Did he feel the same way about you?
Probably. I was being a c**t and Rick was being
a c**t. That’s when he and I began to drift apart.
I dare say that’s happened with all of those classic
rock partnerships, as it were. And then various
people fed into Rick’s ego. He was trying to live
this image that people had convinced him was
who he should be. With the Rick I loved and knew,
there wasn’t much male ego. He had an ego, but it
wasn’t macho at all.On July 13, 1985, at one minute past noon,
Quo opened Live Aid with Rockin’ All Over
The World. There were 72,000 people inside
Wembley Stadium, and close to two billion
watching around the world. Did you realise
beforehand how big this was going to be?
Oh no. You’ve got to give Bob Geldof his due. He
got everybody to do it. When he asked us, I said:
“Look, Bob, we’re not getting along, we’re not
rehearsed, we’ll sound like a sack of
shit.” He said: “It doesn’t matter
a fuck what you sound like, you’re
the ones!” Subsequently I found out
he said the same thing to The Who,
to everybody. The funny thing was,
everybody was jockeying not to
open. But when we felt the vibe
coming off that audience, I thought:
“Oh, hang on, I get it!” It was the
most euphoric gig.Did you think, as most people
did, that Queen stole the show?
They were the donkey’s knob that
day. Everyone said: “Jesus, they’re
on it.” But they would be, they’d
been out touring.Who were the other artists that you mixed
with backstage at Live Aid?
Near the end of the show, I was sitting at a table
with Bowie, and as Geldof was trying to get
everyone up for the big finale the lights went out
and the table collapsed. I did
go back up on stage, but
I didn’t want to. It was
embarrassing. So I stayed as
far back as I could. I always
got on all right with Bowie,
though. That mysterious
image he had, that was not
the man he was. He was just
a nice guy.Freddie Mercury?
Something I picked up from those straight South
London boys: “Them poofs are wimps.” Fucking
hell, there’s a mistake. As everyone was decampingout of Live Aid, Freddie bent me over a desk, in
a half-nelson, held me down and I couldn’t move.
Fuck, he was strong.Was there anyone you didn’t like?
I remember getting the
hump with Declan – Elvis
Costello. I said: “Alright?”
And he looked at me like:
“I can’t talk to you, I’m a
proper musician.” C**t.
Get over it, son. I’m over it.
You’re up your own bottom,
aren’t you? Rick and I always
said let’s not be like that.Alan Lancaster left Quo soon after Live Aid.
John Coghlan had already departed, in 1981.
Then in 2013 you and Rick reunited with
them when the classic ‘Frantic Four’ Quo
line-up toured again. Quo fans were
ecstatic, you less so.
An understatement. I could feel a sense
of euphoria in the audience, but it was
that classic thing: what can you hear
that I can’t? Sometimes the only thing
that was in time that I was playing off
was Rick’s rhythm. In John and Alan’s
defence, they weren’t working like Rick
and I worked for so long after they left.What good came out of the reunion?
Bugger all, other than the fans
were satisfied.Not a healing of relationships?
No. Because it’s now gone back to the
way it was before. Alan got very“Like any other
band, Quo had some
fantastic moments
and some shit.”
Rockin’ all over the world – literally.
Rossi with Quo opening Live Aid at
Wembley Stadium, July 13, 1985.Quo^ in^ ’^89 :^ (l-r)^ John^ Edward,^
Jeff Rich,^ Francis^ Rossi,^ Rick^
Parfitt^ and^ Andrew^ Bown.“Don’t^ mess^ it^ up,^
right?”^ Brian^ May^ on^
stage^ with^ Status^ Quo^ at^
London’s Brixton^
Academy^ in^1996.ALA
MY
:^ GE
TTY
x^2
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 47FRANCIS ROSSI