An interview with Francis about his love for dogs appeared in The Sunday Times (in the "Home" section) on 11th January.
Revisit the January 2026 event list
Francis was interviewed on the Irish radio station WLR FM and the full podcast can be heard here.
Revisit the January 2026 event list
The new album by Francis, "The Accidental", was released on 30th January.
The release was made available in multiple formats: black vinyl LP, limited edition crystal clear vinyl LP, CD and streaming & digital download.
Limited editions of the album, exclusive T-shirt and signed picture were made available in limited quantities on the official album web shop.
Francis's press comment about the release follows.
"For anyone who liked any of my solo albums previously... well, I've no idea what you'll make of this one because it's a real departure, but I love it. It's loud, the guitars are right to the fore, and there are some great songs there".
Francis did some in-person promo events during the days leading up to the release, in both Paris and Hamburg.
Revisit the January 2026 event list
Francis appeared as a guest on James Martin's Saturday Morning cooking show on 31st January.
He was interviewed by James while he was cooking beef teriyaki. He started the interview by talking about his childhood exposure to music and inspiration coming from the Everly Brothers. The familiar story of how we wrote "Pictures of Matchstick Men" came up but Francis also spoke of "the joy of selling records". How "The Accidental" came about and the process of making it followed, with Francis saying he "found it exhilarating". The inevitable topic of "Live Aid" came up next before James surprised Francis with his knowledge of Quo's record number of appearances on "Top Of The Pops".
Francis returned for the final section of the show, observing James making a fish dish. Francis described himself as a "waste of space" in the kitchen. He mentioned the new album again, saying he enjoyed having "free reign to do whatever I wanted to do". He talked of Quo as "my other day job" - while pulling a face!
Revisit the January 2026 event list
Francis was interviewed by Fin Brown on Suffolk Sound Radio on 31st January. (He was previously interviewed by Fin on 16th August 2025.)
The interview started by discussing Live Aid and Francis said his best moment of the gig was "finishing"! When asked for his advice to people trying to break into showbiz, he simply said "leave it", becuase it's a struggle and always has been.
In response to a question about what his legacy feels like, he surprisingly said "I like it, it's nice" and he reiterated that he'd be happy if the Taunton 2024 gig ends up being Quo's final gig. There was no surprise to his answer about who he would have liked to collaborate with (Jeff Lynne) and he spoke fondly of his talk tours, saying "I enjoy these tours" and noting that the theatres are "a joy" thanks to their intimacy.
The full interview can be seen on YouTube.
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