They began as a rock and roll freakbeat band called The Spectres. By 1967, with very little commercial success, they discovered psychedelia and changed their name to Traffic (later Traffic Jam, to avoid confusion with Steve Winwood's Traffic.) At this time the line-up also included organist Roy Lynes and drummer John Coghlan. Late in 1967 they recruited second guitarist Rick Parfitt and became The Status Quo, scoring Top 10 singles with Pictures Of Matchstick Men and Ice in The Sun. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" remains the only Top 40 hit single the group has ever charted in the United States. They have never achieved the same level of success there, that they have enjoyed in their home country.
After their second album Spare Parts they decided to change into a heavy boogie rock band. During the seventies they became one of the UK's leading rock bands, gaining a faithful following due to their excellent live gigs. They showed a great amount of energy during this decade and in the early 80s. They and are best known for songs from this era such as Paper Plane (1972), Caroline (1973), Down Down (1975), John Fogerty's Rockin' All Over The World (1977) and Whatever You Want (1979). Down Down topped the UK charts in January 1975 (their only British No. 1 single to date).
Lynes left in 1971, to be replaced initially by guest keyboard players on album, including Jimmy Horowitz and John Parker, and later on a more permanent basis on record and stage by ex-The Herd and Judas Jump member Andy Bown, though as he was contracted as a solo artist with EMI, he was not credited as a full-time member until 1982. Coghlan left in late 1981, to be replaced by Pete Kircher from 1960s band Honeybus. This short-lived lineup played its last gig in 1984 at the Milton Keynes Bowl, and reformed briefly to open the Live Aid charity event at Wembley in July 1985.
That year Rossi recorded and released two solo singles with longtime writing partner Bernie Frost. Parfitt was also working on a solo album which is still unreleased, although some tracks have been re-recorded by Status Quo and released as 'B' sides. Bass player John Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich, both ex-Judie Tzuke Band and Climax Blues Band, assisted Parfitt in the studio.
In the summer of 1985 Rossi, Parfitt and Bown, along with Edwards and Rich started work on a new album. Lancaster, who was living in Australia at the time, took out a legal injunction to stop the band using the Status Quo name on any records. The injunction was lifted after a court hearing in January 1986. Lancaster had had increasing musical differences with the group, notably during the sessions for the 1983 album Back to Back over two tracks which became hit singles for the group around that time. He had written Ol' Rag Blues, but was angered when the producers chose to release a version with Rossi singing lead vocal in preference to the one sung by himself, and he objected to Marguerita Time, which he thought unduly corny and too pop-oriented for them. He remained in Australia, forming a band called Party Boys, who had no success in Britain.
The commercially successful In The Army Now album was released in 1986, and the band continues to this day with the revised personnel. Rich left in 2000 and was replaced by Matthew Letley. Andrew Bown took a year off at the same time for family reasons and was replaced on stage by Paul Hirsh, formerly of Voyager.
According to Songfacts.com, Quo's 29th studio album, Quid Pro Quo, was released in a deluxe format exclusively at Tesco on 30 May 2011. The regular edition was released elsewhere a week later on 7th June. The LP debuted at #10 in the UK charts, the band's best chart placing for an original album since Don't Stop peaked at #2 in 1996.
Although Quo still release new material every few years, recent years have seen them release a series of greatest hits compilations and covers albums. One of the band's most recent original albums, Heavy Traffic, shows a return to classic form not seen since the late 1970s.
Status Quo have often been characterized, perhaps unfairly, as producing very simple songs, always in the same format: 4/4 rhythm, three chord structure. However, the recordings from their first decade demonstrate a diversity in musical style and complexity to rival most of the late 60s UK bands, and several of their singles and album tracks from later show considerable subtlety, not least the mainly acoustic 1979 single Living On An Island, and the 1980 album track, later a single, Rock'n'Roll, which is ironically one of the least rock'n'roll-like songs they have ever recorded.
They have a loyal group of fans in the United Kingdom, where they have enjoyed more hits than any other group in rock and roll history (over 60 as of mid-2005), as well as a big following in Europe, notably in The Netherlands.
In September 2005 a contestant on the long-running BBC television quiz programme Mastermind chose Status Quo as his specialist subject. That same year they took part in the long running ITV soap opera Coronation Street in a storyline which involved them being sued by the layabout Les Battersby.
In December 2005 it was announced that Parfitt was undergoing tests for throat cancer. All subsequent dates of the UK tour were cancelled as a result. However on 20th December it was further announced that the growths found in Parfitt's throat were benign and had been removed.
Quo have even been the subject of a Doctoral Thesis, purporting to demonstrate that their music composition skills could be favourably compared to the likes of the classical music composers, such as Beethoven!
In Autumn 2008 German techno legend Scooter released new single Jump that rock together with Status Quo.
On 1 February 2016, it was officially announced that Status Quo, in addition to the spring and summer dates already scheduled, would tour Europe starting in October. The final dates would take place in the UK towards the end of the year, after which the group would retire from playing 'electric' tours.
On 28 October 2016, Rick Parfitt permanently retired from live performances after suffering a heart attack earlier the same year. On 24 December 2017, he died in hospital in Marbella, Spain as a result of severe infection, after suffering an injury to his shoulder. Parfitt's funeral was held at Woking Crematorium on 19 January 2017. Irish guitarist Richie Malone, who had substituted for Parfitt during some 2016 live shows, took his place on rhythm guitar.
Glória
Status Quo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Did you hear about my baby? She come around,
She come round here, the head to the ground?
Come round here just about midnight,
She makes me feel so good, make me feel all right.
She come round my street, now
She come to my house and
Climbing up my stairs, one, two
[unwriteable improvisation]
Come on baby
Here she is in my room, oh boy
Hey what's your name?
How old are you?
Where'd you go to school?
Aha, yeah
Aha, yeah
Ah, ah yeah, ah yeah
Oh haa, mmm
Well, now that we know each other a little bit better,
Why don't you come over here
Make me feel all right!
Gloria, gloria
Gloria, gloria
Gloria, gloria
All night, all day
All right, okey, yey!
(Gloria, gloria)
You were my queen and I was your fool,
Riding home after school.
You took me home
To your house.
Your father's at work,
Your mama's out shopping around.
Check me into your room.
Show me your thing.
Why'd you do it baby?
Getting softer, slow it down
Softer, get it down
Now you show me your thing.
Wrap your legs around my neck,
Wrap your arms around my feet, yeah
Wrap your hair around my skin.
I'm gonna huh, right, ok, yeah.
It's getting harder, it's getting too darn fast
It's getting harder
All right!
Come on, now, let's get it on.
Too late, too late, too late,
too late, too late, too late,
Can't stop, wow!
Make me feel all right!
Gloria, gloria
Gloria, gloria
All night, all day
All right, okey, yey!
Gloria, gloria
Keep the whole thing going, baby!
All right!
All right!
Aaaaah
The song "Gloria" by Status Quo is a classic rock and roll tune that is sure to get anyone moving. The lyrics describe a woman coming to visit the singer late at night, and the excitement and thrill that the encounter brings. The song begins with the singer describing how the woman comes to his house and makes him feel good. There is a playful interaction between the two as the singer asks her questions about herself, and she responds with coy and flirtatious answers.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more suggestive and provocative. The singer describes in detail the physical actions that take place between him and the woman, including wrapping legs around his neck, arms around his feet, and hair around his skin. The song builds in intensity as the singer urges the woman to "keep the whole thing going" and "make me feel all right." The song ends with the repeated chorus of "Gloria" and the singer exclaims "All right! All right! Aaaaah" indicating the exhilaration of the experience.
Overall, the lyrics of "Gloria" depict a thrilling and exciting encounter between two people. The song plays with themes of flirtation, seduction, and sexual tension, making it a classic rock and roll tune that has stood the test of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, right.
Yeah, it's true.
Did you hear about my baby? She come around,
Have you heard about my girlfriend?
She come round here, the head to the ground?
She came over here, looking down.
Come round here just about midnight,
She came around at night.
She makes me feel so good, make me feel all right.
She makes me feel really happy.
She come round my street, now
She came to my neighborhood.
She come to my house and
She came to my house and
Knock upon my door
She knocked on my door.
Climbing up my stairs, one, two
She climbed up the stairs.
[unwriteable improvisation]
N/A
Come on baby
Come on.
Here she is in my room, oh boy
Here she is in my room, wow!
Hey what's your name?
What's your name?
How old are you?
How old are you?
Where'd you go to school?
Where did you go to school?
Aha, yeah
OK, yeah.
Aha, yeah
OK, yeah.
Ah, ah yeah, ah yeah
Yes, yes, OK.
Oh haa, mmm
Oh yeah, mm-hmm.
Well, now that we know each other a little bit better,
Now that we've introduced ourselves.
Why don't you come over here
Why don't you come over here?
Make me feel all right!
Make me feel good!
Gloria, gloria
Gloria!
All night, all day
All night, all day.
All right, okey, yey!
All right, OK, yeah!
You were my queen and I was your fool,
You were my girlfriend and I was your boyfriend.
Riding home after school.
Riding home after school.
You took me home
You took me to your home.
To your house.
To your house.
Your father's at work,
Your father is at work.
Your mama's out shopping around.
Your mother is out shopping.
Check me into your room.
Take me to your room.
Show me your thing.
Show me what you've got.
Why'd you do it baby?
Why did you do that?
Getting softer, slow it down
Get softer, slow down.
Softer, get it down
Softer, take it down.
Now you show me your thing.
Now show me what you've got.
Wrap your legs around my neck,
Wrap your legs around my neck.
Wrap your arms around my feet, yeah
Wrap your arms around my feet.
Wrap your hair around my skin.
Wrap your hair around my skin.
I'm gonna huh, right, ok, yeah.
I'm going to, yes, OK, yeah.
It's getting harder, it's getting too darn fast
It's becoming more intense, it's too fast.
All right!
OK!
Come on, now, let's get it on.
Come on, let's do it.
Too late, too late, too late,
It's too late.
too late, too late, too late,
It's too late.
Can't stop, wow!
Can't stop, wow!
Make me feel all right!
Make me feel good!
Gloria, gloria
Gloria!
Keep the whole thing going, baby!
Keep it going, baby!
All right!
OK!
All right!
OK!
Aaaaah
Ah.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE IVAN MORRISON, VAN MORRISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ian Garbutt
CLASSIC!!!!😃🎶👍🎵😀
Gavin Milne
Just FAB! 👍
Matthias Kurz
Embryonic Quo sans Parfitt