Quo and the german TV music channel ´VIVA´:

The german TV music channel ´VIVA´ becomes more and more a Quo friendly channel. First of all Quo were voted into the TOP100 all-time albums in front of the new millenium. Quo´s album "Rockin´ all over the world´ was voted to no. 35 !!!! Winner was Beatles "Stgt. Peppers" album. Runners up Queen´s "A night at the opera".

Out of a sudden, QUO was honoured in the TV channels own series SNAPSHOT. In this series very popular bands have been introduced by the TV channel with very long reports, to be seen in the television´s video text programm. All in all 15 pages full of QUO facts could be seen from 22.4.2000 for 1 week. Below you find the english translation! (copyright VIVA Musik-TV)

STATUS QUO - Rocking through the years

Sometime in the early 60´s in London. A desperate french teacher asked her obstinate pupil what he wants to become. "Rock star!" " Well then you have to travel around the world...." "Yeah!" "Then you´ll have to talk with the people in their language." "No therefore I will have a translator". We don´t know what happens to the french teacher. But the pupil, Mike ´Francis´ Rossi - head of Status Quo, can´t talk french to date.

First the young laddy wanted to get fame by playing the trumpet. Soon he changed to guitars and together with his buddies Alan Lancaster (bg) and John Coghlan (dr) he formed the school band ´The Spectres´, who changed the name to Traffic Jam some time later. Three quarts of the classical line-up of Status Quo, the kings of boogie, are already together, who scored some eternal records in the 70´íes.

The missing piece was found in 1966 with Rick Parfitt, who toured with a female comedy-groups that time. The band changed their name finally into Status Quo, after the manager suggested it to them. After some miss the boys are working in 1967 on a song who did not have much more than a b-side. It was the Rossi composition ´Pictures of Matchstick Men´.

The song became in early 1968 a veritable hit, and at the end of the year another hit followed with ´Ice in the sun´ . The problem of the band: she was just one of the many existing psychedelic touched teen beat bands. Their own profilic wasn´t there. At the late 60´ies the band was almost down on the ground, no one wanted to buy their records or see them live on stage. The band did a radical turn-round: from nown on they wore blue jeans and touring as an rock outfit.

With the ´71 album "Dog of two head" it could be seen, what later was to come with the single "Paper Plane" (1973) and the album "Piledriver": Status Quo has become a serious hardrock act with earning high chart positions. In the same year the even better written album "Hello" was released, which, covered with evergreens like "4500 Times" established the band eventually. With their lazy kind of life they soon become the ´people´s band.

In the mid 70´s Status Quo went from triumph to triumph. The albums "Quo", "On the Level" and "Blue for you" showed the band on the top of their career: real hard boogie rockers, one better than the other, ear-wigs whereever they are. It was not astonishing that their records were sold like sandwiches, especially in Great Britain and Germany. In 1977 another chapter of the Quo history was to rise up. The most successful year.....

With the album "Rockin all over the world" the boogie kings went even into the last corner of the world. The titel track can be sung by every child. It became the hymn of the highly successful world tour and it is the hymn of hugh numbers of sports events. Together with this success the sound was modified a bit: with more keyboard sounds the pop music came to sight; but without letting down their hardrock fans.

After the more retained records "If you can´t stand the heat" and "Whatever you want" Rossi & Co. created in 1980 with "Just supposin´" another block buster and the single "What you´re proposing´" became a mega seller, especially in Germany. 1982 the first original member, John Coghlan retired. Apart from this; the album "1+9+8+2=XX" fullfilled the expectations with success. A special honour for QUO on May 14, the first member of the royals, Prince Charles, rocked together with many others at the N.E.C. in Birmingham - something like this never happened before.

In 1986 both veterans released their comback album "In the army now" alongside with the new members Jeff Rich (dr), John Edwards (bg) and Andy Bown (keys, he joined the band in 1976. The first single "Rollin´ home" was the symbol of the break-up mood. The second single was to date the biggest hit in Germany. It was the title track of the albums. On the follow-up tours - in Germany 2 tours - they were welcomed like kings.

In the late 80´s followed "Ain´t complaining" and "Perfect Remedy" two generally under estimated albums, but beloved albums by the fans, because the first album contended with "Burning Bridges" another mega hymn. After the programmatic titled "Rock til you drop" album the boys did a bit slow down. ´The year 1992 saw the arrival of the second live document after the legendary ´77 "Quo live", on a new studio album nobody wants to hurry up.

In 1994 the boogie veterans came back with "Thirsty Work". For everybody´s listening ssthe band were full with energy, the songs showed a great freshness and to date an unknown kind of improvisations. They are now known as the elder statesmen without missing any of their trademarks. Die Quo gigs are still the biggest parties of the world, and the symphatic air of Rossi & Parfitt is irresistible.

To their 30th anniversary they offered a special bonbon. Together with original musicians they performed rock ´n´roll evergrees in new style on their album "Don´t Stop" E.g. "Fun, Fun, Fun" with the Beach Boys, who was performed live to fanclub members at London´s Brixton Academy. But the record bears a statement too: "We will carry on as long as we can stand on our feet, and as long as we have an audience." assures Rossi.

In Germany once again, the sell out album tour saw laughing and happy party people all over. After excessive live work on the road the now non-youngsters did their contribution for the fans in 1999 with a new album. "Under the Influence" is a big surprise even for the hardcore fan. Fresh, hard and really surprisingly the sound pours out.

Even the new millenium needs immediate boogie rock - Status Quo delivers with "Famous in the Last Century" an album, that again is based on the successfully "Don´t Stop" concept. Half of the songs could easily be tipped as original Quo songs. The end of the line is not to be seen - but with more than 50 hit singles (record) and worldwide more than 110 million sold records deep impressing facts.

They will rock eternally. Well done!!