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The Ultimate Gig List - Notes

These notes accompany the year-by-year listing of Quo concerts. They are designed to highlight important gigs in Quo's history as well as posing questions about gigs we are unsure about or need provenance for. I welcome any suggestions for additions or corrections to these notes, so please feel free to send me an email.

18-02-1968 - the start of an era, Quo's first headlining gig as "Status Quo". There may be previous Radio 1 sessions so these earlier dates are sought.

Flyer scan from The Pavilion, Bath, for 18/03/68 Poster scan from The Gaumont, Wolverhampton, for 11/04/68 Poster scan from The Regal Ballroom, Minehead, for 03/07/68

18-03-1968 - the flyer scan (above, left) shows a Monday night gig on the 18th March at The Pavilion in Bath. The show is clearly from a very early part of Quo's career and the only years that this date falls on a Monday are 1968 and 1974. It seems unlikely that this is part of the 1974 tour, so it is assumed to be 18th March 1968. As such, this is a very rare example of an early flyer for a Quo gig.

05-04-1968 - Quo's first major break, a support slot with Sixties crooner Gene Pitney.

11-04-1968 - a rare concert poster (above, middle) from Quo's support tour Gene Pitney. This poster comes from the show at Wolverhampton's Gaumont Theatre and also on the bill were Don Partridge, Tony Shannon, and Simon Dupree and the Big Sound.

03-07-1968 - a return to Minehead, this time at the Regal Ballroom (above, right). Note the glorious entrance fee of eight shillings and sixpence!

1969 - apparently, Quo played a gig at the Ferndale Workman's Hall in the Rhondda to celebrate the investiture of Prince Charles. The support band was called 'Strawberry Dust' who eventually became 'Racing Cars' and had a top ten hit in 1977 with a song called "They Shoot Horses". On the same day, other top bands played in nearby towns in the Rhondda, one of them being The Move (in Treorchy). There is also a rumour of an after-gig party including Quo at a local pub. Can anyone confirm the date of this gig? (The investiture took place on 1st July 1969.)

24-01-1969 - this unusual event was organised by Brunel University as their Student Carnival and ran through the night till 7am!

ticket scan from Rush Common House, Abingdon on 09/05/69 09-05-1969 - I am grateful to Brian Ellis for providing the following ticket (pictured to the right) from this one-off early Quo gig. Brian says: "I was one of the organisers of this event and to get Quo was considered quite a coup. Rush Common House was where I lived at the time and was home to around 400 scientific workers at a local research establishment. Now demolished (not by the volume I might add), it was situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. As all tickets were handed in at the door and later destroyed I am certain that this one is the only one remaining." What a find!

10-05-1969 - Quo appeared way down the bill at Nottingham's 1969 Pop & Blues Festival, held at Notts County Football Ground on Saturday May 10th. Headliners Fleetwood Mac were joined by some impressive support acts in the form of The Tremeloes, Marmalade, Georgie Fame, Love Sculpture, The Move, Pink Floyd, Keef Hartley, Status Quo, Duster Bennett, Dream Police and Van der Graaf Generator. The show advert below shows the full bill, to be presented by the late John Peel and Ed Stewart (later of Crackerjack fame!). Flyer from Nottingham's Pop & Blues Festival, held on 10/05/69 Ticket scan from The Imperial Ballroom, on 26/09/70
26-09-1970 - the ticket scan (above) shows an early Ballroom gig for Quo at the Imperial Ballroom in Nelson. The added bonus here was a disco!

04-12-1970 - the source of this information is sure there were other Irish dates around this time, so any further information would be very useful. Apparently Francis sported dark glasses for this gig! - anyone know why?!

27-03-1971 - Quo headlined this show at The Marquee, supported by up and coming Thin Lizzy. Before the show, Thin Lizzy´s van had been broken into and Phil´s guitar and Brian´s drums had been stolen. Phil Lynott borrowed a bass from Status Quo to play their support set! (thanks to the excellent Thin Lizzy Guide for this gem of information.

29-08-1971 - the first major festival appearance for Quo as a rock band.

01-12-1971 - the first of what would later become an annual Quo event - the December UK tour. The 1971 version kicked off in style with a gig at the renowned Marquee Club in London and the tour even included a Boxing Day gig.

ticket scan from Torquay on 23/12/71 23-12-1971 - this fantastically rare ticket was provided by Quo cover band, Status Clone. Two of their members, Steve & Paul, were in the support band, Stomachs. The gig was the annual Torquay Boys' and Torquay Girls' Grammar schools' sixth form debating society dance (Steve being a recent ex-pupil). Note the ticket price of just 60 pence and also the dress code - "No jeans or leather jackets", heaven forbid!

10-05-1972 - this small tour supporting top glam artists of the day, Slade, would help Quo secure a deal to tour with the band in Australia in 1973. The publicity that Quo got during that tour in Australia earned them a fond place in the Aussie hearts and resulted in regular further tours down under.

20-05-1972 - Quo played at the huge three-day "2nd British Rock Meeting" held at Germersheim between May 20th and 22nd, 1972. I do not have the exact night on which Quo played, but other acts on the massive bill included The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Faces, Uriah Heep and The Kinks. A festival poster and other details (in German) are available here.

29-05-1972 - one of Quo's most influential appearances. This was the festival that got Quo recognised as a class live act and cemented their change to the 12-bar rock that would prove to be their trademark for years to come.

08-07-1972 - this two-day festival also featured Jeff Beck, Alexis Korner, King Crimson, Juicy Lucy, Nazareth and Golden Earing.

22-07-1972 - the bizarrely-named Goose Fair was headlined by the Faces and also included Nazareth, Byzantium, Atomic Rooster and Marmalade along with Quo. Music press from the time suggests that this festival was cancelled, yet the "Rod Stewart" biography shows the festival as having taken place?

Poster scan from Torquay, on 09/08/72 Poster scan from Coventry,on 09/12/72 09-08-1972 - This scan of an incredibly rare poster for Torquay venues from 1972 sees Quo appearing betwixt Fairport Convention one week and Hawkind the next.

09-12-1972 - Another very rare concert poster, this time for Quo's gig at Coventry College of Education for their 1972 Christmas Ball. The support acts were Stealers Wheel and The Armpit band, with tickets costing 60p (in advance) or 70p (on the door)!

22-01-1973 - Quo's first trek to Australia and New Zealand. This would become a regular trip during the 1970s and, on this their first tour, Quo played as support band to the UK glam rockers 'Slade'. Quo would return to Australia within the year.

01-05-1973 - this gig was recorded by the BBC and pressed onto a transcription disc in limited quantities. This is one of the rarest Quo recordings and has been heavily bootlegged, both on vinyl and CD. The gig may be found on the recent CD bootlegs "Roadhouse Blues" and "It Was Just A Good Name (and One That We All Liked)".

20-05-1973 - Quo's first US tour. We have dates listed from 20/05 to 29/05 inclusive but details are sketchy, so where were these gigs and who was on the bill? For this first gig, the line-up was Atlanta Rhythm Section, Status Quo, Mandrill and Savoy Brown.

25-08-1973 - another notable festival appearance for Quo, their first time at the Reading Festival. Their set appears on the Reading Festival album (recently issued on CD for the first time), which also includes Andy Bown's rendition of "Long Legged Linda" (later to become a fully-fledged Quo track). The headline act was The Faces with performances also by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Striders, Lindisfarne and Chris Barber. Quo's set featured "Junior's Wailing", "Someone's Learning", "In My Chair", "Railroad" and "Don't Waste My Time" (which appears on the festival album discussed above).

08-10-1973 - as an example of the 1973 vintage set-list, drool over this one from the gig at Birmingham Town Hall: Junior's Wailing / Someone's Learning / In My Chair / Claudie / Roll Over Lay Down / Big Fat Mama / Railroad / Don't Waste My Time / Caroline / Roadhouse Blues / (Encore - Mean Girl). (My thanks to Paul Williams for this information.)

06-02-1974 - Quo appeared at Hollywood's famous "Whisky A-Go-Go" club on February 6th, 1974, and their show (with support band Hot Dogs) was reviewed by Harold Bronson for Melody Maker. His review appeared in the "Caught In The Act" section of the February 16th edition of the music paper. View a copy of this great archive article by clicking here. (Many thanks to Harold Bronson for his permission to reproduce the article on this website.)

09-09-1974 - Quo's performance at the House of Culture in Helsinki left its mark - their incredible volume literally stripped paint off the walls and the whole venue had to be repainted! As a result, no rock groups were allowed to play at the venue for three or four years, the drought being broken by AC/DC! Quo returned to the venue on 20th March 1996. (Thanks to Raimo Kiesilä from Vantaa, Finland, for this information.)

Ticket scan from Brussels, on 26/10/74 Poster scan from Lancaster Uni, on 03/03/75 26-10-1974 - the ticket scan shows a rare ticket from an early gig in Belgium. Although the year is not stated, there is provenance to support the fact that this gig is from 1974.

09- and 11-12-1974 - Quo played at the Blackburn King George's Hall on either 09-12-1974 or 11-12-1974, so which date was it?

14-01-1975 - the information we have for this early 1975 French tour is patchy. Most of the venues are unknown and towns need to be confirmed for the gigs on 14/01, 15/01 and 18/01.

03-03-1975 - the image to the right is a scan of an incredibly rare original tour poster for Quo's gig at Lancaster University, as part of the self-titled "Quo" tour.

23-09-1975 - Quo's first venture to the Far East and a small tour of Japan, en route to an extensive tour of Australia once more.

05-12-1975 - a problematical French tour where promoter problems forced Quo to cancel and reschedule many of the gigs. As a result, our venue information needs to be completed.

24-07-1976 - a rare use of the Cardiff Castle grounds for a music festival saw Quo headline to an estimated 20,000 crowd, with other acts including Budgie, Curved Air, The Strawbs, Jackie Lynton and Hawkwind.

27/28/29-10-1976 - the Glasgow Apollo would serve as Quo's stage for recording of their first live album release, the double-album "Live!" - an effort which would become a standard in Quo's history. The packed houses for three nights at the Apollo put everything into getting themselves heard on record and the atmosphere on these recordings is superb. A wonderful set and a great venue helped ensure "Live!" became one of Quo's most respected releases.

17-11-1976 - Yet again on their way to Australia, Quo stopped off for another short tour of Japan. The second of their two dates at Tokyo's Sun Plaza Hall was recorded, to later be released as the album "Tokyo Quo". Only issued in Japan, this is the rarest Quo album and mint copies easily command £150. More recently, the vinyl album was repressed onto CD, firstly as part of the Japanese-only 4-CD set "The Great Box" and then as a standard single CD.

09-01-1977 - Quo won "Hard Rock" act of the year in the 1977 Daily Mirror Pop Club awards and played this special gig at Stafford's Bingley Hall.

28-01-1977 - this long tour of France, extending into February, is of dubious provenance. Most of the venues are not known and the towns need to be confirmed for the gigs on 05/02, 10/02 and 11/02. It also appears that a number of the originally scheduled gigs were in fact cancelled, but precise details of which gigs these were are not presently available. The Le Mans show has been confirmed by the acquisition of a bootleg recording of this show.

18-07-1978 - the longest tour of Australia, to promote the "Rockin' All Over The World" album, kicked off at Newcastle Civic Theatre. The gig was unofficially recorded and released as a double-album vinyl bootleg, entitled "First Night Stand". This stands as the rarest of Quo bootlegs and, despite the very poor quality of the recording, copies can command up to £300.

26-08-1978 - Quo's second appearance at the Reading Festival, following their success there in 1973, gave UK fans their only chance to see Quo on home soil during 1978. The band were spending a tax year in various foreign locations so an eager crowd welcomed them back to Reading, along with The Speedometers, Lindisfarne, Gruppo Sportivo, The Motors, Nutz, Jenny Darren and Spirit.

01-07-1979 - a crowd of 20000 saw John Peel introduce Quo as the headline act of this festival in Dublin. Other acts included local favourite Christy Moore and Judas Priest.

01-03-1980 - the French and German tours scheduled for March and April were cancelled due to Rick Parfitt having back problems.

22-04-1981 - Quo's first visit to Italy, a market they would never make their own - Germany and France remained their heartlands.

10-05-1981 - Quo's first (and only?) visit to Portugal, after a brief stint in Spain and en-route to France again.

03-06-1981 - the second Gaumont Theatre gig in Southampton during Quo's "Never Too Late" tour would mark the end of John Coghlan's reign as drummer with the band, shortly to be replaced by Pete Kircher. "Never Too Late" was also his final studio album and John 'retired' from Quo to pursue personal interests and indulge in various less serious musical ventures, like "Diesel" and more recently the Quo cover band "State of Quo".

03-05-1982 - the first of a sold-out seven night run of shows at Hammersmith Odeon. These Odeon consecutive night gigs would become a feature of Quo's tours in the years to come.

14-05-1982 - as one of the first bands to play at the recently opened Arena part of the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, Quo performed this gig on behalf of Prince Charles' charity, the Princes Trust. The gig was simulcast live on BBC television and radio (introduced by Tommy Vance) and would later spurn a number of official releases - including the video, Dutch-only vinyl LP, LP3 of the "From The Makers Of..." box set and CD. The opening song from the gig, "Caroline", was also released as a single (7" copies with catalogue number QUO10, 7" picture disc on QUOP10 and 12" singles on QUO1012).

28-05-1982 - this large event also included Rainbow, Judas Priest, The Scorpions and ZZ Top as well as Quo. It was filmed and later broadcast as "Rockpop In Concert" on 10/07.

21-08-1982 - Quo headlined this festival, with other noteable acts including Saxon, Hawkwind, Uriah Heep, Anvil and Gillan. The Quo set was pure 1982 vintage - Caroline, Roll Over Lay Down, Backwater, Little Lady, Don´t Drive My Car, Whatever You Want, Hold You Back, Rockin' All Over The World, Over The Edge, What You're Proposin', Dirty Water, 4500 Times, Big Fat Mama, Don´t Waste My Time, Roadhouse Blues, Rain, Down Down and Bye Bye Johnny.

25-05-1984 - the first UK gig of the "End of the Road" tour, a two-month stint which would see Quo take in all corners of the country (including another sold out seven night stretch at the Hammersmith Odeon) before the grand finale at Milton Keynes Bowl on 21/07.

14-07-1984 - originally scheduled to be the last gig of the "End of the Road" tour but superseded by demand by the Milton Keynes gig the following week, this gig at the home of Crystal Palace FC saw support slots from Chas 'n' Dave, Dave Edmunds, Little Steven & His Disciples of Soul and Grand Slam (Phil Lynott's new band).

21-07-1984 - the final gig of the "End of the Road" tour. To a firework finale, Quo said goodbye to their fans and their life on the road - until 1986 anyway! This gig was recorded and released on video in two parts, "End of the Road 1984" and "More from the Road 1984" - the first of these became one of the fastest selling music videos of all time. Support acts for this memorable event were Jason & The Scorchers, Gary Glitter, Marillion and Nazareth.

13-07-1985 - one of the largest music events ever held, 'Live Aid' was music's contribution to the problems of starvation and poverty in Ethiopia. Organised by Bob Geldof (ex Boomtown Rats), the event took place on both sides of the Atlantic. The UK event came from a packed Wembley Stadium and was simulcast on BBC radio and television. Quo were the opening act and "Rockin' All Over The World" became the event's anthem. Reforming specially for the event, they played "Rockin' All Over The World", "Caroline" and "Don't Waste My Time". Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt also appeared on the Band Aid single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

05-07-1986 - highlights of this festival were later broadcast on television in a show called "Out In The Green".

09-07-1986 - the first of four shows for the newly reformed version of Quo, co-headlining with Queen on their "Kind of Magic Tour". The Queen set is available as an official double CD set but the Quo set is as yet only available on the bootleg "Quo's Back".

03-10-1986 - this gig was performed in a circus big top in Swindon's Faringdon Park and formed part of the Faringdon Festival. Other acts at the festival included Marti Webb, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth. Princess Anne was guest of honour on the Saturday night, for the quiet concert, but did not attend the Quo gig on Friday 3rd. Due to technical difficulties, Quo were unable to showcase any of their new "In The Army Now" material at this show.

26-11-1986 - the first mainland UK gig of the "In The Army Now" tour, supported by Waysted. This mammoth Europe-wide tour ran from early October until Christmas Eve (culminating in another of those Hammersmith Odeon runs) and saw the "new" Quo emerge as a live entity. Coincidentally, this gig was the first at Bournemouth International Centre - a venue which would become a tour standard and even achieved the status of final gig on the tour for a number of later tours.

13-12-1986 - one of the most significant of all Quo gigs, in that it was my first gig! Halfway back on the floor at the NEC Arena, at the tender age of 16, this was the gig which started my Quo live experiences. The rest, as they say, is history...

24-12-1986 - this Christmas Eve gig was a 'special' early show - Quo played, without a support act, and during the encore of "Bye Bye Johnny" they were joined by Lemmy of Motorhead.

12-07-1987 - other acts on this festival bill included: Marillion, Jimmy Cliff, Aswad, Blue Oyster Cult, Magnum, Katrina & The Waves, Barclay James Harvest and Nils Lofgren.

21-07-1987 - attended by some 70000, other acts on this festival bill included: The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, The Blow Monkeys, Kid Creole & the Coconuts and The Pogues.

01-08-1987 - other bands at this festival were Esturion, Barricada, Angeles Del Infierno and Baron Rojo - all Spanish bands. Quo were included in this festival after Saxon and Twisted Sister failed to headline. (Thanks to Josep A. Gaspar for this information.)

29-08-1987 - Quo's only UK appearance in 1987 was at the Reading Festival - this was to become their last visit to the festival as its emphasis changed to more indie-based material in the coming years. Other acts at the festival included The Quireboys, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, Shy, Glory, Terraplane, MGM, Lee Aaron, Bad News, Magnum and The Georgia Satellites.

03-10-1987 - Quo's controversial visit to South Africa in October 1987. The band received condemnation for playing there before the lifting of apartheid and they only played at Sun City.

06- and 07-07-1988 - these Wembley shows were recorded by the BBC and pressed as a transcription disc. Copies of this disc are sought after by collectors and command up to £150 each. The show was later broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and includes a rare live performance of "Cream of the Crop".

09-07-1988 - other acts on this festival bill included: The Pogues, Uriah Heep, T'Pau, Foreigner, Ziggy Marley, Bob Diddley & Ron Wood, Starship and Jethro Tull.

15 to 30-08-1988 - we know that Quo peformed a record 14 gigs at Moscow's Olympic Stadium between 15th and 31st August. We have 13 of these dates confirmed, so which one is missing?

25-11-1988 - Andy Bown started feeling ill when the venue was already open to the audience and so the gig took place - Quo played as a four piece for the first time since 1976. Support band No Exqze travelled to Malaga thinking Quo were not going to cancel the rest of the Spanish tour, but they did due to Andy's pneumonia. Indeed, the French tour to follow was also eventually cancelled. (Thanks to Josep A. Gaspar for this information.)

01-11-1989 - the only live dates we have provenance for are those of the UK "Perfect Remedy" tour, as listed. What was the band doing for the first 10 months of 1989?

17- and 18-12-1989 - these two NEC gigs were recorded and released as the video "Rocking All Over The Years", the first official Quo live video release since those of the "End of the Road" tour in 1984. This video includes the only official live release of "The Power of Rock" from the 'Perfect Remedy' album. The gig on 18/12 is also notable as it was my first front row for a Quo gig!

30-06-1990 - as previous recipients of the the Silver Clef Award, Quo performed amongst a star-studded bill at Knebworth Park. This gig was simulcast on BBC Radio 1 and among the other acts performing were Cliff Richard, Tears For Fears and Paul McCartney. A double-CD set emerged as well as a two part video of the event. Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt were also interviewed prior to the start of the show by Richard Skinner for Radio 1.

10-10-1990 - to celebrate 25 years since their conception at Butlins in 1965, Quo performed a special gig back at Butlins in Minehead. The gig was open to the resident campers as well as a host of invited guests from the entertainment world, all shipped down to the camp on the specially-chartered "Quo Express" train. The gig was later released on the "Rocking Anniversary" video.

01-06-1991 - Quo undertook a joint tour with Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker. The first date we have for this tour is 01/06, running through to 15/06? Did this tour take in any other countries and have we covered all the UK gigs?

21-09-1991 - originally an idea of Quo's manager, David Walker, Quo embarked upon the unenviable task of completing four UK mainland gigs within 12 hours. This epic day saw Quo perform at Sheffield Arena, Glasgow SE & CC, Birmingham NEC Arena and finally Wembley Arena within 12 hours - and put them into the Guiness Book of Records. A huge logistical exercise, the day was not without hitches, but the event raised over £250,000 for various charities. A double-video pack resulted from the day too - one volume charting the build up and planning of the day, the other a montage of footage from the four shows.

07-06-1992 - the first gig of the "Island" tour, taking in John Coghlan's stamping ground of the Isle of Man to begin, then onto the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey and planned to finish off on the Isle of Wight. (They did finally take in the Isle of Wight on 10/11.)

27-06-1992 - the supporting bill at the Magic Pop Festival was New Orleans Review, The Scabs, Vaction, Elliot Murphy and Les Sheriff.

14-08-1992 - the supporting bill at the Mac Queen Pop Festival was Snap, De Kreuners, Noordkaap and Dinky Toys.

30-08-1992 - Quo assisted Radio 1 to celebrate their 25th anniversary as the headline act of "The Party In The Park". Attended by well over 100,000 fans, the day-long event featured many popular artists, including Del Amitri and Aswad, and went out on Radio 1. Quo's performance was later released on both CD and video as "Live Alive Quo" and also spawned a single, "Roadhouse Blues - Anniversary Waltz Part 25" (the 25 referring to Radio 1's anniversary).

19-10-1992 - a landmark even for Quo. Having performed to Prince Charles in 1982 for the Princes Trust, this gig was part of the "Last Tattoo", a farewell to British troops in Germany - attended by Queen Elizabeth II!! Other artists performing at this bizarre event included the Beach Boys and Quo's later collaboration with them on "Fun Fun Fun" was first discussed when they met at this concert.

03-09-1993 - while still in Radio 1's good books, Quo performed at the Radio 1 roadshow prior to an evening switch on of the world famous Blackpool Illuminations. Quo drew one of the largest crowds to date for the switching on in Talbot Square. Incidentally, what were the band doing up to September 1993?

30-03-1994 - the world famous Royal Albert Hall was home for one night to Quo to perform again in front of HRH Prince Charles for a charity gig. The Hall was filled to capacity and the band were supported by 'Little Egypt'. This remains of one my most memorable gigs and the double CD bootleg "Princes Trust 1994" is a high-quality reminder of a fabulously atmospheric and patriotic event.

27-08-1994 - UK Summer outdoor appearances had become a rarity for Quo so this August Bank Holiday special was a treat for the UK fans who couldn't wait till December for the annual tour. The weather was gorgeous and the slight bowl of Hylands Park provided a good venue for this outdoor concert. The support band were 'Magnum' who played a long and well-received set before Quo took the stage and played through dusk into evening.

28-05-1995 - billed as the last date of the Thirsty Work tour, this football stadium gig was only half sold but it gave the Quo audience their first glimpse of support act 'Dear Jon', who would go on to support the band throughout the year.

09-07-1995 - other acts on this festival bill included: REM, Clawfinger, Bo Diddley, The Beautiful South, Paul Weller, Elton John, Silverchair, Ugly Kid Joe, Rod Stewart, George Thorogood, Vanessa Mae, Faith No More, Oasis, Megadeth, Sheryl Crow, Page & Plant, The Pogues, Warrant, Chuck Berry and Slash's Snakepit.

27-08-1995 - another Summer appearance for Quo, this time in Wales and with an extensive festival line-up. Kicked off by 'Dear Jon', the day also included 'The Manfreds', 'Suzi Quattro' and 'Dr Feelgood'. The long wait for the early birds at the front was rewarded by a full Quo set to round the day off.

20-10-1995 - we are not sure whether the German and Danish tour (running to 25/11) was in fact cancelled and, if so, the reason why.

28-01-1996 - as both a promotional and reward event for FTMO members, this special members-only event was a huge success. Quo recorded a playback of the "Don't Stop" album (which was later released on video) and later played an hour-long traditional live set. All of the artists on the album appeared on stage with Quo, including Maddy Prior, Brian May and 'The Beach Boys'. The Academy was packed and, as a reward to the faithful fans, it was a great gesture from Quo's management.

26-11-1996 - Quo fell victim to a French lorry drivers dispute. After three gigs in France, Quo's gear was loaded into trucks to be shipped back to England then over to Ireland ready for this first gig in Belfast. The strikers prevented trucks loading onto ferries and so, although Quo themselves arrived in Ireland in time for the gig, their gig was stuck on the wrong side of the English Channel for a couple of days. The strike was quickly resolved and the gear managed to arrive in time for the Newry gig on 28/11.

04-03-1997 - after some 19 years away, Quo returned to Australia for a small tour. The small theatre-type venues ensured Quo sold-out and the packed houses revelled in their return. The success of this tour ensured that Quo would not leave it so long before going back to Oz, they went again the next year in fact.

19-03-1997 - in the market they had never managed to crack, Quo returned to the US and Canada en-route back from Australia. With just two shows in the US and one in Canada, Quo sold out easily at the small venues but there has since been no return to this market.

02-08-1997 - following Rick Parfitt's heart bypass operation in May, the show scheduled for Carrow Road on 28/06 was rescheduled to 02/08 and, as such, staged Rick's return to live work. The special circumstances ensured a good crowd and the apprehensive fans had their minds put at rest by a typically hard Parfitt performance. The support acts for the event were 'Gidea Park' (a Beach Boys tribute act) and 'Shakin Stevens'.

01-08-1998 - the supporting bill for Quo at the Jazz Bilzen Festival was Ray Davies, Ten Years After, Squeeze, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, The Mike Flowers Pops and Clown.

22-08-1998 - Quo's first ever visit to Malta, to play at the Ta'Qali International Music Festival. This festival ran over the Summer and also included 'Iron Maiden' as a headline act. Quo played to a small crowd on a windswept field in high temperatures.

29-03-1999 - the first of Quo's ten-gig pub tour in the UK. Basically a different promotional tour for the "Under The Influence" album, the tour gave the local fans a chance to see the band at very close quarters. The tour received lots of press coverage and this first gig in particular attracted large numbers of media representatives. The gig was bootlegged and released as "Rockin' All Over The Pub".

25-06-1999 - the first of two benefit concerts for Kosovo. Quo would open these gigs and the headline act was Michael Jackson. The German event was broadcast on the internet.

30-10-1999 - in place of the traditional Christmas tour, Quo headlined the prestigious European "Night of the Proms" gigs. Performing over 30 concerts in ten cities across five countries, the band would play a set of just four songs ("Whatever You Want", "In The Army Now", "Twenty Wild Horses" and "Rockin' All Over The World") to a total audience exceeding half a million for the tour. Rick and Francis also took part in the show's closing song "Hey Jude" along with the other artists, Zucchero, Emilia, Natalie Choquette and John Miles.

27-03-2000 - similar to the launch of "Don't Stop" in 1996, fan club members were treated to a special gig on their behalf for the release of "Famous In The Last Century". Click here for further details of this gig.

28-10-2000 - to mark the start of their Australian tour, Quo performed outdoors in the middle of nowhere! The historic township of Grandchester, about 100km inland from Brisbane, saw Quo arrive majestically by train, play a short set in the midday sun, then disappear again on the train. Click here for further details of this gig.

04-11-2000 - Brisbane-local and ex Quo keyboard man Roy Lynes joined Quo on stage at the Entertainment Centre for a guest appearance on "Roll Over Beethoven". Roy had been delighted to be asked to take part in this gig and you can read more here.

15-12-2000 - a surprise special guest appeared on stage for the traditional Wembley Arena gig, in the shape of Jackie Lynton on "Roll Over Beethoven". If you don't know who he is, dig out your copy of "Live!" and listen to the intro!

30-07-2002 - Quo launched their new album "Heavy Traffic" with a special press and media show aboard the deck of the Ark Royal. A special feature concerning this event is available by clicking here.

10-09-2004 - Quo were invited to perform at a large party marking the opening of Zurich's new airport. They were supported by the Zurich Airport Orchestra and a Beatles tribute act. Lucky it wasn't Vienna airport or they might have had second thoughts!

20-03-2005 - Quo made their first trip to Malaysia to play at the after-race party following the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur. Quo appeared as the headline act and were preceded by a number of local Asian acts. The crowd was almost exclusively locals too, so Quo were an unknown quantity to most of them. Quo played a full set though, despite the small crowd of only about 500 people, the hot humid conditions and the lack of familiarity of their material. More details of this event, including media coverage and access to photographic and video materials, can be found by clicking here.

17-07-2005 - Quo headlined the third and final day of Guilfest 2005. Headline acts for the first two days were The Pogues and Paul Weller, whilst Quo were joined on the BBC Radio 2 Main Stage on Sunday by Daniel Bedingfield, Lulu, Marillion, Chas & Dave, The Zombies and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain! Notable appearances on the other stages during the day included Rhino's son's band Toothpaste Factory (on the "Surrey Advertiser Stage" at 3:30pm) and regular Quo support band Hurricane Party (in the Rock Sound Cave).

10-06-2006 - Quo were third on the bill at the annual "Rock Under The Bridge" festival in 2006, partly because they needed to get back to the UK for the Silverstone gig the next day. Deep Purple headlined the event, with other acts on the bill including Lis Sørensen, Gnags, TV2, Kim Larsen & Kjukken, Zididada, SP Just Frost, Ida Corr, Magtens Korridorer, Bikstok Røgsystem and Saybia.