Status Quo (band)

For other uses, see Status Quo (disambiguation).

Status Quo
Status Quo performing in 2017 From left: Leon Cave (on drums), Richie Malone, Francis Rossi, John Edwards, Andy Bown
Status Quo performing in 2017
From left: Leon Cave (on drums), Richie Malone, Francis Rossi, John Edwards, Andy Bown
Background information
Also known asThe Paladins (1962–1963)
The Spectres (1963–1967)
Traffic Jam (1967)
The Status Quo (1967–1969)
OriginLondon, England
Genres
DiscographyStatus Quo discography
Years active1962–1984
1985–present
Labels
Members
Past membersSee: Personnel
Websitestatusquo.co.uk

Status Quo are a British rock band. The group originated in London and was founded in 1962 by Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster while they were still schoolboys.[1][2] After a number of name and lineup changes, which included the introduction of John Coghlan in 1963 and Rick Parfitt in 1967, the band became The Status Quo in 1967 and Status Quo in 1969. As of 2022, the group have been active for 60 consecutive years (despite announcing a breakup in 1984, they played Live Aid the following year and resumed normal activities in 1986).[3]

They have had over 60 chart hits in the UK – more than any other band[4] – including "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (their first charting song), "Caroline" (their first top 5 hit), and "Down Down" (their only No. 1 hit). Twenty-two of these reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, and fifty-seven reached the Top 40.[5] They have released over 100 singles and 33 studio albums, most of which were bestsellers. Since reaching number 5 on the UK albums chart in 1972 with Piledriver, Status Quo have placed 29 consecutive studio albums on the UK charts, including 20 in the top ten studio albums, extending all the way up to their most recent release, Backbone, in 2019. In 2012, they were announced as the tenth best-selling group of all time on the UK Singles Chart with 7.2 million singles sales in their homeland alone.[6] As of 2015, they were one of only 50 artists to have achieved more than 500 total weeks on the UK Albums Chart.[7]

In July 1985 the band opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium with "Rockin' All Over the World".[8] In 1991, Status Quo received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[9] In 2014, preparing to headline that year's Download Festival, Status Quo won the Service to Rock award at the Kerrang! Awards.[10] Status Quo appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops more than any other band.[11] Their success and longevity as well, in part, as their connections to the British Royal Family, including philanthropic work with the Prince's Trust, have seen them frequently described as a "national institution" by the media.[12][13][14] The band claim to have sold 118 million records worldwide.[15]

  1. ^ Young, Bob (2000). Status Quo: Just Doin' It! (1st ed.). London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 27. ISBN 1-84403-562-X.
  2. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 927–929. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  3. ^ "Status Quo legend John Coghlan to hang up his drumsticks after 60 years". Planetradio.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Status Quo hold UK singles record". BBC News. 19 September 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Whatever You Want". Official Charts. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  6. ^ "The Official Top 20 biggest selling groups of all time revealed!". Official Charts.
  7. ^ "Status Quo land 500th week on Official Albums Chart". Official Charts.
  8. ^ "Aaaaaay-o! Aaaaaay-o! Why Live Aid was the greatest show of all". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  9. ^ "1991 – Outstanding Contribution to Music Award – Status Quo" Archived 8 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2012
  10. ^ "The 2014 Quo Annual – June 2014".
  11. ^ "Status Quo: Top of Top of the Pops". BBC News. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Quiz: They'll be rocking all over Llangollen – but are you in the know about the Quo?". Walesonline.co.uk. 26 June 2014.
  13. ^ "Status Quo turned Knockhill into a forest of air guitars after Dunkeld pit-stop". Thecourier.co.uk. 23 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Status Quo rock the forest". Eadt.co.uk. 9 June 2008.
  15. ^ "Rockhal Announces Status Quo Show on 21 July". RTL. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.