Quo kicked off the UK leg of the "Bula Quo" tour on 6th December in Liverpool. Support act 10cc were very well received and Quo played the following set (as per the European leg but with UK favourite "Burning Bridges" slotted in to open the encore).
(The setlist remained the same for the rest of the UK arena tour, except "Rock 'n' Roll 'n' You" was slotted in after "Go Go Go" from the Birmingham gig onwards.)
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They talked about their "Rockers Rollin'" show on BBC Radio Oxford (and played a teaser of the New Year's Eve show) before kicking off the interview aproper with John describing the "Hello Quo" jam session, leading into the Frantic Four tour rehearsals. He went on to fondly describe the Frantic Four gigs themselves (and his issues with in-ear monitors and overnight trips on the tour bus). Gillie spoke well about the gigs and the magic she felt seeing the four guys back together.
Kat then played "Whatever You Want" before questioning John about his readiness for the gigs and he again spoke very fondly of everything about the Frantic Four reunion. They went on to talk about how they came to live in Oxfordshire thanks to a friendship with Pam Ayres before discussing "reunion 2". John sounded excited about the next tour, especially the idea of doing some shows in Europe. He constantly praised the Quo fan base, which was great to hear.
Gillie then went on to talk about her Westie dog rehoming charity and also talked about her appearance on the Weakest Link (actually winning a show) and some other shows! Back to "reunion 2", John said how excited he was to start this tour in Germany and John hinted that there may be some new recordings from the Frantic Four.
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The final show of the UK leg of the "Bula Quo" tour saw the band play in Newcastle on 19th December. This show also marked the last performance for Pat Marks on the lights after a twenty-plus year stint with the band - farewell Pat!
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John Coghlan and his wife Gillie presented another episode in their "Rockers Rollin'" series for BBC Radio Oxford on 31st December. After a brief intro, they played "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate and Gillie recounted her stories of working with them in the 70s as secretary to their agent. John then talked about his love of the Shadows and their drum sound, going into "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt". On the subject of strange song titles, Gillie then talked about the origins of the Quo track "Gerdundula".
Next up, it was time to introduce music PR man Keith Altham and John talked about how Colin Johnson brought in Keith to help Quo with their PR in the early 70s during their transition to becoming a rock band. Keith spoke fondly of his memories of working with Quo and how much he enjoyed their sense of humour and fun. He also talked about the famous Vienna airport incident. Keith's first choice of song was "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley, before he chatted about working with The Who and the fun of representing Keith Moon, before signing off with his choice of Lonnie Donegan's version of "Midnight Special".
The next track to be played was Hall & Oates with "She's Gone" and Gillie spoke about working with their agents in the mid-70s, before John selected "A Girl Like You" by The Troggs. He spoke fondly of Reg Presley and his fascination for crop circles.
Rhino was the next guest and he talked about the first time he saw Quo. He then talked about his own history and how seeing Free changed his mind to become a bass player. He said he particularly enjoyed playing with Judie Tzuke and also Dexy's Midnight Runners. He appreciates how insular Quo are and he claimed that he always knew he would end up in a big band. Rhino's first song choice was "Mr Big" by Free, before he talked about funny moments from his time on the road. He talked about meeting royalty and Mike Rutherford! Rhino's second song choice was The Beatles number, "Taxman".
The show was closed out with "Mystery Song".
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