"ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE YEARS"
- The Spectres/Traffic Jam/The Status Quo in the year 1967

please click on the pictures to see them big.
 Traffic Jam Single 'We ain't nothing yet' - Australia Traffic Jam Single 'We aint nothing yet' - Argentina Traffic Jam Single 'We aint nothing yet' - UK-promo The Spectres Single 'Almost but not quite there' - Australia The Spectres Single 'Almost but not quite there' - UK The Spectres Single 'Almost but not quite there' - UK promo

concerts, publications, charts, infos

It's not known how many concerts were played in 1967.
Pictures: Single-Label "Almost but not quite there" (3x - Australia, UK and UK-Promo) and "We ain't nothing yet)" (3x - Argentina, Australa, UK-Promo) (by kind permission Günter Röder)

Chronological:

  • February: the 3rd Spectres-single is released. "(We ain't got) nothing yet", a song with whom the US-Band "Blue Magoos" had a hit in America in 1965. Lead-Vocals: Alan Lancaster and Francis Rossi. B-Side is the self-penned song "I want it". Lead-Vocals: Alan Lancaster. Again this single had no success and didn't chart, After 3 single flops The Spectres on a cross-road.
    Meanwhile The Spectres toured as support band of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders (a band from Liverpool), the Dixie Cups (they had a big hit with "Chapel of Love") and P.J.Brody.
  • March: after three unsuccesful single releases the record company was getting impatient and expected now some success from the band. Therefore manager Pat Barlow came up with the idea to change their band name. The band agreed and named themselves now Traffic. But this name was already opted from Steve Windwood, who formed a new band after leaving the Spencer Davies Group. It came to frictions because of the same name and soon they changed the band name into Traffic Jam.
  • April: The Move released the song "I can hear the grass grow". This song was covered by Status Quo some 29 years later. (Album: "Don't Stop")
  • May: the own composition "Almost but not quite there" was to be the first single of Traffic Jam. A song written by Francis Rossi; the lyrics were bought from Pat Barlow, so he was credited as songwriter on the label.
  • 16th June: the single "Almost but not quite there" is released. Lead-Vocals: Francis Rossi. Roy Lynes song "Wait just a minute" was chosen for the b-side. Lead-Vocals: Roy Lynes.
  • 20th June: the band recorded songs at London's Playhouse Theatre, which are soon to be broadcasted on BBC.
  • 24th June: the only BBC radio-session of Traffic Jam was broadcasted in the show "Saturday Club" including the songs "I don't want you" - "Almost but not quite there" - "Spicks and Specks" - "It takes two". Producer: Bill Blebb. This BBC-Session is also on the Bootleg-CD "Almost but not quite".
  • End of June: the BBC decided to ban the song "Almost but not quite there" because it was too suggestive. Its about sexual innuendos.
  • early July: Richard Parfitt, who settled down in London after his engagement with The Highlights, was asked by Pat Barlow to join the band, because they wanted to have another vocalist in the band. Richard Parfitt agreed and soon became a member of Traffic Jam.
  • July: after the BBC ban of the single and because of the frictions with Steve Winwood, the band thought about changing the name again. "The Muhammed Ali's" was a choice and one day Pat Barlow came up with "Quo vadis" which he saw inside a shoe.
  • August: The band eventually christened themselves "The Status Quo", which immediately was announced to the public.
  • November/December: the next single was a decisive single - a kind of "make it or leave it". Francis Rossi was inspired from Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe" and the new single should be something like that. So the recording of the song "Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe" started, which is an original song of Kenny Young. The song "Pictures of Matchstick Men" a self-penned from Francis Rossi was planned as B-side. But soon it was obvious that this psychedelic song fitted much better as A-side. He was likely to the new trend of the music scene, who tended to be psychedelic. Not to forget: The Status Quo spend the end of the year on the road as support band of Madeleine Bell.
  • Since the middle of 1967 Joe Bunce, a tapestry man and friend of Pat Barlow, became co-manager and more important a financial backer of the band.

    Discography 1967:

  • (We ain't got) nothing yet (Gilbert, Scala, Esposito) / I want it (Lynes, Coghlan, Rossi, Lancaster) Cat.No.: 7N35368
  • Almost but not quite there (Barlow Rossi) / Wait just a minute (Lynes) Cat.No.: 7N35386

    miscellaneous:
    1. outstanding album of the year: "St.Peppers Lonely Heartclub Band" from the Beatles. An album who set new standards, a milestone of modern pop/rockmusic. For many the best album of all time. In England this album was 22 weeks (!) the No.1 in the british UK-Album-Charts.
    2. with the psychedelic song "Strawberry Fields" the Beatles started a new musical direction. It all tended to be psychedelic.
    3. the hits of the year 1967 in England were:
    Singles: 1. Release me (Engelbert Humperdinck) 2. Last waltz (Engelbert Humperdinck) 3. Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum)
    Albums: 1. St.Peppers Lonely Heartclub Band (Beatles) 2. The Sound of music (Soundtrack) 3. The Monkees (Monkees)
    4. Football: Manchester United won the english championship. Celtic Glasgow were champions in Scotland.
    5. the year of the films: "The Graduate" - "2001-Space Odysee" - "Planet of the Apes" - "Bonnie & Clyde" - "Guess who's coming for dinner" and a new James Bond film "007-you only live twice" not to forget the Beatles film "Magical Mystery Tour".