Francis Rossi Interview - ITV-Teletext

ITV teletext page 142 Veteran rocker Francis Rossi is on the road again with Status Quo, this time playing a series of gigs in British forests.
Famed for using cocaine during his wild years, Rossi, 54, says he is now teetotal and finished with hard drugs.

Rossi says: "It suits me. I used to smoke dope all the time but I stopped that earlier this year. I have the occasional joint but I go to the gym a lot and work out."

Page 2: Famous for his rock'n'roll lifestyle ¯ which saw him lose part of his nose to cocaine abuse ¯ Francis Rossi has found more conventional means of amusement.
He says: "I do the crosswords in The Times and Guardian every day. If we're on tour, I get them faxed over. I don't do the cryptic ones. I don't like following someone else's thoughts.
"I like learning about the English language. It keeps the brain awake. I don't want to fall asleep."

Page 3: Francis Rossi says Status Quo's current tour of British forests are not the most unusual concerts they have done.
He says: "We've played a quarry in Germany and on the backs of trucks. We played in a sandstorm in Malta and we've played in snowstorms before.
"Today's acts never get a chance to do that. As soon as they appear they are thrown into arena gigs and never get a chance to learn their trade. Pop is all done to a formula today."

Page 4: Status Quo have sold 112m records and spent 22 of the last 35 years on tour. Founder-singer Francis Rossi says they survived by being committed to music.
He says: "When we started out, we just wanted to avoid being one-hit wonders. Rick Parfitt and myself don't throw strops. We carry on because we want to.
"Oasis got big quickly and they started to believe all the hype written about themselves. If you believe you're the greatest, it leads to trouble."

Page 5: Status Quo's Francis Rossi says he does not worry about being called too old for rock'n'roll.
He says: "I remember when I was 25, some kid came up to me in the Marquee Club and called me a boring old fart. I'd like to know what he's doing now.
"Bands like us sell out tours but the singles chart is nothing like it used to be. Our last single made the charts but sold less in its entire run than we used to sell in a day in the 1970s."

Page 6: Status Quo were the first outsiders to enter a Big Brother house during a contest when they played for housemates in the Norwegian show in 2001.
Francis Rossi says: "We said no at first as none of us likes Big Brother. Then they said our album was at number three in Norway and might go to number one if we played."
So we said: 'What time do you want us there?' We like to push on and keep making new achievements."

Page 7: Status Quo's Francis Rossi says he likes many of today's British guitar bands such as Travis and Coldplay.
He says: "I liked Radiohead but they've disappeared up their own derrieres on the last three albums.
"My other favourites are the Queens Of The Stone Age. They remind me of things we were doing in the '60s and '70s. They throw little things into the arrangements regardless of whether it's cool or not."

Page 8: Francis Rossi of Status Quo enjoys a quieter life than on his early tours and is kept busy by his eight children by three different women.
He says: "I'm taking two of my younger sons to the cinema to see X-Men 2. I've not been for about 15 years. I'm only going for the hot dogs. I love the hot dogs they do."