STATUS QUO TO TOUR DOWN UNDER AS WALKWAY RECORD SPECIAL PARFITT TRIBUTE WITH JOHN COGHLAN
Johnny Main
2nd March 2017



status quo

Denim clad rockers Status Quo have sensationally announced a clutch of 2017 live dates in Australia and New Zealand as part of their 'Last Of The Electrics' tour. The band head Down (Down) Under in October and stop off in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and for the first time in over forty years, Quo are heading to Auckland. The full list of the dates is:

Wednesday 11th October: Vector Arena, Auckland
Friday 13th October: The STAR Gold Coast (Jupiters)
Sunday 15th October: Opera House, Sydney
Tuesday 24th October: Hamer Hall, Melbourne

Tickets go on sale from Monday 6th March at 9:00am (AEDT time). A full list of upcoming Quo tour dates, both electric and acoustic, can be seen below.

status quo

In other Quo news, frontman Francis Rossi put away the Margueritas and opted for coffee last Friday when he officially opened a new coffee shop in Coulsdon, South London which is being run by two of his sons, Patrick and Kieran.

Rossi's coffee shop, on the Clockhouse estate, is a new coffee shop and sandwich bar with their proud Dad cutting the ribbon to officially open the shop. Rossi Snr said:

"I am delighted that the boys are putting their heads together on this new venture, and while it's more soup and a roll here rather than rock and roll, I'm delighted to perform the honours."

Rossi Snr mentioned the family history is very much in the food industry, particularly the ice cream business, and he himself was on the verge of a career in ice cream before Status Quo's 'Pictures Of Matchstick Men' single propelled him into a different career path in 1968.

The Rossi's shop, located on Hillcrest Parade, had been empty before the boys decided to open it up as a coffee shop. Kieran initially discussed his idea with Patrick and the pair decided to set about refurbishing the shop to a high standard that would pass the local council's strict food hygiene regulations. Rossi's Coffee Shop is open from 7:00am to 4:00pm Monday – Friday and from 8:00am to 3:00pm every Saturday.

Quo's Manager Reveals More Details About Parfitt's Plans for 2017

More details have emerged about Rick Parfitt's health have emerged in a special edition of the Status Quo Fan Club Magazine, 'From The Makers Of'. According to Quo manager, Simon Porter, Rick "was not physically able to continue touring on medical grounds. He was uninsurable due to his pre-existing medical conditions, and sadly there were many”.

He also confirmed that Parfitt "continued to receive a full income from the band" which seems at odds with tabloid newspaper speculation to the contrary after his funeral.

Details have also emerged about Parfitt's plans for 2017. Porter explained that even though Parfitt was planning to write an autobiography in 2017 "Not one word was written of his autobiography” and that Parfitt was actually due to begin work on it on 27th December 2016.

Porter also spoke about Parfitt's plans for a solo album, saying:

"He was co-writing his album with Jo Webb, who has performed live with artists such as Don Felder (The Eagles), Huey Lewis, Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Bonnie Tyler, Tico Torres (Bon Jovi), and Rick Parfitt Jnr. Parfitt had completed full guitar and vocal tracks for nine or ten new songs.

"Some of these tracks are fantastic - lyrically it was as though he could almost see what was going to happen," said Porter before adding: "We are hoping to have something out by June," but no further details have yet been released.

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Walkway Pay Tribute to Parfitt With Special Recording Of 'Rain'

British rockers Walkway have recorded a very special tribute to Rick Parfitt by recording a version of the evergreen Quo track 'Rain' with none other than original Status Quo drummer John Coghlan.

The band, who were formed in 2007 and hail from Diss in Norfolk, have supported Black Stone Cherry, Slade, Bernie Marsden, Graham Bonnet and Status Quo themselves over the years and are quickly gaining momentum as one of the UK's most exciting young bands.

Walkway exclusively spoke to MetalTalk saying:

"We can't wait to release this new record, and it is by far our best and contains our strongest material to date - we're sure rock fans are going to love it. We're really pleased to have a tribute to the great Rick Parfitt who we played with many times and who was a fan of our band.

"We wanted to do something special so thought what better way than cover 'Rain' and we were very happy to have John Coghlan playing on the track to give the song a more authentic stamp, and make the tribute that little more special. We'd like to thank both John and Gillie Coghlan for making this possible and for their time."

Walkway are currently on a UK tour and MetalTalk will be catching up with the boys at Hard Rock Hell AOR in Wales next weekend.

status quo

You can see Status Quo live here:
Tuesday 18th April – Nordea Concert House,Tallinn*
Wednesday 19th April – Kultuuritalo, Helsinki*
Thursday 20th April – Logomo, Turku*
Saturday 22nd April – Partille Arena, Partille*
Sunday 23rd April – Fryshuset Arena, Stockholm*
Tuesday 25th April – Sentrum Scene, Oslo*
Friday 28th April – Naestved Arena, Naestved*
Saturday 29th April – Lillebaeltshallen, Middelfart*
Tuesday 2nd May – Salle Pleyel, Paris* (Re-scheduled show from December 2016)
Tuesday 20th June – Inverness Leisure Centre, Inverness**
Wednesday 21st June – York Barbican, York**
Sunday 25th June - The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA, Norwich**
Thursday 29th June – Gran Teatre Del Liceu, Barcelona**
Saturday 1st July – Royal Albert Hall, London**
Thursday 7th July – Zwickau, Freilichtbühne*
Sunday 9th July – Freilichtbühne, Loreley, St Goarshausen* (with ZZ Top)
Monday 10th July – Junge Garde, Dresden*
Wednesday 12th July – SparkassenPark, Mönchengladbach* (with ZZ Top)
Thursday 13th July - Sommersound Marktplatz, Schopfheim*
Saturday 15th July – Brentwood Festival, Brentwood*
Wednesday 26th July - Schloss Kapfenburg (open air), Lauchheim*
Saturday 29th July – Festival Benatska, Ski Areal Liberec*
Sunday 30th July - Suikerrock, Tienen*
Thursday 3rd – Saturday 5th August – Wacken 2017 Open Air Festival, Wacken*
Friday 4th August – Schlossgarten, Schwetzingen*
Sunday 6th August - Rewind North Festival, Capesthorne Hall*
Sunday 20th August – Rewind South Festival, Temple Island Meadows, Henley-on-Thames*
Friday 25th August – Summerdays Festival, Arbon*
Saturday 26th August – Seaside Festival, Spiez*
Thursday 31st August – Platz vor dem Bischofspalais, Rottenburg*
Wednesday 11 October - Vector Arena, Auckland*
Friday 13 October - The STAR Gold Coast (Jupiters)*
Sunday 15 October - Opera House, Sydney*
Saturday 21st October – Rock The Boat 2017** (Departs Sydney, Australia on Monday 16th October 2017)
Tuesday 24 October - Hamer Hall, Melbourne*
Friday 27th October – Dubai Opera House, Dubai*
Tuesday 21st November – Bielefeld, Stadthalle**
Wednesday 22nd November – Hannover Kuppelsaal**
Thursday 23rd November - Poppodium 013, Veemarktstraat, Tilburg**
Monday 11th December – Friedrich-Stadt-Palast, Berlin**
Tuesday 12th December – Frankfurt, Jahrhunderthalle**
Wednesday 13th December – Baden Baden, Festspielhaus**
Friday 15th December – Stuttgart, Liederhalle**
Saturday 16th December – Halle/Saale, Friedrich Händel Halle**
Monday 18th December – Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Halle**
Tuesday 19th December – Hamburg, Mehr! Theater**
Wednesday 21st December – Nürnberg, Meistersingerhalle**

* - Electric
** - Acoustic

Tickets for UK shows are available right here.

Status Quo are:
Francis Rossi – Vocals/Guitars
Andrew Bown – Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals
John 'Rhino' Edwards – Bass Guitar/Vocals
Richie Malone – Guitars
Leon Cave – Drums/Backing Vocals

Please Note: Tickets for the show on 4th December 2016 at Zénith de Paris will not be valid for 2nd May concert at Salle Pleyel. People who are unable to attend the concert on 2nd May can get a refund for their tickets only at the point of sale where the tickets were originally purchased. If you wish to attend the show, you must return the ticket for the 4th December concert at the point of sale where it was purchased, and buy a new ticket for the 2nd May show.

Francis Rossi picture – © Main Stage Photography 2017 (with permission)
Walkway/John Coghlan pictures – © Walkway 2017 (with permission)







 
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