Rock legends Status Quo trace their origins to the early 1960s, when frontman Francis Rossi and original bass player Alan Lancaster started a pop group while still at school. The band has enjoyed an extraordinarily suucesful career, selling well over 118 million records worldwide.
Yet, Francis harbours a constant fear of his music career coming to a sudden end. Francis, who will celebrate his 76th birthday on May 29, remains active on the touring scene.
Refusing to slow down, Francis shared his financial fears with The Guardian: “The thing that worries me constantly is: will I have enough money if I stop now and there’s no more income? I’m scared s***less of that.”
After going through various transformations and member changes, the band solidified as Status Quo with the addition of lead guitarist Rick Parfitt in 1967.
Their breakthrough came with the Top 10 hit “Pictures of Matchstick Men” in early 1968, marking the start of a dynamic duo between Francis and Rick that lasted until Rick’s death on Christmas Eve, 2016, at the age of 68.
Rick’s later years were marred by health issues, with doctors warning him that after his 1997 heart attack, which was quite possibly precipitated by years of reckless substance abuse, he could have died at any moment.
In a candid 2014 interview with the Daily Telegraph, Rick reflected on his excessive lifestyle: “Throughout the Eighties, [I was spending] about a grand a week,” he said. “But that was just the cocaine.”
Rick further explained the extent of his issues, saying: “You would consume a humungous amount of vodka also because the two went together very well,” adding, “vodka and tonic and a line of cocaine.”
Rick’s wild days saw him consuming two or three bottles of vodka daily, racking up a weekly bill of around £500. He admitted: “I drank two or three bottles of vodka a day, which probably cost another £500 a week. I enjoyed every moment but I’m pleased I’ve come out of the other side.”
Behind Rick’s party-hard image lay a man battling inner turmoil, feeling overshadowed by Francis throughout their time in Quo.
“He was my greatest friend,” Francis said, “but someone got to him. Somebody knew it was a weakness with him. And as we got older it got worse and worse.
Francis reminisced about their close bond, saying, “I always saw it as the two of us, because we made a great pair – and I think we were a bit unfair on the rest of them.
“We would sit in the car and hold hands and dress the same just to wind people up, and I think certain people decided to get between the two of us.”
Despite being deeply affected by Rick’s passing, Francis confesses that expressing his feelings doesn’t come easily to him.
He revealed a particularly stark reaction to loss, recounting how he prodded his mother’s body to ensure she had died, and how he was eager to return to normalcy after his father’s death.
Francis shared his internal conflict: “I said, ‘Is the car coming to pick me up?’ And it makes me feel like I’m cold. But if I’m in a situation and I’m told what I’m supposed to do, I can’t do it.”
He struggles with societal expectations surrounding grief, admitting, “I’m supposed to grieve, I’m supposed to say certain things. And I will be thinking, ‘I shouldn’t say that, that’s not appropriate.”