Rick and Francis attended the Kerrang awards ceremony at The Troxy in London on 12th June to collect the "Service To Rock" award on behalf of Quo. An amusing backstage interview with the pair can be seen in this YouTube clip.
Quo performed at the end of the opening day of the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power event on 13th June. This annual gathering of cars, bikes, planes and boats for the petrolheads kicked off on the Friday with a "preview" day and then Quo's closing concert in the evening. The lovely surroundings of the castle provided a great backdrop to the whole event and the day was filled with opportunities to see various cars and bikes parading around the Cholmondoley lap. Rick Parfitt Jr gave his GT car a run too and he was to be seen hanging around the garages all day, looking very relaxed. The British Summer put on a nice day for it too and warm sunshine bathed the masses all day and a small band of Quo's most dedicated fans claimed barrier spots early in the afternoon.
The musical entertainment kicked off at 6.30pm with the first of three support acts, in the shape of Essex alternative rockers, The 54 Plates. With an energetic lead singer leaping all over the speakers between the stage and barrier, they blasted their way through a set to a crowd that was growing by the minute, but only really wanting to see Quo. Next up was The RPJ Band, featuring Rick Parfitt Jnr on lead vocals, and his band received a great reception. With a set chock full of crowd-pleasing singalong covers, Rick's stage presence worked a treat and he got the large Cholmondoley crowd behind him all the way through the set. His voice is good too and this was an excellent warm up for the vocal chords in the crowd! Some excellent pro photos of the RPJ band in action can be seen here and here.
The final support slot belonged to Toseland and they banged out a decent rocky set as the outdoor crowd swelled to around 6000 people on this cool Cheshire evening. The Quo-oh-oh-oh chants started early and the usual efficient job by the Quo crew saw the band ready to hit the stage at 9pm.
From the off, Quo looked "up for it" with Rick in particular looking as fit as I've seen him in years. There would be no setlist surprises, but it was the full set rather than a cut-down festival effort, so we were treated to 90 minutes of Quo in fine form. Francis was feeling the chill early on but eventually ditched his jacket once he'd warmed up. The big songs were very well received by the large enthusiastic crowd and "the cloud" only hit just as Quo were leaving the stage! This was a good performance and a nice warm-up for the band before the Download Festival gig the next day.
Some good quality professional photos of Quo in action at the Pageant of Power can be found in a concert review in the Shropshire Star newspaper here.
Revisit the June 2014 event list
After a 32 year wait, Quo returned to Donington Park on 14th June to play the famous Download Festival. Despite being a heavy rock focused festival, Quo went down a storm and their one-hour headlining stint drew the biggest crowd of the day on the Zippo Encore stage. Their efforts received plenty of critical acclaim too. The Guardian said: "The biggest division here is between those who thrill to Linkin Park's ultra-polished but sterile alt-rock chunterings and a comparably huge throng that assembles to witness the glorious return of Status Quo on the second stage. Perhaps spurred on by the challenge of following the irresistible bluster of Twisted Sister (fronted by unstoppable and unnervingly lithe showman Dee Snider), Status Quo's Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt dismantle their reputation as daft codgers with a fast and furious charge through 40 years of unpretentious rock 'n' roll anthems. Even the leaden throb of In the Army Now seems somehow rejuvenated, and as Saturday comes to a close, the night air fills with exasperated cries of "How fucking good was that?"", while the Nottingham Post said: "Regular headliners Linkin Park are no strangers to success but when it comes to longevity there’s not many bands that come close to the legend that is Status Quo. Although a headline set of just seventy minutes hardly seemed enough, the aging rockers delivered so much in that time that to moan would just seem petty. Pretty much all the classic Quo tracks got an airing, from the sublime opening majesty of Caroline, through Down, Down and the sheer headbanging joy of Rocking All Over the World. Not an air guitar was left unplayed."
A good set of professional photos from Quo's Download set can be found here.
Revisit the June 2014 event list
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