IT is rare for rock legends Status Quo to play a UK venue they have never performed at before – and even rarer for it to be one even older than they are.
But rock and rolling into the stunning splendour of Halifax’s Grade 1 listed former Georgian cloth The Piece Hall, the historic sandstone setting played the perfect host to a hefty dosage of classic British rock.
Over two scintillating hours, 77-year-old frontman Francis Rossi belied his advancing years to deliver a musical masterclass that made you once again question whether he really is serious that this current 42-date European tour will be the band’s final round of gigs.
If so they are finishing on a high having played to sold-out crowds right across the continent – but when a band remains on such top form and playing such phenomenal venues you really have to question the decision to stop. And man, this guitar-playing pensioner can still deliver one hell of a fast-fingered solo.
Marvelling at the setting that was originally built in 1779 but has been transformed into a tourist attraction and concert venue attracting over 180,000 fans to shows this summer, Rossi told the capacity crowd: “It’s brilliant to be here – what a venue. It’s beautiful!”
Quo famously withdrew from the road in 1984 with a spectacular End of The Road tour only to be coaxed back out of retirement following their career-defining Live Aid performance a year later.
And four decades on they are still proving masters of their 12-bar craft – even if Rossi is the last remaining member of the band’s classic 1970s Frantic Four line-up.
Opening with 1973 smash Caroline the barrage of hits was as unrelenting as the distinctive chugging guitar sound powerfully delivered by the late Rick Parfitt’s rhythm guitar replacement Richie Malone.
The 24-song set contained phew surprises – they are maintaining the Status Quo after all – but non-single deeper cuts of Softer Ride, Hold Ya Back and Don’t Waste My Time –proved as welcome by the masses as the chart-smashing hits of What You’re Proposing, In The Army Now, Whatever You Want and Rocking All Over The World.
But for this reveiewer it was the near 10 minute version of Down Down that stole the show, with Rossi (twice) teasing fans to the brink of delerium before unleashing the classic intro to one of the heaviest tunes to hit the number one spot in the charts. Sublime.
SQ24 as its billed concludes with what Rossi pre-tour insisted would be Status Quo’s final show at Somerset’s Vivary Park on Friday August 23. But his band’s night at the Piece Hall may just have changed that – surely they’d want to come back and do it again and again and again.
Last few remaining ticket’s for Quo’s final show available
https://www.ticketline.co.uk/status-quo#bio
