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.
I Don't Wanna Hurt You Anymore
Status Quo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gonna leave and walk away
And I know know know you're hurting for sure
Well I'm telling you
I ain't laughing and it's true
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
It's been a while since we met and got it on
Played all the games in a lovers carry on
Time after time every day
Nothing at all then was ever gonna change
And there could never be another way
When I hear you say
Gonna leave and walk away
And I know know know you're hurting for sure
Well I'm telling you
I ain't laughing and it's true
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
There was a time when we didn't give a damn
Watching the sun always shine
Walking along down an endless avenue
Everything seemed to be fine
Then it was gone and we let it carry on
And now it's only hurting all the time
When I hear you say
Gonna leave and walk away
And I know know know you're hurting for sure
Well I'm telling you
I ain't laughing and it's true
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
If you say goodbye
And I know you wanna cry
And you long long long for something that's more
Well I'm telling you
It's because of all you do
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
The lyrics of Status Quo's "I Don't Wanna Hurt You Anymore" speak to the pain and regret of a failed relationship. The singer acknowledges the hurt he has caused his partner and expresses his desire to stop causing pain. He recognizes the mistakes they both made in their relationship and looks back on a time when things seemed better. The song is a plea for forgiveness and an attempt to salvage what is left of the relationship.
The first verse sets the tone for the song, with the singer acknowledging his partner's pain and expressing his own sadness at the situation. The second verse speaks to the history of the relationship, with references to "playing games" and "lovers' carry on." The third verse reflects on happier times before things went wrong. The chorus is a repetition of the singer's desire to stop causing pain and emphasizes the importance of his partner in his life.
The song's message is universal and relatable, as many people have experienced the pain caused by a failed relationship. The lyrics are poignant and emotional, capturing the complexity of human emotions and relationships. The music itself is classic rock, with a catchy melody and a guitar-driven sound.
Line by Line Meaning
When I hear you say
When I hear you say that you're going to leave and walk away
Gonna leave and walk away
That you're going to leave and walk away
And I know know know you're hurting for sure
And I am aware that you are hurting for sure
Well I'm telling you
I want to convey to you
I ain't laughing and it's true
That I am not laughing and what I am saying is true
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
I don't want to hurt you anymore
It's been a while since we met and got it on
It's been quite some time since we met and fell in love
Said all the things we should say
We have said everything we needed to say to each other
Played all the games in a lovers carry on
We have played all the games that lovers usually play
Time after time every day
Repeatedly, every day
Nothing at all then was ever gonna change
Nothing was ever going to change
And there could never be another way
There was no other way things could have gone
When I hear you say
When I hear you say
Gonna leave and walk away
You're going to leave and walk away
And I know know know you're hurting for sure
And I am aware that you are hurting for sure
Well I'm telling you
I want to convey to you
I ain't laughing and it's true
That I am not laughing and what I am saying is true
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
I don't want to hurt you anymore
There was a time when we didn't give a damn
There was a time when we didn't care about anything
Watching the sun always shine
It was always sunny
Walking along down an endless avenue
We walked along an endless road
Everything seemed to be fine
Everything seemed to be going well
Then it was gone and we let it carry on
Then it disappeared and we just let it be
And now it's only hurting all the time
And now it hurts all the time
When I hear you say
When I hear you say
Gonna leave and walk away
You're going to leave and walk away
And I know know know you're hurting for sure
And I am aware that you are hurting for sure
Well I'm telling you
I want to convey to you
I ain't laughing and it's true
That I am not laughing and what I am saying is true
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
I don't want to hurt you anymore
If you say goodbye
If you say goodbye
And I know you wanna cry
And I know you want to cry
And you long long long for something that's more
And you deeply desire something more
Well I'm telling you
I want to convey to you
It's because of all you do
It's because of everything you do
That I don't wanna hurt you anymore
I don't want to hurt you anymore
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: FRANCIS DOMINIC NICHOLAS ROSSI, ROBERT KEITH YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carl Sam
Great band and great music
status quo-all
https://www.facebook.com/groups/489354311102647/
Jack Brown
That album artwork was clearly influenced by Indiana Jones, absolutely fantastic artwork from my favorite late career Quo album 🤘
Knut Aksberg
I Love This One!
status quo-all
https://www.facebook.com/groups/489354311102647/
Philip Potter
Pure boogie with a lovely melody and story.x
Stereoshake
Really great! 🎧🔥🎧
Andrew Johnson
This has to be one of my favourite quo songs yeaaaaaah
JC
I agree. If it came out in the 70s people would regard it as a classic
Er indoors
Check out, "I Didn't Mean It". Just brilliant 👏 👌 😀