STATUS QUO: ALAN LANCASTER ADDED TO 2017 FAN CLUB CONVENTION, JOHN COGHLAN TO BE QUIZZED PLUS VINYL REISSUE NEWS
Johnny Main 12th May 2017
"Is There Anybody Out There That Wants To Rock?" The official Status Quo Fan Club announced their second ever International Status Quo Fan Club Convention earlier this year, which is scheduled to take place back where it all started for the band, Butlins in Minehead, between Friday 13th and Monday 16th October 2017.
The weekend will feature live music from ex-Quo drummer John Coghlan and his band, John Coghlan's Quo, and will also add another past Quo member – the one and only Alan Lancaster, who is travelling over from his home in Sydney, Australia to take part in a question and answer session alongside Coghlan and long-time Quo cohort Bob Young, who is appearing along with ex-Whitesnake guitarist Micky Moody, under the guise of their band, Young and Moody.
Born in Peckham in 1949, Lancaster was a founding member, alongside Francis Rossi, of The Scorpions in 1962. The band would eventually evolve into Status Quo and Lancaster would prove to be not only a solid bass player and singer but also penned a number of well known tracks including 'Over The Edge', 'Is There A Better Way', 'Backwater', 'Just Take Me' and 'All The Reasons'. Lancaster left the band in an acrimonious split in 1985, but rekindled his friendship with Rossi and Quo stalwart Rick Parfitt in 2013 which led to two reunion tours featuring the classic Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan line-up.
Other acts confirmed for over the weekend include an old friend of Quo, Jackie Lynton and his band, as well as a number of tribute bands who have also been lined up to provide entertainment including Scotland's own Quo tribute band Backwater along with Quo-Incidence, Quo No!, Dog Of Two Head as well as Sound Of Status who are travelling all the way from Sweden for the event.
Other acts set to take the stage include a special appearance by Glam Rock and 1970s tribute band Glamdads, Tamworth rockers Black Rose Cadillac, fresh from their tour supporting Toseland, and a performance from hard rockers Predatür.
Tickets are on sale now and can be bought exclusively from butlins.com along with onsite accommodation, though you'd better be quick as some accommodation options have already sold out.
Blackstar promotions are to present an evening of chat with Status Quo drum legend John Coghlan in conversation with TV's Steve Blacknell.
John will be talking about his days with Quo, his current incarnation of the band and days of hellraising in the 70s. You will also have a chance to put your questions to the great man.
The event will happen at The Islington, London on August 24th. This is a very small venue so tickets are extremely limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.
There's a whole host of events to announce which will be taking place in the coming months and acts will include Mike Score from A Flock Of Seagulls, 1977 punks Menace, The Wall and Spizzenergi, John Otway, Fish (ex Marillion), Glen Matlock (ex Pistols) and Blues siren Chantel McGregor.
Much more exciting stuff to announce as it comes along where fans can get up close and personal and have the chance to question the stars themselves.
In other Quo News, we've heard of a couple of older Quo records which are to receive the vinyl treatment. First up is their twenty-eighth studio album, 'In Search Of The Fourth Chord', which was originally released in 2007 and sees a new version on orange double vinyl due for release on Friday 30th June.
The title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the rumour that the group always plays the same three chords and it's also a reference to The Moody Blues 1968 opus, 'In Search Of The Lost Chord'. The Quo album features unique artwork parodying the popular Indiana Jones film series.
The album itself saw producer Pip Williams back working with the band for the first time since their 1996 'Don’t Stop' effort and it also features the single, 'Beginning Of The End', for which the band shot a promotional video on the London Eye for the song which still remains firmly in the band's live set list today.
The album is also noteable as it has the first lead vocal from bass player John 'Rhino' Edwards on an original Status Quo song, 'Bad News', whilst the track also features Edwards' son Freddie performing the guitar solo. The re-release also adds two bonus tracks, 'I Ain't Wastin' My Time', originally a UK exclusive on the CD version, and 'One By One' which was bonus track found on some European editions of the album.
We've also heard unconfirmed rumours that a vinyl edition of the band's 1972 classic 'Piledriver' album is in the works for a release on Fathers Day, Sunday 18th June, but details have still to be confirmed to us here at MetalTalk Towers.
'Piledriver' was originally released in December 1972, and saw the band move from Pye Records to the Vertigo label which was also home to Black Sabbath, Nazarth and Thin Lizzy. 'Piledriver' was the first album to be produced by Status Quo themselves and it features much heavier rock sounds than previous albums, but one with which the band would dominate the album charts with throughout the rest of the 70s. On its release, 'Piledriver' hit all the right notes with fans as they lapped up the sharper, heavier sound which included classic tracks like 'Paper Plane', 'Don't Waste My Time', 'Big Fat Mama' and a rollicking version of The Doors' 'Roadhouse Blues'.
Status Quo themselves continue in 2017 with Irishman Ritchie Malone taking the place of Rick Parfitt, who died on Christmas Eve 2016, and they have lined a mix of electric and acoustic dates throughout the UK, Europe and also their first Australian dates since 2013. You can see the band live here:
Status Quo are:
Francis Rossi – Vocals/Guitars
Andrew Bown – Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals
John 'Rhino' Edwards – Bass Guitar/Vocals
Richie Malone – Guitars/Vocals
Leon Cave – Drums/Backing Vocals