Status Quo movie delivers truth about split

Reunited: Parfitt, director Parker, Lancaster, Coghlan and Rossi

Rick Parfitt says Status Quo documentary Hello Quo tells the truth about why the classic lineup split up.

And although he and Francis Rossi have always tried to be fully honest with fans, the movie is the first chance they’ve had to “tell it like it is.”

Drummer John Coghlan had been with Quo for 19 years when he left in 1981, while bassist Alan Lancaster notched up a further four years’ service before his own departure. Despite years of acrimony the four regrouped and jammed in a studio for film director Alan G Parker.

Rossi tells Red Carpet TV: “It’s a great insight for fans who’ve never quite understood why the split occurred.

“We’ve got down to the grass roots and told the truth. We never had the chance to express it the way we do in this movie – it’s all very well to read things, but to see things actually happening is quite something.”

Agent Neil Warnock agrees. He explains: “There’s some nasty moments. Some of the stuff we said was to the point, and that’s the way the band wanted it.

“It’s like a gang who joined together when they were young – there’s factions and frictions, but in the end they’re still that gang.”

Francis Rossi describes the moment all four started playing as “like putting on an old pair of shoes or gloves.” He continues: “I was amazed they still fitted – I thought it was going to be a lot rustier than it was. It was quite fun.”

But asked what fans might take from Hello Quo, Rossi says: “I don’t know. It’s very tricky for us – imagine your life on film since you were about 15 or 16. If you want to share it with everybody it’s kind of weird.

“As long as the fans like it and take something from it, it’s a good documentary. If not, we’re in trouble.”

Coghlan says his best memories of the band were live shows. “Playing at the Albert Hall, Wembley stadium and a football stadium with Elton John,” he lists. “And the Glasgow Apollo – unfortunately they pulled it down, which was a shame.”

He believes Status Quo’s longevity is down to “good songwriting,” adding: “When you go to a concert it’s like a big party. It’s good music and that’s the essence.”

Warnock says: “They’re great entertainers. They know how to entertain, they give the crowd what they want, they enjoy what they’re doing and the enjoyment comes across.”

Hello Quo is released on DVD and blu-ray on October 29.