Francis Rossi
| Francis Rossi OBE |
|
|---|---|
Performing with Status Quo in Örebro, Sweden on 18 July 2007
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi |
| Also known as | Mike Rossi, Frame |
| Born |
29 May 1949 Forest Hill, London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Associated acts | Status Quo, Band Aid, Graham Bonnet, John Du Cann |
| Website | www.francisrossi.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Telecaster | |
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE (born 29 May 1949) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the co-founder, lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band Status Quo.
Rossi was born on 29 May 1949 in Forest Hill, London. His father's side of the family were Italian ice cream merchants responsible for the Rossi's Ice Cream parlours, and his mother was a Northern Irish Roman Catholic from Liverpool. Rossi grew up in a household with his parents, grandmother, and "lots of aunts and uncles", and was given a Roman Catholic upbringing, having been named after Saint Francis of Assisi. He attended Our Lady and St Philip Neri Roman Catholic Primary School in Sydenham, and Sedgehill Comprehensive School for high school, from which he was expelled on his last day. It was at Sedgehill where Rossi met Alan Lancaster, with whom he formed the band "The Scorpions" - a predecessor to Status Quo. Rossi's desire to become a musician began after seeing The Everly Brothers live on television at a young age, after which he asked his parents to buy him a guitar for Christmas.
In 1962 when Rossi was attending Sedgehill Comprehensive School, he became close friends with future Status Quo bassist Alan Lancaster while playing trumpet in the school orchestra. The two, along with other classmates Alan Key (drums) and Jess Jaworski (keyboards), formed a band called "The Scorpions", who played their first gig at the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich. Key was later replaced by Air Cadets drummer and future "Quo" member John Coghlan, and the band was renamed "The Spectres". The Spectres wrote their own material and played live shows, and in 1965 they played at a Butlins holiday camp in Minehead. It was here that Rossi met his future long-time Status Quo partner Rick Parfitt, who was playing as part of another band called "The Highlights". The two became close friends and agreed to continue working together. In 1966, The Spectres signed a five-year deal with Piccadilly Records, releasing three singles that failed to chart. The group again changed their name, this time to "Traffic Jam", after embracing psychedelia.
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