Francis Rossi: On the road again for Songbook dates in Harrogate, Hull and Scarborough

Francis Rossi is back where he belongs, on the road. He tells John Blow about life in Status Quo and still having the drive to rock and roll at 77.

An interview with the unpredictable Francis Rossi is never likely to follow a serene Q&A format and, so it is, immediately after that cheeky face pops up on a video call, the discussion is all about hairlines.

The Status Quo legend is pointing to the front of his own with some dismay – the trademark ponytail at the back got lopped years ago – and, now 77, the ageing process forms much of the conversation. When he’s not upbraiding his poor dog, Nancy, for her wicked odour, that is.

“When I was young, I was kicking and screaming, I was not going to be that way - I was not going to be grumpy like my grandfather, my paternal grandfather. He was always very away from the family, or very insular. And I realise I'm more and more like him, the older I get.”

Ageing was also a theme of his last interview with TYP in April 2024 but Rossi, who is speaking from his home in Purley, south of London, seems to have a good store of energy. He is, after all, a father-of-eight.

In autumn he will set off on his latest tour, ‘Songbook: Quo – Past, Present, Future’. Joined by guitarist Andy Brook, fans can expect them to perform Quo classics, some ‘deep cuts’ and a new medley, while Rossi provides commentary about his long career – and anything else that he feels like saying. It comes after he released his latest solo album, The Accidental, earlier this year.

“I do very much enjoy it and I don't know why,” he says. “If you told me I'd be doing this even 20 years ago, I’d say ‘Don’t be be stupid. I won't be doing that. I'll be in the band or whatever else’. The band still exists but to go and start in little theatres of 150 people, to get to 200, 300, and now they're pushing 1,200 to 1,400, I'm thinking, wow, can I sell that? So there is that in me, that drive to...’yeah, we can do better’.”

While there are obviously planned parts, he tends to react to the crowd on the night and likes to go with the flow.

“I'm relying on something to happen when I walk out the first night in Wimborne – something needs to happen because I don't know what I'm going to do other than the songs!”

Even while in promotional mode, Rossi doesn’t worry too much about promotion. He doesn’t need to – Quo fans, as they always have, will follow him wherever he goes.

“It is that Marmite thing about myself and Status Quo. If you don't like us, they really don't like us. If they do, then equally it's the other end - wow, they are so taken. I'm very lucky to be this age and still doing it, and still wanting to do more.”

He says it is “frustrating in some ways”. How so? “Well, part of me or something in me wants to say, ‘Oh just leave it, grow up’.”

Status Quo had their first hit single in 1968 with the psychedelic Pictures of Matchstick Men but came into their own in the 1970s with the no-nonsense blues-rock of anthems such as Down Down and Caroline.

In July 1984, Quo performed a huge show at the Milton Keynes Bowl in what was supposed to be the end to their touring days. However, by Christmas, Rossi and his late bandmate Rick Parfitt were back together for the Band Aid single.

Not long after, they were in the studio with a fresh line-up – following the departure of drummer John Coghlan and bassist Alan Lancaster – featuring John ‘Rhino’ Edwards and keyboardist Andrew Bown, who remain in the group.

Status Quo have continued touring since the 80s non-retirement – they even made the 2013 film Bula Quo! - but Parfitt died on Christmas Eve in 2016 after an infection following a shoulder injury, leaving Rossi without his long-time musical partner.

Their place in rock history should not be underestimated. On July 13, 1985, they opened one of the biggest concerts of all time, Live Aid, with their famous cover of John Fogerty’s Rockin’ All Over the World. More than a billion people around the world watched the broadcast.

And there’s always an anniversary of some kind happening when you’ve been in this business this long. It is 40 years since the Quo supported Queen on their Magic tour, including the last date at Knebworth on August 9, 1986 – Freddie Mercury’s final show with the band before his death in 1991. For Rossi and his bandmates, it was only one of three gigs in as many countries within 24 hours.

“That was our comeback tour and I thought, what do you mean, I haven't been anywhere?! But it was a good tour because we knew (Queen) well. I think various people in management thought it was pretty much all over – ‘we'll milk the thing’, you know. We went to Denmark to play the festival, then came we back somewhere on a bus. Then flew in the morning, nine o’clock, to go to Knebworth. This particular bus, the exhaust was gone. It was coming up into the bunks, so we didn't get much sleep. We were in the middle of the Knebworth gig, so we had to go on fairly early. Jeff Rich (the drummer) was really ill. ‘Prop him up!’. Then we flew out on a private to somewhere in Switzerland. I forget how much money was turned over that day, it was ridiculous.”

He notes how, unlike Queen’s other surviving members, bassist John Deacon quit music in the 1990s. “Part of me is envious that he went ‘I don’t want to do that anymore’. I still do, so perhaps he’s more secure in himself than I am.”

However, he adds: “There have been so many times in my career and the band's career that you can see people saying, ‘It's done now, it won’t last much longer’. One manager said it to Rick, ‘Oh, you and him have got a couple more years, it’s all finished then’.

"I've always been aware that people believe it's a sinking ship. One day they might be right, but not yet.”

Francis Rossi’s ‘Songbook: Quo – Past, Present, Future’ is at Harrogate Royal Hall on Sunday, October 4; Hull City Hall on Thursday, October 8; and Scarborough Spa Grand Hall on Thursday, October 15. Tickets: www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/francis-rossi