Favourite Asked Questions

The following questions have been compilated mainly  from the Status Quo Mailing List . Here you can find some interesting things about unreleased songs , lyrics , personal situations , etc.. Thanks to all the members from the List . Many of the answers are made by them , others  have been taken from  interviews from the old and new  band line - up ,  written on magazines or recorded on radio interviews . Others have been asked by myself and answered by member of the list (Thank again to everybody!!!)
I hope you enjoy them .

Do the band member read , and/or answer any electronic fan mail ?
 Rhino do it sometimes , but he´s not in the computers as the fans are .He is always busy with the business .Pip Williams do it as  well and there are a lot of people close to Quo who sometimes help to all of us in our questions like Mike Paxman , the man behind the official Status Quo page on the net and the new producer  of the new album as well.
Why John Edward is called "Rhino"?
It was a nickname he earned when he was in Judie Tzuke´s band .He doesn´t want to say why....He said it´s his "stage name".
Many years ago I heard the song Hard Time on the radio but it was no Quo . Which was the band?
Hard Time was released originally by Quo on Rockin´All Over The Wold album , back in 1977 . In 1978 was released as a single by Mike Berry in Holland.
Is true that when Quo goes to record a new album , Rossi gives demos with drums machines on the songs to Jeff and Rhino?
They use to do this but mainly it happened on "In The Army Now" and "Thirsty Work" albums .
Which are the opening words from Rick on Again And Again?
It was a difficult one until one member from the list told it to Rhino .
The words are : "Sing along , keep the album loose" .
What are the favourite bands  to Quo?
Francis grew up listening to people like Everly Brothers and Connie Francis . He likes country music and groups like Abba or ELO . He likes Eagles a lot.
Rick grew up listening to people like Cliff Richards or Nat King Cole . He likes ZZ Top and AC/DC . Tom Petty is one of his faves .
Rhino is a fan from Frank Zappa and Jeff from Jimi Hendrix .Alan and John still like rhythm blues.
Which are their nicknames ?
John Coghlan was "Spud" (due to his bad wearing in the seventies) , Pete Kircher  was Pete "Ketchup" , Rossi is "Frame" , Rick was "Regg" and today he is known by "Womorr" (Wild Old Man Of Rock n Roll) but he turns to "The Milk Man" . Alan was "Nuff" , John Edwards is "Rhino" and Jeff Rich is "Dougal" , due to the Michael Barrymore TV Show . Andy is called "The Acid Man" .
How many recorded unreleased songs are from Quo as a band (not personal collaborations)?
"Another Game In Town"  and "Rearrange" are  from the "Whatever You Want" sessions (the album was originally called "Indecent Exposure") . "Calling The Shots" was recorded in 1982 to be a B Side to the Jealousy single . It was no released . In the beginnings , Quo recorded a lot of Radio material never released . Most of the songs were covers , like "Things Get Better" , "Judy In Disguise" or "Gloria" ."Better Times" and "Heavy Dazed" were B sides from the "Faking The Blues" song from 1991 . This single was released  ( not many copies) but not officially."I Wonder Why" was originally recorded in 1983 for the B side of the cancelled A single "Too Close To The Ground" . Surely , there are more and more songs ....
Which are their favourites countries to play or visit?
Rhino likes Spain a lot  , Italy and France. He likes hot countries.
Francis doesn´t like to travel . He prefers to stay at home with his family .
Who is the man who´s talking in the middle of "Paradise Flats" song?
It´s Bob Young.
Which musicians have collaborated on Status Quo albums?
Most of them are session musicians : Bruce Foster from New York played  piano on "Dog Of Two Head" ,Grass sang background vocals on the same album ,Jimmy Horowith played additional  piano on "Piledriver" ,John Mealing (piano) , Steve Farr (alto Sax) and Stewart Blandamer (Tenor Sax) on "Hello!" , Tom Parker  piano on "Quo" ,
Roger Glover played additional bass on "Wild Side Of Life" , Frank Ricotti  percussion on "Rockin´All Over The World" and "If You Can´t Stand The Heat" albums  ,Jacquie Sullivan , Stevie Lange and Joy Yates (vocals)  and   David Katz  ( horns)
on "If You can´t ..." , Bernard Frost have collaborated with backing vocals on "Just Supposin" , "Never Too Late" , 1982" and "Back To Back" , Paul Wickens ( Keyboards) and Graham Proskett (country violin) on "Ain´t Complaining" and Andy Bown played piano on "Hello !"  and from "Blue For You" to nowadays .He did some organ work on "On The Level" and , in Rossi words , on "Piledriver" as well . There are many collaborations on "Don´t Stop" (the cover album)
How do they spend their spare time when touring? Do they get to see much of the countries they visit?
They would like to have more spare time to visit  the towns . They do it , but they have not enough time to do it as they wish . Rhino likes to visit the towns , mainly to visit the old buildings and monuments like Rick .Rhino use to go on bike . Rick considers himself as a good tourist  and Andy likes to play bowling.... Francis Rossi used to take lots of photographs in the past tours .
Why don´t they do an unplugged album?
They wanted to do an unplugged album  some years ago.There were some TV´s  that  wanted them to released on album with this characteristics (not the MTV) . In fact , they have played a Medley acoustic on the Steve Right Show on 1989 playing the songs  : In my chair , Caroline ,King Of Your Heart , Down The Dustpipe , and Railroad . Most recently they play Rockin´All Over The World as well but only on Tv´s .
How they choose to Pete Kircher  on drums ?
Pete was a friend of the "house" .He was involved on the John Duu Cann solo album in 1977, playing drums , where Rossi , Parfitt and Bown were involved as well .Pete and his band supported Quo in some gigs around 1976 .
They were thinking in Cozy Powell but they prefer Pete cos they known him better....
What is the real reason John Coghlan left the group?
As Quo said on the "Just For The Record" book , John was not happy with the music and the band . He kicked off the drums kit when they were recording the 1982 album and  he  left the band . John was not happy cos he though Quo music was more and more commercial . They were out from solid rock and he didn´t like the character of Rossi ,  due in part of  the  drug abuses  of Francis.
Who makes the set list of the concerts?
The band together .They try to put some new songs to know the public reaction . If they are ok , they keep the songs . They don´t play songs that don´t  work  for the public. In the Monsters Of Rock festival , years ago , they played  the show without a set list ready . They felt really bad cos there were 45.000 people watching them . As Rossi said : "When we finished the concert ,our faces were longer... We stopped and talked seriously about the concert" It was one of the last concerts they did until they decided to split - up in 1984 .
 Which Quo albums are the favourites to the band?
This one use to change from time to time . Rick likes "Hello!" and "Rocking All Over The World" , but nowadays he seems to like more the "Whatever You Want" album . Francis likes "Hello!" (his "most proud creature") and "Piledriver" , on his own words ,  "the most raw Quo album". In the seventies , Rossi said "What To Do" was his most favourite Quo song . In 1986  were "What You´re Proposin ´" and "Marguerita Time" .
What  relationship had the lead singer Graham Bonnet with members from Quo?
Graham Bonnet released some solo albums .
 On the album "Line-Up" , released in 1981 , some members from Quo collaborate .
Here are the songs they were involved
" Night Games" ( Coral Sitar, SH7 Synthesizer - Francis Rossi , Organ & Piano - Andy Bown)
"Anthony Boy" (Guitars - Richard Parfitt & Micky Moody)
"Dirty Hand"  (Words & Music - Bob Young/Micky Moody)
"Out On The Water" ( Backing vocal and Rhythm Guitar - Francis Rossi  , Piano - Andy Bown  , Words & Music - Bob Young/Micky Moody )
"Don't Stand In The Open"  ( Words & Music - Bob Young/Micky Moody)
Rossi co-produced "Night Games" and "Out On The Water".
The rest of the album was produced by John Eden
Graham Bonnet also did a version of  " I´m Giving Up My Worryin´" and was  touring with Alan Lancaster over Australia around the 90´s .
 Which songs were included on the Radio Session Quo did in the 60 / 70 ?
Many bands did a lot of stuff to John Peel who leave the BBC Studios to record . Quo did some as well . Here you read about the Peel Sessions and some Radio 1 dates :
22/1/68 Symonds  "Pictures of Matchstick Men", "Judy in Disguise" (25/1) /  "Spicks and Specks" (23/1) - Francis M .Rossi (lg) Alan Lancaster (b) John Coghlan (d) Roy Lynes (o), Ricky "Harrison" aka Parfitt (rg)  (16/1/68)
              17/2/68  Sat. Club. "Spicks and Specks" , "Judy in Disguise" ,  "Pictures of  Matchstick Men" , "Things Get Better" (13/2/68) Original Line-up, joined by Bob Young (k, R Lynes) in June 1970, went on to do an astonishing 42 live
                    and new session appearances on R1 daytime shows, all before Autumn 1970.
3/3/72 Peel   -   "Mean Girl", "Na na na", "Railroad", "Someone's Learning" (Young out  7/2/72)
7/12/72 Peel  -   "Don't Waste My Time" , "Unspoken Words", "O Baby"
"Paper Plane", "Softer Ride"  (20/11/72)
16/1/73 Peel   -  "Paper Plane", "Don't Waste My Time", "Softer Ride"  (8/1/73)
Last R1 studio date was In Concert , 1/3/73  -   24/3/73.
 Any chance of an anthology type video, with old and rare footage tracing the band's history up to the present day?
 There are a lot of rights problems with the "rare" stuff . There are really good  live shows and Tv appearances around but it happens to many musicians , like , for example ,Jimi Hendrix with his  Royal Albert Hall concert . The only official video that are on the market with the old line-up is the "Rockin´Through The Years" which has "Paper Plane" live from 1972 at the Marquee but with the studio sound from the song . Stafford 76 or Wembley 74  could be interesting shows to be released....Unfortunately , the Apollo 76 concerts captured on the double live album were definitively not recorded on video ,although the cameras were there....
Were Rhino and Jeff into Quo´s music before they joined them?
No , they knew the band and some of their songs , but they weren´t into his music .Pip Williams was the man who introduce the guys to Rick Parfitt to do his solo album .
What are their family situation ?
Rossi is married to Eileen (second marriage) and have eight children . He lives in Surrey , England. Andy Bown lives in South West , London . His wife is Carolyn and they have two children , William and Sophie .Rick has two children , Richard and Harry .
Jeff lives in Sussex Coast and he´s married to Helene . They have two children , Marc and Jodie .Rhino has three young kids with his wife Kathy and lives in the same road to Francis . Alan and Coghlan are married as well.
What think the old members about Quo nowadays?
Alan doesn´t like the last Quo albums and he says Quo on live play too much fast and soft Anyway , Alan has regular contact with Rick . They are still good friends .
What is John Coghlan doing at the moment?
He was playing with his own band "John Coghlan´s Diesel" , but recently he is playing with the Quo cover band , "State Of Quo" .
What is Alan Lancaster doing nowadays and where he lives?
Alan is still playing with his band Lancaster Bombers . They have released a CD Maxi with new versions from "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" and "Roadhouse Blues" .He lives in Rose Bay , Sydney , Australia.
Are they collectors of anything? . Quo bootlegs?
Francis was a collector of match boxes in the 60´s (Nº 6) and keys from the hotels around the world ,Rick usually buys new cars ,John Coghlan has a good collection of real War cars ,which he drives . Rossi doesn´t like to see him on TV at all , so it´s possible he hasn´t got a collection of Quo stuff , at least on video...
Who design the covers of their albums?
In the old days it was always Rick Parfitt ideas . Andy desing the "Perfect Remedy".
Who choose the singles?
Most of them is the Record Company with the band . For the "Quo" album , the band wanted "Bacwater" as a single , but the Company prefered "Break The Rules" .
Who is Mike Paxman?
Mike Paxman is the responsable of the Official Status Quo Home Page on the Net and it´s the new producer of the band . He has been in contact with Rhino and Jeff since years , working with them on several albums from Judie Tzuke , where Paxman is the producer ,played guitars , keyboards, background vocals and composing some of the songs  . Some of the albums Paxman is involved (in some of them with Rhino and Jeff)  are"Shoot The Moon" 1982 , "Over The Moon Live" 1997 ,"The Cat Is Out" 1985 or "Under The Angels" 1996  and "Under The Influence" the Status Quo last album , released in 1999. Remember that the songs "The Way I Am" from Perfect Remedy (1989) and "Everytime I Think Of You" (Ain´t Complaining 1988) were composed by Edwards/Rich/Paxman .He has produced to other bands like"Scarlet" .
Is true that Quo don´t like the mix made in the Wild Side Of Life single?
They did a mix that they like it but when Alan went to Australia to rest , Roger Glover did another one , and even he did some bass playing on it. It was the final mix.
They thought it was  different and they leave it cos it was what they were looking for , something different.
What is the real story about Roll Over Lay Down?
ROLD , according to Alan was composed by Alan and Rick at first and Rossi added the riff later and Bob the lyrics. When they were rehersaling the song everybody wanted to be on the credits cos they had given some ideas
so they put all the names on it . And it is not about sex.
Why the released "Just Supposin and "Never Too Late" so close?
The truth is that both albums were recorded at the same time in the same studio.
They didn´t tour in 1980 so they had more time tio spend working on the studio.
Is true that Alan didn´t want to do Rocking All Over The World?
No , in fact he loved and loves the song.It is a thing that Alan can´t believe, it´s a non sense for him and he didn´t know where this rumours comes from.
What is the "influence" on the "Under The Influence"  song?
Rick says that people thinks it is about drinks and alcohol but he recalls that it is about the sex dreams that Francis had when the song was being doing.
What happened when Quo recorded Marguerita Time
According to Alan , nobody in the group wanted to record the song but he was the only that joined the band to record it.He was very upset when Francis says it was Alan who stop the boys to record it and it was totally false.
How they  get "Eagle Records" to do Under The Influence?
It was in LA , when Quo were touring USA the band had a talk with the boss of the record company and they though it would be a good thing to do something with them. Eagle Records are not managed by young people. There are "old dogs" on it and , according to Parfitt , the know what is good or not. Other bands that have released with Eagle Records are John Mayall and Steve Miller Band.
How many songs have they recorded for Under The Influence?
Twenty songs , 12 for the album and some for B sides as Sea Cruise , originally it will be in the album but at the end they decided  to include "Not Fade Away" ; "Driving To Glory" and "I Knew The Bridge" (a cover ) are included as B sides of Little White Lies and "Fighting With The Pack" is included on a BSO album. The rest have not released yet.
How many old songs have re-recorded in the studio the actual line-up since 86?
They did "Rockin´All Over The World" for the sport aid , changing the lyrics a bit ("Running All Over The World") , "Whatever You Want" and "Don´t Waste My Time" (the first songs recorded for UTI) released as B sides of the 98 german released of In The Army Now maxi to promote the "Whatever You Want - The Best Of" album , "Pictures Of matchstick Men"  for the B side of Litle White Lies and a Medley containing some old and new songs for TVs and included as some B sides of singles from  the 90´s.
Which Quo songs have been recorded by other important groups ?
The most known are a great and new version of "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" done by Ozzy Osbourne and Type O Negative for a BSO , "Rain" by Helloween for a B side , "Rain" by Spider , a band who were Quo fans , recorded in 1982 , "Sorry" by Demis Roussos (1980) and "You Don´t Own Me" by The Pirates among lots of others.