Clipping details
(from scrapbook 2, page 37)

Clipping text

PERSONAL FILE
RICK PARFITT (Status Quo)

NAME: Richard John Parfitt

BORN: October 12 1948 in Church Street, Woking. There's a Tescos there now.

FIRST RECORD BOUGHT: "Early To Bed" by The Poni-Tails in 1959. They were three birds with pony-tails and it was quite a boppy, up-tempo thing.

FIRST CONCERT: I think it was Herman's Hermits at the Woking Atlanta Ballroom (known as the 'Atter'). That's knocked down now. I must have been 13 or 14... . 19 years ago. Jesus!

JOBS: I didn't have any really. I went straight from school into a summer season at the Sunshine Holiday Camp on Hayling Island. I was 15 and played silly songs on the guitar, like "Baby Face", that one used to tear the place up! Soon after that I joined the group, though I was a clerk for a while.

FIRST BAND: Status Quo. It'll be my last one as well.

WHAT TV PROGRAMME DO YOU ALWAYS TURN OFF? Coronation Street. I can't stand it. Emmerdale Farm and Little House On The Prairie too. I watch just about everything else.

PETS: At the moment I've got a Samoyd dog - a big ball of fluff from Siberia. He's called Snowy and he's the friendliest dog in the world. I did have a cat for a while, but I found I didn't like 'em, always flexing their claws on your legs when you're watching TV.

FIRST PAIR OF JEANS BOUGHT: I've never bought 'em. At least not in a shop. It takes too long to fade them properly. I usually buy 'em off people or swop things for 'em. I've paid up to £40 or £50 for good pair.

HOW LONG DO YOU KEEP A PAIR? As long as they last. I was really gutted the other day. The arse fell out of my stage jeans which I've been wearing for eight years. They were very slightly flared - that's going back some. I doubt I'll ever be able to replace them. I gave them to Jay of Bucks Fizz because she reckoned she could make patches out of 'em.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET YOUR HAIR CUT? Once every six weeks, roughly. grow it a bit when we re touring so I can get it swash-buckling about on stage.

EVER THOUGHT OF CHANGING YOUR LOOK? No. Next question.

WORST PERIOD OF YOUR CAREER: About 1969. We'd had a couple of hits, then a really dull period until "Down The Dustpipe" came along in 1970. It was terrible. Nobody wanted to book us or hear us. We just rehearsed all the time and found our "shuffle" style, so it was a blessing in disguise really, considering how many hits we've had out of that.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? In Surrey. I've always lived there. Roger Taylor of Queen lives near me, he's a great mate. Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and most of Genesis live round there too. Everyone thinks the countryside is boring. Well they should come down where we live!

WHERE ARE YOU GOING ON HOLIDAY? I've been thinking - this isn't a joke - of Butlins in Bognor. But if the weather's no good I might go to the Canary Isles.

HOBBIES: I collect Porsches. Model ones. I've got about 90. I love real ones too.

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Well, I took my wife to the Royal Command Performance of the ballet the other week and thought I'd do it properly. Got a box beneath the Queen Mother's, hired a Rolls, my wife had spent about eight days getting her hair ready and I had a blue dress suit and a pink bow tie. We arrived there drinking champagne, timing it just right to arrive before the Queen Mother, sent the Rolls off and went inside. I was feeling really overdressed. Then the guy said: "Sorry sir. It's tomorrow."

FAVOURITE CULTURE CLUB RECORD: "The Land Of The Poisoned Church" or whatever it was. I like George. He's ugly but he's good.