© And I find that a bit sad,” he concluded with a shrug.Having agreed to appear, the Quo machine was cranked back into action. And Bob said, ‘It doesn’t matter a fuck what you sound like as long as you’re there’, which I thought was a bit too honest, but that’s Bob for you. ‘Yes, we’ll have to go soon,’ said the Prince. “It was the coke era back then. It was an honour." Aug 9, 2020 - Explore Harmony Daniels's board "Status quo live" on Pinterest. “There was a lot of conflict within the band, particularly between Francis and Alan,” Parfitt confessed nearly 20 years later. 1985 . They were ready and waiting to go,” recalled Rossi.

But he just looked so good. And I’ll tell you what, it pulls you up for a second and you try not to miss a beat. So there was this added euphoria in the place.” “And then you realise,” said Parfitt, reliving the moment, “after you’ve been on for about five minutes, ‘Hang on, the whole world is watching this, literally billions of people’. We didn’t want to be in the middle with McCartney and Queen because I think we would have been swallowed up.” As soon as that decision was settled, Quo started reaping the benefit. Everyone else had been sitting in the same clothes all day and looking the worse for drink. “It was real hairs-standing-up-on-the-back-of-the-neck stuff. Once the BBC decided to televise Live Aid – and offer it to the rest of the world – the show took on another dimension. We didn’t want to be in the middle with McCartney and Queen because I think we would have been swallowed up.” As soon as that decision was settled, Quo started reaping the benefit. ‘Well, I did actually. “The sun was shining and you could not have wished for a more vibrant setting. A little early to be rockin’, maybe. “The atmosphere in the stadium was quite different to anything I’d ever experienced before,” Parfitt remembered. And I was thinking, ‘Who gives a shit?’ How often do you book a flight and say, ‘I want to travel on this airline?’. I’m so pleased we mustered ourselves for that day. Planet Rock is owned by Bauer Radio Limited. So I said, ‘How do you do that?’, and he leaned over and said, very conspiratorially, ‘Ah, ha’. ‘Well, I did actually. It was just fantastic to see all those people there.” Backstage a strict schedule had been devised, giving each act use of a dressing room for 20 minutes before and after their spot before they were gently herded back towards the Hard Rock Café where everyone was hanging out. “Some of the other acts were interested in who was going to play last, to headline, whilst we decided to go on first so that we could be done and dusted. It took a lot of hassles and a new line-up to put that into practice. And I was drinking as well. BA1 1UA.
It was all a bit peculiar. But there was so much coke around, it was outrageous.” “I’m not even sure I’d been to bed that night,” added Parfitt. If there were a few people around and the chance to get out of it, then you went for it!” Rick and Francis may have looked somewhat incongruous among the 80s superstar haircuts milling around, but their little corner of the corridor soon became a popular place to hang out and they were getting on famously with everybody... except for Boy George acolyte Marilyn. But for those of us who have continued to enjoy the band’s albums over the last 30 or 40 years, you will probably initially think this is a half-hearted effort, until you catch yourself humming the tunes two days later. That was funny. © Bath

But when they finally emerged, Quo found that Live Aid had transformed their reputation, and they were now able to bask in their status as the elder statesmen of rock. Eighties teen idol Paul Young started his Live Aid set with a snippet of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' Who was the opening act at Live Aid? It got better for Quo. After 20 years of touring they were removing themselves from the road to become just a recording band.

While Live Aid famously boosted the careers of several bands, They were also somewhat miffed when they were first asked to open the show. "With this introduction by Richard Skinner still ringing in his ears, Tommy Vance made his own announcement: "And now, to start off sixteen hours of Live Aid, would you welcome, Status Quo!" And it did.

But they didn’t rise to it. They could have done themselves a lot more favours by giving that money to Live Aid. After the Coldstream Guards band opened with the Royal Salute and a brief version of ‘God Save the Queen', at one minute past midday on a gloriously sunny Saturday 13th July 1985, Status Quo were the first band to grace the Wembley stage. If there were a few people around and the chance to get out of it, then you went for it!” Rick and Francis may have looked somewhat incongruous among the 80s superstar haircuts milling around, but their little corner of the corridor soon became a popular place to hang out and they were getting on famously with everybody... except for Boy George acolyte Marilyn. Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry was joined by fellow music legend David Gilmour on guitar for his four-song set at Live Aid. All over Britain, millions of people organised their day around the telethon, cramming their Saturday chores into the morning and then settling down in front of the TV later on. And then there's John, who was very hurt not to be involved.Is there a Quo interview in existence where they actually take it seriously instead of laughing at their own little in-jokes?Just watching 'Live Aid: Against All Odds' (2 part series) on BBC 2. “If we’d been fully aware of the significance of it I’d have made sure we did a proper rehearsal,” said Rossi. But when they finally emerged, Quo found that Live Aid had transformed their reputation, and they were now able to bask in their status as the elder statesmen of rock. I said, ‘Come on, nobody will mind’, so there we are, the pair of us over by Elton who’s tinkling the ivories, standing there with huge grins on our faces.” It took a day or so for the magnitude of the concert to sink in.