GuilFest 2006. The 3 Day Guildford Music Festival on 14th, 15th and 16th July 2006

Interview:

Artist: Status Quo
By: Colin Parker
The Surrey Advertiser [www.surreyad.co.uk ]
Read their Biography: [Status Quo]
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SINCE the release of their first hit Pictures of Matchstick Men way back in 1967, the aptly named rock combo Status Quo has seen just about every trend in popular music come and go. The band watched the hippies grow into politicians, seen disco die, saw punk's hair turn a funny colour, and witnessed that rather strange phenomenon known as "the Eighties". This is not to mention the Nineties pigeon holes of indie, grunge, college rock, post punk and the knob twiddling dance movement that defies any logic.

Formed after a meeting between frontman Francis Rossi's former band Spectres, and cabaret performer Rick Parfitt at Butlins in Minehead in 1965,the band are now celebrating their 40th anniversary this year with a headlining slot at Guilfest. "At the start I didn't want to picture how long it was going to be," said guitarist and singer-songwriter Rossi, in a voice suggesting he had just risen from hibernation. "Once we got some sort of success you looked to see if you could last another three to five years and then you look around and it's been a long time."

His 40 years in the music industry has not been a sedate affair either, and the band have become as famous for their rock 'n' roll lifestyle as they have for classic hits like Burning Bridges and Rocking All Over the World. Rossi, or "Gomorr" as he is known to friends (the grand old man of rock 'n'roll) plays down the amount of partying he was involved in."I am not a drinker," he declared. "We used to have parties but I was rarely at them. If we were having a party I would nick the alcohol but think 'this is no good'." He said there was no point in going on stage if the sound was poor because the fans didn't deserve that."I don't miss that lifestyle. I kind of regret some of it but you can't change what you have got. You get to the other end and it is who you are. I would rather not have done when I think of the money that was spent. Most people at the moment are getting over the rock 'n' roll lifestyle every Monday. Most people on this side of the business try and do it seven nights a week." He added certain rock stars need to take a reality check sometimes. "Oasis,grow up for goodness sake. You are over 25 and you are still angry young men?"

Despite the almost incalculable amount of music the band has released, it is the live performances and almost ceaseless touring it is known for.In 1988, three years before the Iron Curtain fell down, Rossi and the Quo played 14 shows to more than 300,000 people at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow. "I feel more comfortable on the road, and it is what we are known for. If you have time off touring, we have to get it back as it has to roll like a show. "We have a professional attitude to work and we were taught that was the way to be. If the bus is not going on the dot we want to know why."

The band had just returned from a gig in Munich where it played to a crowd of 30,000, and will perform 115 shows in total across Europe this year. “We have been in the studio for a couple of months and it was a pleasant change, but after a while you can't wait to get back on the road and do something."

So how has the band kept going all this time, while so many others have fallen by the wayside? "I don't think there are any secrets. We basically like each other. "There are days when we give each other space and it's knowing when to give that space. "We do stuff we enjoy doing. Some nights it is blinding and on others you go through the same formula. "At times we came close to jacking it all in, especially in the late Seventies and early Eighties when the coke was going on. We had a year off. "At the time the record company wanted the money or the record, and they weren't going to have the money". Francis Rossi lines up with Status Quo to headline this year's Guilfest at Stoke Park, Guildford, on Sunday July 17.

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Artist: Status Quo
By: Stave Davis
The Advertiser [Basingstoke Observer]
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