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(from scrapbook 2, page 12)

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Friday: Rock Around the Dock

Status symbols
by Colin Booth

A hot summer's night in July 1986, and 30,000 pop fans are packed into the Manchester City football ground to hear Status Quo, still a big name draw after 20 years on the road...

ALL THE YEARS of success don't appear to have changed Francis Rossi. His distinctive South London accent and quick-fire sense of humour have remained intact over the 20 years he has spent on the road as part of the rock group Status Quo. You can see how well he has stood the test of time in ITV's Rock Around the Dock - a celebration of all that's best in pop music, including Spandau Ballet, UB40, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Dee C Lee and Style Council.

...Thousands of denim-clad fans who lined the stadium had been sitting patiently on the terraces soaking up the early evening sunshine. There was a sudden hush of anticipation, then a roar of appreciation as their heroes leapt on the stage...

At the grand old age of 37, Rossi, lead singer and founder member, still wears his stage uniform of denim jeans, collarless shirt and waistcoat. Off-duty, his unpretentious manner belies his wealth and superstar status. With a British tour planned for the autumn, Rossi admits his capacity for life on the road has changed.

'I feel younger and on stage, I feel livelier, but I get tired 'cos my legs go with all that jumping around. I can't go through the night like I used to in my early 20s.

'Last night, when we played at Manchester, I was a bit tired - it sounds ridiculous - because I didn't get my afternoon nap. I was in bed late the night before, then I took the kids to school, and drove to Manchester. For the first five minutes I was on, my legs felt terrible...'

After 20 years, Status Quo have become one of the institutions of rock 'n' roll. Rossi tells a nice story of a young fan who came up to him at a recent concert. 'He said, "I got all your albums, but there's two I couldn't get so I had to nick 'em off me dad."'

Born to an Irish mother and Italian father, Rossi formed his first band, called The Spectres, in 1962 at his local comprehensive school in Beckenham, Kent. It took several changes of line-up and name before Status Quo emerged and hit the road to fame and fortune with Pictures of Matchstick Men in 1968. Two years later, shedding their frilly shirts and pop star profile, the group adopted the denim and T-shirt look and the raunchier style.

'The members of Status Quo never kid themselves that they are virtuosos,' says Rossi, 'but we entertain people. We're not out there to educate people musically. We just want to have some fun.'

The band went through a difficult period recently. Original drummer John Coghlan left under a cloud in 1982, and Rossi's old school chum, Alan Lancaster, followed in 1984 after what was described as a case of 'personal differences'.

... 'Y' all right?' yelled Francis Rossi. 'Yeah,' yelled the fans.'Can't hear ya.' 'YEAH...' With a crash of guitars, the concent began...

'If you have four or five guys who've been together that long, you end up with four or five prima donnas, and you get personality clashes,' concludes Rossi. He and guitarist Rick Parfitt began working on solo projects.

Fortunately for their many fans, it wasn't to last. We just got generally browned off, so we had a natter and thought, "Well, we are Status Quo, what are we doing just sitting around?"' And so bass guitarist john Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich were recruited alongside keyboard player Andy Bown, and Status Quo Mark II began.

...As they reeled off hits, the fans liked it more and more. When they broke into their Live Aid opener 'Rockin' All Over The World, the place shook as if struck by an earthquake. Old rock stars never die... they don't even fade away!

The formula for a successful band, Rossi now believes, rests with the stars - astrology-type stars. 'To make up a decent band, you usually have different star signs - you get a clash, but that's what makes it work. I never used to believe in it but then somebody pointed out to me that Christ's 12 apostles each had a different star sign. Whether that was luck or judgement I don't know, but if you buy a book today on astrology, the overall make up of a particular star sign marries up beautifully with the way these people were.'

Over the years, the tabloid press has had a field day reporting the 'sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll' lifestyle of Status Quo. However, Rossi's much more of a family man than you might think. He was married at 17 and has three sons, aged 19, 14 and seven, by ex-wife, Jean. He also has a daughter by a more recent love.

At present he is very happy with his latest girlfriend, a beautiful Indian ex-model known simply as Page. Marriage, however, is not on the cards. 'I once said I'd never get married again,' he says. 'I'm going to stop saying "never" and "always"... We'll wait a few years... Who knows, we might hate each other's guts in six months.' He laughs and, in typical Gemini fashion, leaves you unsure if he's joking.

Image caption (left): Above: the 1968 line-up of Status Quo consisted of (left to right) Rick Parfitt, Francis Rossi, John Coghlan, Alan Lancaster and Roy Lynes. Right: 18 years on and Quo's going strong - with Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, who can be seen in ITV's 'Rock Around the Dock' on Friday, Left: the 'Quo' album, a No 1 LP in 1974.

Image caption (right): Above: long-standing rock group Status Quo, with Francis Rossi (right) and newcomer Jeff Rich on drums, rock 'em in the aisles at a concert in Manchester in July this year. Left: first on stage at the Live Aid concert in July 1985, Rossi (left) and John Edwards performed some of the group's biggest hits, and got the event off to a barnstorming start.