Francis Rossi bringing 'Tunes and Chat' show to Lighthouse Theatre next week

Francis Rossi is responsible for some of the greatest rock songs of all time.

The founding member and leader of Status Quo has literally been rockin’ all over the world since the 1960s and this month, brings his Tunes and Chat tour to Kettering.

The hits are the stuff of legend. From Down Down and Rockin’ All Over The World, to Whatever You Want and In The Army Now, from What’s You’re Proposing and Caroline to Again and Again and Marguerita Time, his band has sold 100 million records since 1968.

This tour, which heads to Kettering’s Lighthouse Theatre on Wednesday, April 12, will give fans the chance to enjoy an evening of music, along with his trademark chat, as he explores the high points of an incredible career.

The man who met Rick Parfitt at Butlins and who began his musical career by embracing psychedelia has never been out of the spotlight.

“I’m calling it Tunes and Chat,” explains Rossi. “I’ll have another acoustic guitarist with me and we’ll be playing songs that people love, explaining how they came about.

“We’ll be doing about 20 songs, so it’ll be a really good show with plenty of hits and some deeper cuts that don’t often get played.”

Rossi’s previous spoken word tour, I Talk Too Much, focused on his life and times, from watching his ice-cream-selling family as a kid to learning how to play music, from blowing a seven-figure sum on drink and drugs to the passing of his former bandmate, Rick Parfitt.

In contrast, this tour will focus on the music, as fans get to hear the songs they love – as well as the stories behind them.

Rockin’ All Over The World, for instance, came about when Rick was going down the A3 one night, drunk.

Francis says: “Rick used to pick people up on the A3, people thumbing a lift, there was a lot of that then.

“The radio came on and Rockin’ All Over The World was playing. At the time, none of us were that keen about it, you know. We thought the song was alright, but we didn’t know what it would become.

“We got more slagged off for that record than anything we’d done in our lives, until In The Army and Marguerita Time.

“I still find it weird today that people go ‘And I like it, and I like it…’ And they think it’s rock. No it’s not. It’s a pop song.”

What You’re Proposing came about when Rossi was propositioned.

“I said to Bernard, ‘We can’t say that.’ I told him what – or rather who – it was about.

“I said, ‘People will realise who it’s about.’ I thought people would suss it.

“It was really quick, a really, really quick song. It’s very, very simple.

“I thought people would know who it was about but they didn’t. There was a fear that it would expose itself – or her. I’ll come back to that later.”

And then there was Marguerita Time, a song about the mother of his daughter, Bernadette, at a time when Rossi was heavily into drink and drugs.

“I wrote it on piano. It came together easily,” he explains. “Even now if I hear the intro of Marguerita, it just sounds so happy.”

Status Quo opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985, have won a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music and were awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to music and charity.

Talking about his forthcoming tour, Rossi said: “I really love this. I’m finally getting to do what I’ve always wanted to do, which is just play, simply, without the volume turned up to number 11.

“It’s taken me all of my career to strip it back and get really simple.

“I’m letting the songs do the talking.”

Tickets cost £30 in advance before fees. VIP tickets and ‘meet and greet’ tickets are also available for £45 and £80 respectively. For more information, visit https://lighthousetheatre.co.uk