Francis Rossi - Tunes & Chat Tour 2023 - Interview

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Fri 24 Mar 2023 - Wed 29 Nov 2023

He is responsible for some of the greatest rock songs of all time. Francis Rossi , founding member and leader of Status Quo, has literally been 'rockin’ all over the world' since the 1960s. The hits are the stuff of legend - from 'Down Down and Again and Again' to 'Caroline' and 'Whatever You Want'. The band has sold a reported 100 million records since their debut in 1968, as well as opening Live Aid at Wembley Stadium, and winning a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Now Francis, who was awarded an OBE in 2010 for services to music and charity, is taking to the stage with his 'Tunes & Chat' live show, complete with his new publication, Songbook, which focuses on those very hits. He is embarking on an extensive theatre tour until the end of November, including an appearance at Tamworth Assembly Rooms in Staffordshire on April 23. The tour will give fans the chance to enjoy an evening of music, along with his trademark chat, as he explores the high points of an incredible career as both a songwriter and performer. The man who met Rick Parfitt at Butlins, and who began his musical career by embracing psychedelia, has never been out of the spotlight with headline shows throughout his career.



Francis says of his 'Tunes and Chat' show: "I’ll have another acoustic guitarist with me and we’ll be playing songs that people love, explaining how they came about. What! You want me to tell you how many songs? Fine. We’ll be doing about 20 songs, so it’ll be a really good show with plenty of hits and some deeper cuts that don’t often get played.”

The tour promises to be a unique experience in which Francis will reprise fan favourites as the audience enjoys acoustic versions of Quo classics, alongside previously not-performed-live tunes. Having previously toured with his 'I Talk Too Much' show that focused on his life and times, from blowing a seven-figure sum on drink and drugs to the passing of his former bandmate, Rick Parfitt, this new tour will focus just on the music, including stories about the band's hit songs.

So, what of Rockin’ All Over The World for instance? "At the time, none of us were that keen about it, you know. We thought the song was alright, but we didn’t know what it would become. We got more slagged off for that record than anything we’d done in our lives, until In The Army and Marguerita Time. I still find it weird today that people go ‘And I like it, and I like it…’ And they think it’s rock. No, it’s not. It’s a pop song. We do these big festivals, like Wacken, in Europe, which is like 2 million bikers – it’s not two million, it’s probably 100,000 – but it feels B.I.G. There’s something similar in Sweden, too. Everyone’s got black everything: black hair, black tattoos, black clothes, black leather. All these people come down the front to the pit when we do Rockin’. I don’t know what to make of it: it sounds like Singing In The Rain and all these rockers think it’s a rock anthem. I don’t understand. I’m delighted it was such a big hit for us but I think we’ve done far better songs.”



As well as touring Songbook, Francis has also recorded a CD EP, featuring acoustic versions of classic tracks: 'Jack To A King', 'Spinning Wheel Blues', 'April' Spring, Summer And Wednesdays', plus 'And It’s Better Now'. He adds: “You know what. I really love this. I’m finally getting to do what I’ve always wanted to do, which is just play, simply, without the volume turned up to number 11. It’s taken me all of my career to strip it back and get really simple. I’m letting the songs do the talking.”

• Songbook, the book and CD, is available now, from www.francisrossi.com . Full tour dates are also available from the same website.

Tickets to see his show in Tamworth on April 23 are available by visiting www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk or by calling 01827 709618.

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