The annual 4 Bills benefit gig for Teddington school again yielded a sell-out crowd in the large school hall. The 400-strong audience was a mix of parents, friends and Quo die-hards - oh, and a certain Mr Parfitt with unknown 30-something blond companion!
The evening kicked-off with a 45-minute set from local band "Strange Fruit", familiar to Teddington goers of old after last year's performance. Their set was an unusual and quite static mix but their perseverance paid off when a few revellers took to the dance floor. Their closing number got the place going, Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall" - the "we don't need no education" line going down particularly well amongst the students of the school present in the crowd!
The 4 Bills took stage at 9.50 and, from the word go, got the hall dancing and singing their hearts out. Lead singer Johnny Warman gave his usual energetic and fully committed performance and introduced many new songs into the 4 Bills set with great vigour. Jeff's son, Mark, played lead guitar with Steve Byrd on a couple of tracks and received warm applause for his efforts. The Bills left the stage (for the first time!) at 11.20 but there was of course more to come. A long encore, only curtailed by school regulations, led to the close at 11.50 but not before the highlight of the set - a new song into the 4 Bills set for '97 and what a success. An unusual choice but a great crowd rouser, Gary Glitter's "Leader of the Gang" literally raised the roof.
As we've come to expect from the 4 Bills, another very professional, energetic and enjoyable performance. John and Jeff showed no signs of tiredness after their Middle East trip earlier in the week and Mr Parfitt seemed to enjoy the show too. A great gig, good venue and capacity crowd all made for an excellent evening's entertainment and the new songs in the 4 Bills set for should ensure their continued success during 1997.
Revisit the April 1997 event list
The following press release appeared on the Official Status Quo website (at http://www.statusquo.co.uk) on May 1st to announce the news of Rick Parfitt being taken ill.
Rick Parfitt is today recovering in the intensive care unit of London's Wellington hospital following an emergency quadruple by-pass operation. Rick was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon after complaining of chest pains earlier in the day. Extensive tests revealed a critical narrowing of the arteries to the heart and surgeon Brian Glenville recommended that he should undergo immediate surgery. The successful operation commenced at 9.00pm and took four hours to complete.
Rick is expected to make a full recovery and will stay in intensive care for the next twenty four hours. It is anticipated that he will remain at the hospital for a week prior to commencing a three month recuperation period. Although he is in intensive care, he is now awake and is already laughing and joking with nurses.
Ricks surgery has led to immediate cancellation of all scheduled Quo gigs for May, June and July. Discussions are already being undertaken to reschedule the Norwich show for early August. If successfully rescheduled, the gig will be the first show following Rick's surgery.
Revisit the April 1997 event list
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