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Perhaps you'd like to see another picture of Status Quo playing badminton in underpants? This time: Alan Lancaster

Maybe you'd rather see them Getting In To Some Boogie?

WITH THE new Quo album nestling comfortably in the Number One position, it looks like Britain's top boogie band have finally received their reward for almost a decade of bloody hard work.

Maybe it's just as well they chucked away their success when 'Pictures Of Matchstick Men' was riding high in the charts. The band moved from dated psychedelic bubblegum meanderings to high energy rock and roll which has outlived any other music's life span.

Offstage Quo's drummer John 'Spud' Coghlan keeps himself hidden from the showbiz limelight; onstage he transforms himself into a powerful vehicle for Quo's music. I spoke to the man up at the band's office.

Quo have recently completed a tour of Germany "We're three quarters the way in breaking Germany", he reported happily. "The audiences are a bit more relaxed over there, in as much as they don't get off their feet as much as they do over here."

The band seems to be breaking at different speeds in different countries. They've already conquered Australia and Switzerland, and America seems to be succumbing to the power of the twelve bar. The band have, of course, been at the lowest of lows and the highest of highs in this country, and I asked Coghlan if it bothered him starting from scratch again in different countries.

"No, not at all, it's exciting for us. I mean it can get a drag playing some of the small clubs in America. I remember one place where the dressing room was only four foot wide. We had to go in and change two at a time!"

The band have recently signed up with Capitol in America and hope to be touring the States in April under the guidance of Joe Walsh's management.

The band's new album, I feel, is their best offering since 'Piledriver'. It's the band's most commercial album - well, commercial to the extent that there are many prospective singles waiting for release." Yeh. it's got more of a clear sound. We try to improve soundwise with each album."

On thing that put band in the pages of the Press recently was the crowd vandalism: "Yeh we've got barred from a few places because the seats get smashed. The energy builds up and the kids get on the seats and then when a number like 'Don't Waste My Time' comes on where we're rocking our balls off, the kids stamp their feet, but they don't realise how hard they're doing it and the seats get smashed.

"I remember a gig we did in Switzerland. Colin, our manager, told the hall manager to take the first twenty rows out. The guy said that it didn't matter, they'd had the Who, Zeppelin, and the Stones there and nothing was damaged. At the end of the concert all of the seats were smashed and the guy was livid."

Then of course. there's the journalistic slamming the band always seem to receive. "Oh, you mean the three chord bit?" asked John. "That doesn't worry us at all. Because one person says 'oh they're doing the three chord business again,' they don't really know. It doesn't matter what a guy says because it's not going to break out hearts, you can't knock success. The band can do a lot if we put ourselves to it. We're a boogie band, we can't all of a sudden do something like the Floyd. Our job is to get them going and kick them up the arse."

Quo do that in no uncertain terms, which makes slagging pointless, because they are providing a service to their fans. It's one helluva show - what more could you ask for?

When I spoke to Ritchie Parfitt, he spoke of his private recording ambitions outside the band. I asked John if he had any solo ambitions. "Oh definitely yeah, there was a thing I was going to do in February but we had no time because of working pressures. But I wanted to get this band together just for a blow at the Marquee which would feature me, Bob Young (Harmonica), Jackie Lynton (vocals), Andy Pyle (bass) and perhaps Mickey Mooney from Snafu and rnaybe one or two other people. Me and Rick have jammed with Jackie a few times and it was incredible. I want to do some other things as well, I love playing congas and I never get a chance to do that. I'd love to get up on stage and jam with about thirty people.

"Me, Rick and Bob got on stage in Zurich and joined this night club band who were pretty good. Bob was so out of it that he ended singing 'Bye Bye Johnny' - I don't think he knew the words. Mind you they used to try to get me to sing, there's a few notes that come out of my throat."

Off the road John himself enveloped in other things outside of the music world: like flying. "I'm really getting into that", he reported enthusiastically. "we flew to Amsterdam last week, it was unbelievable.

"When I'm at home I don't listen to that much music because I'm surrounded by it when I'm on the road. I go to gigs once in a while. I saw the Pretty Things, I really like them. I also like Zeppelin."

In fact one of Coghlan's drum favourites is 'Bonzo' Bonham. "He's definitelv one of my guv'nor drummers", said John with some reverence. "The way he plays is the way I'd like to play."

"I like raw bands. I also like things like Queen. I heard 'Killer Queen' on the radio and it sent me all cold. I really like good vocals. I like harmony and I also like the opposite."

Coghlan wasn't in fact the original Quo drummer. "I met Francis who had this band going and they used to rent a garage where they rehearsed. They had a drummer who was okay. I had a blow with them and everything went great and I joined."

Finally I asked John if he ever felt frustrated back in the shadows, did he ever have the urge to step into the limelight. "Nah not really, because I get enough as it is. If I wanted to put myself out in the front I could do it."

John Coghlan image caption: But best of all, the face of a man who's just been told Pete Makowski is coming to do an interview...