Monday, June 13, 2005

THEY'RE THE LUCKY ONES

It seems the main reason why Status Quo are so keen to play Live 8 isn't because, as you might imagine, they're desperate to get a foot on global platform in a bid to make up some of the ground their pension fund lost when it turned out shoving money into a teapot wasn't as shrewd an investment as it appeared at the time; instead, they can't remember playing Live Aid.

Which is lucky for the them - every one of the watching audience of billions has their set etched into our memories (especially the cutaway shots of Charles and his then beard Princess Diana getting down in the royal box). But it seems that Francis and Rick got so drunk at the aftershow that they remember little of what went on that day - they search their minds for even a glimmer of what the Nik Kershaw set was like, and it comes back empty.

"We didn't realise the gravity of Live Aid until we got on stage," says a now drug-free Rick.

So: apparently they had somehow managed to miss-out on all the preshow build-up. You might have thought newspaper headlines like "It's the biggest gig ever", "Most significant concert of all time" and "Fucking Hell! It's a gig with Adam Ant and Spandau Ballet" would have made it through the haze they lived in at the time, or even that Bob Geldof bloke being on the TV all time time, but it seems they didn't realise what they were doing until they got on stage. You wonder if it was always like that for Status Quo - coming out on stage, and until their eyes had adjusted to the light not being certain if they were beating out Rockin' All Over The World to the back room of the Finsbury Tap or a television audience of everyone, ever.

Francis added: "Apparently we were back on stage for the finale of Feed The World. I only know this because I've seen the film of it.

"But I do remember falling off a table with David Bowie just before we went back on..."


Apparently, Bowie fell so hard his eyes went back to being the same colour, and had to bang his head on the wall sixteen times before they went back to being trademark different colours again.

There's still no word on if they'll be part of the line-up for Live 8, but we've bought a lovely ring containing a hidden cyanide pill just in case.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aww come on, don't be mean to Status Quo, they're harmless really. And my dad likes them ever so much.

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

They've got a cameo coming in Coronation Street, you know...

Anonymous said...

HAVE YOU EVER GOT SO DRUNK THAT YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND CANT REMEMBER HOW YOU GOT HOME?? YOU BETCHA YOU HAVE.. SAME DIFFERENCE WITH FRANCIS AND RICKS MEMORIES OF LIVE AID.. ..SO DONT BE MEAN..! 40 YEARS AND THEYRE STILL GOING.. NOW THAT CANT BE BAD CAN IT.. :}

Anonymous said...

hahahahaha status quo not comming well im a big fan of them

all i see on live 8 is stupid bands that wont excist 5 years or so and quo made is to the 40s well beat that and whats wrong getting drunk :P they where still young when they did live aid that day now they are old hehe give them a break :P

Anonymous said...

The Music World is a little like the Fashion world these days. Self appointed trend setters who believe they know best.
This description of Status Quo is written in an immature manner. Its always easier to write something negative , in an attempt to be witty.
The Quo have confounded the critics for Forty years. One more closed mind makes very little difference.

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

The music world becoming like the fashion world with "self-appointed trend setters", you say? How very different from the 60s and 70s then... although we could have sworn that when the Quo started out they were originally dressed up by, erm, self-appointed trend-setters, weren't they?

The band were very much of their time - and pretty good of their sort - and while it's great they continue as a historical curiosity, they're a little bit like a battle re-enactment or a morris dancing troupe, a remembrance of simpler times and a voice across the generations.

Oh, and: they seem to revel in the fact they were so pissed and blown they couldn't remember Live Aid, and their role dishing out cocaine - a drug which causes untold misery for the poor of the countries in which it is produced - at the first Band Aid recording. If that's maturity, I hope I remain immature for a long time yet.

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