After their initial inception as a schoolboy band named The Scorpions in 1962, and following a number of band name and personnel changes, Status Quo eventually hit the charts in 1968 with the massive hit single 'Pictures of Matchstick Men'. However, it wasn't until they ditched their psychedelic duds and took on the denim, accompanied by a radical gear-shift from teenage-friendly pop to out-and-out electric boogie that they came into their own, defining the rock music genre for many throughout the 1970s. A raft of hugely successful albums followed that are still held in awe by an army of loyal fans; the release of Piledriver in 1972 heralded a purple patch in which twelve consecutive long-players charted in the UK top 10. The classic 'Frantic Four' lineup of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan started to disintegrate in 1981 and eventually imploded after Live Aid in 1985. Although Quo have gone on to post over sixty UK chart hits in no less than six separate decades, this publication focuses on those days of glory, song by song from their earliest recordings until the demise of the classic lineup.

Every song on every album by the classic line-up dissected and discussedThe stories behind the songs, their context within the parent albums and the times they were written and recordedThe release date of every single and B-side trackWhat the band and critics had/have to say about their musical development After their initial inception as a schoolboy band in 1962, and following a number of band name and personnel changes, Status Quo eventually hit the charts in 1968 with the massive hit single ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’. However, it was not until they ditched their psychedelic duds and took on the denim, accompanied by a radical gearshift from teenage-friendly pop to out-and-out electric boogie, that they came into their own, defining the rock music genre for many throughout the Seventies. A raft of hugely successful albums followed that are still held in awe by an army of loyal fans; the release of Piledriver in 1972 heralded a purple patch in which twelve consecutive long-players charted in the UK Top 10. The classic ‘Frantic Four’ line-up of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan started to disintegrate in 1981 and eventually imploded in 1985. Although they have gone on to post over sixty UK chart hits in six separate decades, Status Quo: Song by Song focuses on those days of glory from their earliest recordings until the demise of the classic line-up.

Status Quo were one of the most successful, influential and innovative bands of the 1970s. During the first half of the decade, they wrote, recorded and performed a stream of inventive and highly complex rock compositions, developed 12 bar forms and techniques in new and fascinating ways, and affected important musical and cultural trends. But, despite global success on stage and in the charts, they were maligned by the UK music press, who often referred to them as lamebrained three-chord wonders, and shunned by the superstar Disk Jockeys of the era, who refused to promote their music. As a result, Status Quo remain one of the most misunderstood and underrated bands in the history of popular music. Cope redresses that misconception through a detailed study of the band’s music and live performances, related musical and cultural subtopics and interviews with key band members. The band is reinstated as a serious, artistic and creative phenomenon of the 1970s scene and shown to be vital contributors to the evolution of rock.

When Jackie Mittoo and Leroy Sibbles migrated from Jamaica to Toronto in the early 1970s, the musicians brought reggae with them, sparking the flames of one Canada’s most vibrant music scenes. In King Alpha’s Song in a Strange Land, professional reggae musician and scholar Jason Wilson tells the story of how the organic, transnational nature of reggae brought black and white youth together, opening up a cultural dialogue between Jamaican migrants and Canadians along Toronto’s ethnic frontlines. This underground subculture rebelled against the status quo, eased the acculturation process, and made bands such as Messenjah and the Sattalites household names for a brief but important time. By looking at Canada’s golden age of reggae from the perspective of both Jamaican migrants and white Torontonians, Wilson reveals the power of music to break through the bonds of race and ease the hardships associated with transnational migration.

The story of Status Quo is essentially the story of two people: Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. It is the story of two outwardly very different characters--Rossi, the moody insecure one, and Parfitt, the smiling, permanently at ease golden boy--who forged an unlikely yet enduring bond that would see them through the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of a forty-year career. Now they are prepared to tell it all--the groupies, the drug-taking, the marriage breakdowns, and Parfitt's brush with death when he was forced to undergo bypass surgery.

"Unflinchingly irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartbreakingly honest." —Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X In the vein of powerful reads like The Hate U Give and The Poet X, comes poet Morgan Parker's pitch-perfect novel about a black teenage girl searching for her identity when the world around her views her depression as a lack of faith and blackness as something to be politely ignored. Trapped in sunny, stifling, small-town suburbia, seventeen-year-old Morgan knows why she's in therapy. She can't count the number of times she's been the only non-white person at the sleepover, been teased for her "weird" outfits, and been told she's not "really" black. Also, she's spent most of her summer crying in bed. So there's that, too. Lately, it feels like the whole world is listening to the same terrible track on repeat--and it's telling them how to feel, who to vote for, what to believe. Morgan wonders, when can she turn this song off and begin living for herself? Loosely based on her own teenage life and diaries, this incredible debut by award-winning poet Morgan Parker will make readers stand up and cheer for a girl brave enough to live life on her own terms--and for themselves. "Morgan Parker put THIS song on--and I hope it never turns off." —Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out “A triumphant first impression in the YA space.” —Entertainment Weekly “An incredibly heartfelt, deep story about a girl's coming of age.” —Refinery29

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'THE ROCK 'N' ROLL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Essential for fans and great reading for anyone else' Classic Rock Break-ups, make-ups, groupies, band politics, court battles, the tragic death of Rick Parfitt . . . This is Francis Rossi as you have never seen him before. Status Quo have sold over 100 million records worldwide, including 65 hit singles and 32 hit albums. The legendary band's career has mirrored the evolution of rock music. From the struggles of the flower-power '60s, the highs of the denim-clad '70s, the coke- and tequila-induced blur of the '80s, to fighting for musical integrity in the '90s and '00s and a fresh lease of life from new band members in recent years, Rossi has been there for the entirety of Quo's turbulent history. In I Talk Too Much, Rossi will reveal the truth behind one of the biggest rock bands of all time, as well as the personal highs and lows of a career spanning over 50 years. He lifts the lid on the man behind the music - from humble beginnings in Forest Hill and being labelled a has-been by the press in his twenties to opening Live Aid in 1985 - and why he's still going strong at seventy. Along the way he has fathered eight children with three mothers and beaten both alcoholism and cocaine addiction. Rossi comes clean about the time he almost left the band, what he really thinks about the music industry today and the complexities of his fifty-year friendship with Rick Parfitt. Painfully honest, riotously funny and frequently outrageous, I Talk Too Much covers the glory years, the dark days and the real stories behind the creation of some of the greatest rock music of all time.

Status Quo have undoubtedly earned their place in rock history. They had 58 British hit singles - more than any other band, and more hit albums in the UK charts than any other group except the Rolling Stones. This book features personal and professional photographs of the band taken between 1966 and 2005.