AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Status Quo

Artist:The Status Quo
Song:Pictures of Matchstick Men
Album:The Status Quo Story





The 1968 psychedelic classic Pictures of Matchstick Men was the biggest international hit for The Status Quo. They have continued to have success at home in England and they are still around. When the band was formed in 1962 by lead guitarist Francis Rossi and bassist and lead singer Alan Lancaster, they were called The Scorpions. They were classmates in the Catford district of London. Drummer John Coughlan joined in 1963 and the group name was changed to The Spectres. Keyboard player Roy Lynes joined in 1965 and guitarist Rick Parfitt was added in 1967. They released a couple of singles that went nowhere. Then they got into psychedelia and called themselves Traffic and then Traffic Jam. After Parfitt joined the band, the name was changed to The Status Quo. They signed with Pye Records in England. They were on the Chess owned label Cadet Concept in the US. Pictures of Matchstick Men was the first single from the 1968 album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo. The record reached #7 on the British Singles chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The most memorable element of the song is Rossi's guitar riff which is repeated several times. Rossi claims he wrote the  Pictures of Matchstick Men while sitting on the toilet. He says he would sit there for hours just to be alone. He was avoiding his wife and mother in law. Ice In The Sun was The Status Quo's only other chart single in the US. After their second album was unsuccessful, they changed their name to Status Quo and became a hard rock boogie band. Bob Young was brought in as tour manager but he also played harmonica and wrote songs. Young and Rossi wrote the 1974 single Down Down which topped the British charts. This 2CD budget comp has all their hits. Rossi continues to lead Status Quo. A new album Backbone was released last year. Since Rick Parfitt died in 2016, Rossi is the only original member remaining in Status Quo. After leaving Status Quo in 1985, Alan Lancaster moved to Australia and formed The Bombers which included Status Quo drummer John Coughlan. They signed with A&M but after their 1988 album, A&M was sold to PolyGram and they were dropped. Here's The Status Quo performing Pictures of Matchstick Men on Top Of The Pops 1968.