Status Quo baffled by popularity of classic hit
Status Quo are completely baffled by the enduring popularity of their hit track Rockin’ All Over The World.
The band covered John Fogerty’s track in 1977, and despite the song also being covered by legends such as Bon Jovi, Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen, Status Quo’s version is viewed as the ultimate cover.
The song has also become known as one of the band’s most popular anthems, which has long confused the British rockers.
Singer and guitarist Francis Rossi said, “I don’t know why ours has become this classic ‘raaaawk’ song. We played [a] Sweden Rock festival and all these people dressed head to toe in black were in front of the stage going, ‘This is great!’ I’m looking at them going, ‘What the f*** are you thinking?’…”
“F**k me, even my dental hygienist sent me something the other day to say they were all singing it at some wedding reception.”
The band’s late guitarist Rick Parfitt originally brought the track to their bandmates, who were sceptical at the idea of a cover song.
Francis recalled, “It sounded a bit piddly, to be honest."
“But me and Rick used to joke that we could Quo-up anything with a guitar on it. So that’s what we did…”
“Our old fans hated it. We had so much mail going, ‘What the f*** is this?’ But that song brought in loads more new fans.”
Despite the song seemingly dividing fans, Francis said he has fond memories of kicking off Live Aid in 1985 with the track.
He told Classic Rock magazine, “Nobody wanted to go on first, so we went, ‘F*** it, we’ll do it.”
“But when we started playing that song, there was a total sense of euphoria. Everything slotted in. The sense of love from the audience was something else.”
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