Status Quo is a British rock band (London, England) with strong boogie line… Read Full Bio ↴Status Quo is a British rock band (London, England) with strong boogie line. The group was founded by bassist Alan Lancaster and guitarist Francis Rossi in 1962.

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.

Way Down
Status Quo Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Babe, you're getting closer
The lights are goin' dim
The sound of your breathin'
Has made the mood I'm in
All of my resistance
Is lying on the floor
Taking me to places
I've never been before

And I can feel it, feel it
Feel it, feel it

Way down where the music plays
Way down like a tidal wave
Way down where the fires blaze
Way down, down, way, way on down

Ooh, my head is spinnin'
You got me in your spell
A hundred magic fingers
On a whirling carousel
The medicine within me
No doctor could prescribe
Your love is doing something
That I just can't describe

And I can feel it, feel it
Feel it, feel it

Way down where the music plays
Way down like a tidal wave
Way down where the fires blaze
Way down

Hold me again, tight as you can
I need you so, baby, let's go

Way down where it feels so good
Way down where I hoped it would
Way down where I never could
Way down

Way down where the music plays
Way down like a tidal wave

Way down where the fires blaze
Way down, down, down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Status Quo's song "Way Down" are about a person who is completely enamored by their lover. The first verse describes how the person's resistance to their lover has completely disappeared and they are being taken to new places they have never been before. The chorus repeats the phrase "way down" several times in reference to the deep love and passion they are experiencing. The second verse goes on to describe the physical sensations the person is feeling, with their head spinning and their body feeling like it's on a whirling carousel. The person is aware that their love is doing something to them, but they cannot quite put it into words.

Overall, the lyrics speak to the overwhelming power of love and how it can completely take over a person's body and mind.

Line by Line Meaning

Babe, you're getting closer
The person addressed is getting physically closer to the singer.

The lights are goin' dim
The lights in the room or environment are getting dimmer, possibly setting a romantic mood.

The sound of your breathin'
The person addressed is breathing audibly, which is affecting the singer's mood.

Has made the mood I'm in
The person's breathing has improved the singer's mood, possibly evoking romantic feelings.

All of my resistance
The singer has been resisting the advances of the person addressed.

Is lying on the floor
The singer's resistance has been overcome and they are now succumbing to the advances of the person addressed.

Taking me to places
The singer is being taken to emotional, and possibly physical or sexual, places they have not been before.

I've never been before
The singer is experiencing emotions and sensations that they have not previously experienced.

And I can feel it, feel it
The singer is feeling strong emotions, possibly including physical sensations.

Way down where the music plays
The singer is experiencing strong emotions in a place where music is being played.

Way down like a tidal wave
The emotions the singer is experiencing are intense, like the force of a tidal wave.

Way down where the fires blaze
The emotions the singer is experiencing are passionate, like flames blazing in a fire.

Ooh, my head is spinnin'
The singer is feeling dizzy or disoriented, possibly due to the strong emotions they are experiencing.

You got me in your spell
The person addressed has a strong hold over the singer, affecting their thoughts and emotions.

A hundred magic fingers
The person addressed is touching the singer in a way that is metaphorically described as having a hundred magic fingers.

On a whirling carousel
The singer feels like they are on a spinning carousel, possibly due to the intense emotions and sensations they are experiencing.

The medicine within me
The feelings and emotions the singer is experiencing are described as medicine inside their body.

No doctor could prescribe
No medical doctor could prescribe the feeling or sensation the singer is experiencing.

Your love is doing something
The strong emotions the singer is experiencing are attributed to the love of the person addressed.

That I just can't describe
The singer is unable to describe the intensity of the emotions they are experiencing.

Hold me again, tight as you can
The singer is asking the person addressed to hold them tightly.

I need you so, baby, let's go
The singer needs the person addressed and urges them to take action together.

Way down where it feels so good
The singer is experiencing strong positive sensations in a deep emotional or physical place.

Way down where I hoped it would
The singer is in a place emotionally or physically where they had hoped they would be.

Way down where I never could
The singer is experiencing strong emotions in a place that they have never been able to access before.

Way down
The strong emotions being experienced are deep and intense.

Way down where the music plays
The strong emotions are being experienced in a place where music is playing.

Way down like a tidal wave
The emotions are described as being like a tidal wave, powerful and overwhelming.

Way down where the fires blaze
The emotions are described as being like a blaze, passionate and intense.

Way down, down, down
The strong emotions being experienced are deep and intense, conveyed by the repetition of the word 'down.'

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: HARRY EDWARD STINSON, MARTY STUART

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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