Clipping details
(from scrapbook 1, page 29)

Clipping text

ROCKER'S SECRET IRISH KID

ROCKER Francis Rossi has been ordered to fork out child support to the Irishwoman he loved - and left in limbo.

Finglas-born Elizabeth Gernon (38) won a grim-fought battle in British High Court last week against the ageing Status Quo frontman.

In a hush-hush ruling last week, Elizabeth was granted £16,000 a year maintenance to support her seven-year-old daughter Bernadette, whose middle name is Francis.

Elizabeth became a Status Quo groupie at the age of 25 while working with the Pat Egan concert promotion company.

She met Rossi while publicising the group's Cork concert in 1978, and again the following year when Status Quo played Dalymount Park in Dublin.

Their child was born in Ireland in August 1984.

Rossi, whose hits with Status Quo include The Wanderer and What You're Proposin', even suggested marriage - but two years later they had split.

Millionaire Rossi has not seen young Bernadette in more than four years, and Elizabeth has lived with her daughter in Canada for the past nine months.

She told how her two-year legal fight to force Rossi into meeting his responsibilities drove her to the brink of financial ruin. "It was a struggle to get what we deserve.

"My friends were very supportive, but I couldn't ask them for money or you don't have friends for very long. But now he is paying more maintenance and I'm quite happy."

The Status Quo superstar already has five children - three from his first marriage, and two from his second.

The band, which has set standards solds for longevity, has sold more than 120 million records. At the height of Quo's success, Rossi had a cocaine habit and a string of adoring female fans.

A spokesman for Status Quo said: "Francis has no comment to make."

Image caption: BATTLE: Rossi forced to pay £16,000 a year