Legendary 70s rock band announce they will retire after summer tour-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro

Status Quo will play their last ever UK shows in August 2024 (Picture: Charlie Gillett Collection/Redferns)

Status Quo have announced that, after more than 60 years in the music business, they’ll be hanging up their guitars for good.

The British rock band, formed in 1962 as The Paladins, had the majority of their success through the 1970s and 1980s, scoring a UK number one single, 22 UK top 10 hits, and four number one albums.

Quo, as they were known to fans, initially broke up in 1984, but reunited to open the legendary Live Aid concert in 1985 – the performance was so well received that they reformed properly and were successful for years afterwards.

But now the time has come for the current five-piece to call it a day, with guitarist and lead singer Francis Rossi saying their ongoing tour might well be their last.

Rossi, who has been part of the group since 1962, said: ‘I don’t think we will go again. And as far as the rest of the band are concerned it’s the last tour too. I just can’t see us doing it one more time.’

He continued to The Mirror: ‘I didn’t want to put this current tour out saying it’s the last one ever. I did [that] once and was then coerced into coming back, but that’s another whole other f*****g story.’

Quo were one of the biggest bands of the 1970s (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

The band are currently in the middle of what will now be their last ever tour, with the next shows planned for venues in Germany, before the band goes to Switzerland in July.

After doing a tour of northern Europe and Scandinavia, Quo will reach the UK, where dates in Elgin, Halifax, Margate, Liverpool, and Somerset are pencilled in for August.

First up is the Elgin date at the MacMoray Festival on August 11 before a show at Halifax’s Piece Hall on August 13, with August 15 seeing the band play Margate’s Dreamland.

Status Quo achieved four number one albums in the UK (Picture: Jorgen Angel/Redferns)

The town of Bootle in Liverpool will then welcome Status Quo to its Salt and Tar venue on August 16.

Tickets are still available for all remaining UK dates, with the last ever live show by Quo set to take place at Vivary Park in Taunton on August 23, 2024.

While the band formed in 1962, Status Quo didn’t go by their eventual name until 1967, calling themselves The Paladins, The Spectres, and Traffic Jam until then.

By the time the band decided on a name and started to have success, the members were Rossi, Alan Lancaster, John Coughlan, Roy Lynes, and Rick Parfitt.

Frontman Francis Rossi says the band’s time is over (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

After starting out as a psychedelic pop rock band, Quo updated their sound and moved more towards hard rock stylings. Their fifth album Pilvedriver brought them sudden success in 1972.

It was then that Quo began to experience the most of their success, with hit songs Caroline, Down Down, and Whatever You Want all hitting the top 10 as they became one of the biggest rock bands in the country.

After initially splitting in 1984, the band were convinced to get back together for Live Aid – the huge charity concert at Wembley Stadium – in the summer of 1985.

Quo opened up the concert, taking stage at 12.01pm and blasting out Rockin All Over the World – a cover of a John Fogerty song which was one of their biggest hits.

In 2021, co-founder of the group Lancaster died at the age of 72 following a battle with multiple sclerosis, while Parfitt died from sepsis in 2016 – he was 68.

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