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.
Hard Ride
Status Quo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Living a life without you
I'm gonna lie for it, living a life of it
Staying alive without you
I'm living a life for a woman
I'm stringing a line with it, now that she's gone with it
Living a life without you
Living a life without you
It's never been done before
A hard ride was never my scene
But now I'm coming back for more
Living a life of it
Living a life of it
And it's a hard ride down a rocky road
It's a hard, hard ride all on your own
It's a hold on with all you've got
Oh, it's a hard...
Oh, it's a hard ride down a rocky road
Living a life without you
Living a life without you
It's running away with me, look at the change in me
Sleeping alone without you
When I get up in the morning
It's no good believing what I've been dreaming
Living a life without you
Living a life without you
All right, it's over and done
She's never coming back to me
A hard ride is what I've become
From now until my dying day
Living a life of it
Living a life of it
And it's a hard ride down a rocky road
It's a hard, hard ride all on your own
It's a hold on with all you got
Oh, It's a hard...
Oh, it's a hard ride down a rocky road
(Hard ride, hard ride, hard ride, hard ride
Hard ride, hard ride, hard ride)
I got a hard ride, ain't nothing new
With a rocking roll, rollin without you
It's a long time since you've been gone
And it's a hard ride down a rocky road
Oh, it's a hard ride down a rocky road
It's a hard, hard ride all on your own
It's a hold on while you've got to
It's a hard ride
Yeah it's a hard, hard, hard, hard, hard ride
Oh it's a hard, hard, hard, hard, hard ride
Yeah, it's a hard, hard, hard, hard, hard ride
Oh it's a hard...
Oh it's a hard ride down a rocky road
(It's a hard ride)
Living a life away, living a life away
Living a life away, living a life away
The lyrics to Status Quo's song "Hard Ride" convey the struggles of living without a loved one, and the difficult road that one must traverse to move on from that loss. The repetition of "Living a life without you" emphasizes the feeling of emptiness and loneliness that comes with heartbreak. The singer knows that it's a hard ride, but he's willing to endure it in order to stay alive for the memories of the woman he loved. "Hey Joe, you know what I mean" could be interpreted as a call out to a friend who has been through similar pain.
As the song progresses, we see the singer's desperation increase. "It's running away with me, look at the change in me" suggests that the singer is struggling to keep himself together without his love. He's dreaming about her and can't escape her hold on him. But eventually, the singer comes to terms with the situation. "All right, it's over and done, she's never coming back to me," he admits. He's become a changed man, one that is now defined by the hard ride he has been on since she left.
Overall, the lyrics to "Hard Ride" capture the pain of lost love, and the depth of emotion that comes along with it. The song encourages the listener to hold on through the rocky road, and to keep riding no matter how hard it gets.
Line by Line Meaning
Living a life without you
Now that my lover is gone, I'm living a life alone
I'm gonna lie for it, living a life of it
I'm willing to deceive to keep living this life without you
Staying alive without you
I'm trying my best to survive without you by my side
I'm living a life for a woman
I'm living for the love of a woman who's left me
I'm stringing a line with it, now that she's gone with it
I'm just trying to get by with what I have now that she's no longer with me
Hey Joe, you know what I mean
Joe, you can relate to what I'm going through, can't you?
It's never been done before
Living without my love is unchartered territory
A hard ride was never my scene
I never thought I'd have to endure something so challenging
But now I'm coming back for more
But I have to keep going, no matter how hard it gets
It's running away with me, look at the change in me
This life without you is changing me in ways I never expected
Sleeping alone without you
Going to bed every night without you is a painful reminder of your absence
When I get up in the morning, it's no good believing what I've been dreaming
My dreams of being reunited with you are no longer a reality
All right, it's over and done
I have to accept that our relationship is truly over
She's never coming back to me
I have to come to terms with the fact that our relationship is really over
A hard ride is what I've become
Living a hard life without you is now a part of who I am
From now until my dying day
I'll be living this hard life without you for the rest of my life
I got a hard ride, ain't nothing new
This tough and challenging life without you is something I've grown accustomed to
With a rocking roll, rollin without you
I'm riding the ups and downs of this life alone
It's a long time since you've been gone
It's been a while since you left me and I'm still struggling to cope
Oh, it's a hard ride down a rocky road
This life without you is a bumpy and difficult journey
It's a hold on with all you got
I have to hold on tight and persevere through all the challenges that come my way
Yeah it's a hard, hard, hard, hard, hard ride
This is an extremely challenging and difficult journey I'm on
Living a life away, living a life away
I'm living a life separated from the one I love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BARRY GREEN, LANCASTER MICK GREEN, ALAN CHARLES LANCASTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alan Strom
Lancaster is so cool. I love Alan as a singer and musician, met him a few times at gigs in Sydney. Great guy.
Joaquim palet rico
La cara B de wharever you want cuanto tiempo que no la escuchaba, como siempre bien Status Quo.
Ulanbator Mongolia
Well played!!!!
the_madness
brilliant song it is!
paulcook gary
I Love and the version of the Pirates but Alan is the best...!!
Ashley Wearne
It's a hard ride down a rocky road
ta tum
Uh sooo god