Status Quo (band) - The Late 1980s and 1990s

The Late 1980s and 1990s

On 12 July 1986 they played at Queen's Live at Wembley '86 concert. Furthermore, the band supported Queen at Knebworth and an assortment of Queen's European shows. The commercially successful In the Army Now album was released in 1986, the single of the same name becoming one of the band's biggest selling UK singles, reaching number 2. The following album, Ain't Complaining, released in 1988, was less successful but did produce the hit single "Burning Bridges" which got to number 5. This was later re-recorded (with new lyrics) in April 1994 with Manchester United F.C. as "Come on You Reds" which would have given the band their second UK Number 1, but the single was released as 'by Manchester United'.

The early-to-mid-1990s saw falling album sales for the band. To promote the release of the "Rock 'Til You Drop" album (1991), Quo performed four arena gigs across the UK in the space of a single day, earning them a place in the Guinness Book of Records. The 1994 Quo album "Thirsty Work" included a cover of the Demis Roussos song "Restless" revealing an alternative and lighter sound to the band. Don't Stop (1996), and Famous in the Last Century (2000) consisted almost entirely of cover versions, (with the only exception being the title track to the latter). The former brought some chart success for Quo with covers of Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" and The Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun". The band became involved in an acrimonious dispute with Radio 1 after the station refused to include the "Fun Fun Fun" single on the radio station's playlist.

In 1993, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt attracted a crowd of over 25,000 when they performed the annual Blackpool Illuminations lights switch on.

Parfitt underwent quadruple by-pass surgery in 1997 but was able to make a full recovery and returned with a performance at the Norwich City Football Club ground three months later. Status Quo also returned to Australia in 1997, completing their first tour there since 1978. A greatest hits compilation, Whatever You Want – The Very Best of Status Quo was also released, achieving silver sales in the UK that year. In 1999, Quo toured Germany, Holland and Switzerland. Dubbed the 'Last Night of the Proms', the band were backed by a full orchestra during the concerts.

Rich left in 2000 and was replaced by Matt Letley. Andrew Bown also took a year off at the same time following the death of his wife, and was temporarily replaced on stage by Paul Hirsh, formerly of Voyager.