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.
You're Just What I Was Looking For Today
Status Quo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're just what I was looking for today
I needed someone
And you're just what I was looking for today
Good things seem to happen to you
When you just happen to run along livin' right
But if you wait too long you know that
The sun may have to shine
But the visions in my eyes were painted gray
Now listen to the lightning
You're just what I was looking for today
We could drift away together
Where you and I could be alone
Nothing that is real applies
Need for nothing [?]
We could drift away
Undo the world of lines
Hey little woman
You just what I was looking for
The lyrics to Status Quo's song "You're Just What I Was Looking For Today" express a sense of relief and happiness upon finding someone who was needed at that moment. The song begins by addressing an unnamed woman, and the singer declares that she is exactly what he was looking for. There is a sense of urgency in the words, as he needed someone and found her just in time. The lyrics suggest that good things happen when one lives right and that one should not wait too long to seize opportunities. The singer seems to have been in a dark place when he met this woman, as there is talk of visions painted gray. However, the appearance of the woman has changed all that, and now he sees light and color.
The second verse suggests that the two of them could escape from the world together and be alone, completely cut off from reality. The singer does not want anything that is "real"; he just wants to be with her. The lyrics suggest that she makes him happy, and he wants to hold on to that feeling. The refrain repeats the sentiment that the woman is just what the singer needed that day and expresses gratitude for her arrival.
Overall, the song expresses a simple message of the importance of seizing the moment and finding joy in unexpected places. The lyrics suggest that the woman has brought color and light into the singer's life and that he is grateful for her presence.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey little woman
Addressing the woman he has found
You're just what I was looking for today
Telling the woman that she fits what he was searching for
I needed someone
Expressing his need for companionship
And you're just what I was looking for today
Reiterating that the woman is what he needed
Good things seem to happen to you
Observing that good things happen to those who lead a righteous life
When you just happen to run along livin' right
Stating that it occurs when living in a certain way
But if you wait too long you know that
Warning that the opportunity can be lost if not seized in time
When you turn around you find you have lost them in life
Realizing that the chance to achieve something has been missed
The sun may have to shine
Although the sun might be shining
But the visions in my eyes were painted gray
Feeling as if his future looked gloomy
Now listen to the lightning
Asking the woman to pay attention to what he has to say
You're just what I was looking for today
Reaffirming that she is what he was searching for
We could drift away together
Proposing the idea of eloping together
Where you and I could be alone
Imagining a place where only they exist
Nothing that is real applies
Claiming that he does not need any material things
Need for nothing [?]
Not requiring anything more in life
We could drift away
Repeating the idea of running away together
Undo the world of lines
Suggesting that they could remove themselves from their current lives to start anew
Hey little woman
Same as above
You just what I was looking for
Same as above
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAROLE KING, GERRY GOFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
christopher tull
Great album
TrainInVain
They did this in 1965. The first 45 seconds sound 30/40 years ahead of their time
Kelly Brown
69 actually
status quo-all
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