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.
Gone Thru The Slips
Status Quo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then she buys a hat
I never complain 'cos I feel like a martyr
I kind of like it like that
New hi-fi, she says it could be louder
The same familiar scene
Over-reacting, she's taking a powder
Laying the blame on me
She's gone thru the slips again
Gone like a kiss
Gone thru the slips again
She didn't have to cheat me
Didn't have to treat me like this
Back next morning, pretend she's never happened
She's all over me
I look to her side when she runs to the bathroom
To the vanishing cream
She's gone thru the slips again
Gone like a kiss
Gone thru the slips again
She didn't have to cheat me
She didn't have to treat me like this
She's gone thru the slips again
Gone like a kiss
Gone thru the slips again
She didn't have to treat me
She didn't have to treat me like this
Every day now it's just another showdown
I won't take much more
Chews me up, and spitting out the pieces
Walk out the door
She's gone thru the slips again
Gone like a kiss
Gone thru the slips again
She didn't have to cheat me
Didn't have to treat me like this
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go
She's gone thru the slips again
Gone like a kiss
Gone thru the slips again
She didn't have to cheat me
Didn't have to treat me like this
The lyrics of Status Quo's song "Gone Thru The Slips" depicts the story of a relationship that has lost its spark and interests. The song starts with the singer talking about the same old routine his partner follows every weekend, paying off the hairdresser and buying a hat. He never complains and feels martyred, perhaps indicating that he always puts up with the same old thing, even though he doesn't enjoy it. His partner overreacts to everything and doesn't take responsibility for her actions, blaming them on the singer, who seems to have had enough of it. Throughout the song, the singer repeats the phrase "she's gone thru the slips again," indicating that his partner has checked out of the relationship and moved on like a passing kiss.
The singer talks about how his partner comes back every morning, hoping to act as if nothing has happened. He observes her running to the bathroom, applying vanishing cream, perhaps indicating that she is hiding something. The singer feels cheated and mistreated, and the relationship is chaotic, leading to frequent confrontations. The song seems to be a plea to his partner to treat him better and to indicate his resentment towards the way things have unfolded.
Line by Line Meaning
Same old weekend, she pays off her hairdresser
She spends the same routine weekend doing the same routine things, especially paying off her hairdresser and buying new things.
Then she buys a hat
She purchases new things to keep up with the repetition of her lifestyle.
I never complain 'cos I feel like a martyr
The singer does not express any grievances because he believes that he is a martyred victim of her behavior.
I kind of like it like that
The artist almost prefers the current state of things and his victimization over the uncertainty of ending this arrangement.
New hi-fi, she says it could be louder
She purchases a new music system for their home, believing that it could be louder than it is.
The same familiar scene
The repetitive behavior of his partner's actions is all too familiar for the singer.
Over-reacting, she's taking a powder
She overreacts and takes a powder, in the singer's belief, as a response to their situation.
Laying the blame on me
She blames the artist for their problems, despite their mutual misgivings and faults.
She's gone thru the slips again
His partner has gone through a customary slide into the same routine as always.
Gone like a kiss
She has disappeared, as quickly and easily as a kiss.
She didn't have to cheat me
The singer does not directly accuse his partner of infidelity, but rather feels betrayed by their continued behavior.
Didn't have to treat me like this
Despite repeated instances of the same behavior, the artist believes that his partner could have treated him better.
Back next morning, pretend she's never happened
As always, she returns the next morning as if nothing has happened, pretending that their situation is not continually deteriorating.
She's all over me
She clings to the singer, trying to hide that their relationship has fallen apart.
I look to her side when she runs to the bathroom
The singer watches his partner go to the bathroom, an action that has become a tell-tale sign of the eventual break-up of their relationship.
To the vanishing cream
She uses vanishing cream to mask the blemishes on her face, as if to further hide what is really happening in their relationship.
Every day now it's just another showdown
Their relationship has degraded to the point that every day is another argument; another battle to fight.
I won't take much more
The singer is getting fed up and is close to the breaking point with how things are going.
Chews me up, and spitting out the pieces
His partner destroys him and leaves him in pieces, only to find another victim in the future.
Walk out the door
In the end, the artist decides to walk out the door and move on from the hurtful relationship he has been in.
Contributed by Lauren P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ronald
Such a beautiful song, who's with me? Absolutely love it (:
Dave Cochrane
Loved this and the A-side when it came out. Only reached no. 50 in the UK - the tide had turned. I stopped buying Quo albums soon after this as I'd had enough disappointment with each album being more mediocre than the last. I got into Genesis and was reminded how good music can be when a creative band is behind it, rather than a band that is content with plodding through one boogie track after another, ad nauseum. But this is a fine track!
Manuel quo back Landeros
solo status toca estas rolas tan chingonas por eso son los maestros del rock
Stargazer Yagami
Awesome! Love it!
Carl Sandlund
Most underrated Quo songs! Its a single, they were stupid at all :-)
keepyercool
One of Andy Bown's best songwriting efforts. They ought to jazz it up a bit and play it at the Ashes...
MarekAd
actually i think the bonus tracks are better than rest of the album.-)
skintrade
What are the slips and how did she get through them
Happies1888
Perfect Remedy: remastered.
Margaret simmons
excellent