![\"Francis](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk\/incoming\/article33090371.ece\/ALTERNATES\/n615\/0_16073212.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBut when\u00a0Status Quo\u00a0rolls into Taunton, Somerset, over August bank holiday weekend,\u00a0Francis Rossi\u00a0expects the show there to be their last. \u201cI don\u2019t think we will go again,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd as far as the rest of the band are concerned it\u2019s the last tour too. I just can\u2019t see us doing it one more time.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a band who have been rocking out since 1962 and are one of the most prolific live acts in British history, it\u2019s quite the admission. But speaking to the\u00a0Mirror\u00a0in his dressing room before a show earlier this month in Wolverhampton, Francis is quietly at peace with the decision.<\/p>\n
And insists there will be no fanfare, and more importantly no fuss, when the day finally comes. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to put this current tour out, saying it\u2019s the last one ever,\u201d he says. \u201cI did it once and was then coerced into coming back, but that\u2019s another whole other f****** story.\u201d<\/p>\n
That story was 1984\u2019s End of an Era tour, billed as the last set of gigs from the band before they split up the first time. \u201cWe did really split and then one of the managers came to me with a lie at the time that Rick [Parfitt] was in trouble with money again, which was often the case with Rick, so I said, \u2018okay, we\u2019ll do one more album – In the Army,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows they might offer a huge amount of money to do the Quo again but I don\u2019t think so. I am hesitant to call it the last ever but I just can\u2019t see it continuing to be honest.\u201d Part of the reason he says is the gruelling nature of the Quo tours which often criss-cross the breadth of Europe for months on end.<\/p>\n
Despite looking lean and in great shape for 75, Francis says it\u2019s getting harder to keep up. \u201cIt\u2019s f****** hurting this time, physically,\u201d he admits. \u201cWe were at rehearsals before this tour and it occurred to me that we started 50 f****** years ago. Thinking about it brought it home my age.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as you can say it\u2019s just a number and you can\u2019t really feel it, you definitely can and you are lying if you don\u2019t. I\u2019ve had prostate problems for a while, and macular degeneration…all old people things.\u201d While the end of Quo might be nigh, it\u2019s not the end of Francis. Next year has been set aside for a smaller, more intimate 34-date solo tour which will see him playing his signature hits, as well as regalling the audience with showbiz tales<\/p>\n
After more than a hour in his engrossing company, I can testify that fans are in for a treat. Quick-witted and sharp as a tool, Francis really does like to talk…and some. And chatting to him, you can\u2019t help feel he is more comfortable doing next year\u2019s solo tour on his own terms than being part of the Quo machine. In fact he says he\u2019s been trying to extricate himself for years but without much success.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the day, I didn\u2019t want to carry on with the band…even with Rick alive. I didn\u2019t want to be there,\u201d he says. “And then when Rick died it got even worse. People were really offensive to Andrew and John because they wanted the original line-up.\u201d That consisted of Francis, Rick, drummer John Coghlan, and bassist Alan Lancaster. Rick died from\u00a0sepsis\u00a0aged 68, in 2016, while Alan died in 2021, aged 72.<\/p>\n
Quo now consists of Rossi, Andrew Bown (keyboards, guitar), John \u201cRhino\u201d Edwards (bass), Leon Cave (drums), and Richie Malone (guitar). \u201cI can\u2019t give the old, hardcore fans what they want, which is the original line-up,\u201d he says .\u201d I keep trying to ignore those people but it\u2019s hard.\u201d It\u2019s clear that he wrestles with wanting to move on from Quo while at the same time acknowledging his history with the band.<\/p>\n
Take the new tour, which is billed as an evening of his songs \u201cfrom the Status Quo Songbook\u201d. \u201cThe promoter AEG wants to reference Quo and part of me feels that\u2019s cheating and wants to shake it,\u201d he says. But there is no doubt he is galvanised by the prospect of the solo dates.<\/p>\n
Not least as you get the impression that as much as he enjoys the downtime at home in Purley with wife Eileen when not on tour, he isn\u2019t ready for that life yet. \u201cI enjoy the Guardian and Times crosswords, and my jigsaws, and putting on a\u00a0fire in the orangerie,\u201d he says. \u201cBut If I stop altogether , will I then suddenly vegetate? Soon there\u2019s no reason to keep fit and I can see myself getting some form of depression<\/p>\n
Francis married second wife Eileen in 1989 and he is the first to admit that he wasn\u2019t always there for her, or his eight children. \u201cPeople ask me if I am a good parent but I don\u2019t think so. I\u2019ve been away most of my life. People may say my career was more important than my children…that\u2019s not how I see it but there is no doubt my career always comes first. It\u2019s all-encompassing.\u201d<\/p>\n
His decision not to hang up his guitar is also in part due to finances. When we last spoke two years ago Francis said that\u00a0Brexit\u00a0had seen the costs associated with touring soar, particularly in Europe. Since then it\u2019s got markedly worse. \u201cPeople assume that I have these few million pounds stacked up in my bedroom,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not poor obviously but I can\u2019t get over how the f****** decimal point keeps moving. It\u2019s now 40 per cent dearer.\u201d A solo show means fewer overheads and a smaller operation. “We\u2019re all on one bus, and it keeps our expenses down,\u201d he says. \u201cAll these things worry me. I don\u2019t think many other artists talk about these things\u2026other artists give the impression it\u2019s all fine, but it\u2019s hard out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
If it is going to be the band\u2019s last hurrah, they are certainly bowing out in style as I watch them deliver a near-faultless performance at the city\u2019s Civic Hall later that evening. Later, I join the band backstage before heading to the pub – minus Rossi and Bown – where they are mobbed by fans buying them drinks. It\u2019s apparently a familiar sight after every show.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m keen to understand how they feel about the prospect of the band\u2019s touring days possibly coming to an end in a couple of months. \u201cSometimes I think I would rather the band left with a bang rather than fizzle out,\u201d says Rhino. \u201cBut if there was one word to sum up how I felt…it would be proud. We are very much the people\u2019s band.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as I watch the fans ply them all with free beer, wine – and even the odd spliff – it\u2019s hard to disagree… \u201c<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Status Quo legend Francis Rossi says he doesn’t think the band will tour again….as he gears up for new solo show next year But when\u00a0Status Quo\u00a0rolls into Taunton, Somerset, over August bank holiday weekend,\u00a0Francis Rossi\u00a0expects the show there to be their last. \u201cI don\u2019t think we will go again,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd as far 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