live shows to a total audience in excess of 25 million people. In doing so, the band has travelled some four million miles and spent 23 years away from home.

HONOURS

In 2014, the year the band performed a knockout set at Download Festival, they received the ‘Services To Rock’ Award from Kerrang magazineIn 2009, Rick and Francis were recognised for their services to Music and Charity by the award of an OBE in the New Year Honours ListSeptember 21st 1991 saw QUO enter the Guinness Book of Records when they played four British shows in 11 hours and 11 minutes. The ‘Rock ’Til You Drop’ event saw shows at Sheffield Arena, Glasgow SE&CC, Birmingham NEC and Wembley Arena.1991 also saw QUO presented with the most prestigious award in British music when they were awarded the BRITS Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution To The British Music Industry’. QUO made it a double celebration later in 1991 when HSH Prince Albert of Monaco presented the band with the ‘Outstanding Contribution To The Rock Industry’ award at the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo.

Chris Hewlett / February 2015
chris@chrishewlett.com