Francis Rossi

Francis Rossi has fronted Status Quo as lead singer and guitarist for over fifty years. Born in 1949 into a musical Italian family running an ice cream business, he chose DRIVING RIFFS over driving the family van. After starting with harmonica and accordion, he picked up guitar and formed a band with Alan Lancaster that evolved through several names before becoming Status Quo in 1967 with Rick Parfitt joining. The1968 hit 'Pictures Of Matchstick Men' launched an incredible career. That year, Francis bought his trademark Fender Telecaster—a 1959 Sunburst which he sanded, drilled and painted green, using it until 2014 when it sold for over £100K at auction. The band evolved from paisley to denim, crashing into charts with 'Piledriver' in 1972. Francis wrote many Quo classics including 'Caroline', 'Down Down' and 'Paper Plane'. The band has sold 118 million records worldwide and played over 6000 shows to 25 million people at venues like Wembley and Glastonbury. Francis has won an OBE, a Brit Award, opened Live Aid, and appeared on Band Aid. He lives in Surrey with wife Eileen, has released solo albums, and wrote the bestselling autobiography 'I Talk Too Much’. In 2019, he launched one-man shows, continuing with acoustic tours. While Quo likely won't tour again, Francis performed 64 uk ‘songbook’ solo dates in 2025. Fit, focused and funny, there's more to come from this grand old man of rock.