Why did Status Quo (band) never have much success in America

This is about the band Status Quo yes the Status Quo (band) which are regarded as an institution in Britain as British as fish and chips and Big Ben yes very good band however they never really managed to “crack America” or whatever you would usually say and they are a very good rock band but they only play three chords and Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt have been in it the longest but I believe they are soon to hang up their Fender Stratocaster guitars for good. they have performed over 4500 live shows to audiences in excess of 20 million people and they have done more than a million miles on the road and one of them has had a quadruple heart bypass and they are still going but of course I saw them live in 2005 with Mel C of the Spice Girls and Meat Loaf and it was really good.
Have many people in America heard the band
Any other people here are fans of them

Because they were just more of the same.

But now you have to remember that they did the John Fogarty’s Rockin All Over The World and were at Live Aid as well and The Way It Goes as well

More about Status Quo

Here is some more information about the band

All in all I think a very good band and there is plenty of good music and things that well are nice

Better suited to Cafe Society. Off it goes.

Status Quo certainly weren’t pushed much by marketing in the States, or by a label that I can tell. I was a youngster in the 70’s and from then through the 80’s the only Status Quo song I can identify from radio play is “Pictures Of Matchstick Men”, which was pretty cool, but also kind of a novelty. I really don’t know anything else that they’ve done. I’d say that they never got much label support here.

I was an American 15-year-old when Live Aid happened, and I actually remember thinking at the time, “How odd that this band Status Quo, that I’ve barely heard of, is being given the same pride of place as Queen and a reunited Led Zeppelin.” I figured they must be Bob Geldof’s mates or something.

:wink:

Francis Rossi has said that they had no representative in the States and didn’t really care. It cost them a lot to tour and they didn’t want to spend the money they were earning in Europe trying to make it in the States as they thought the whole thing woud only last a few years. They have managed to sell over 100 million records, more than the Who, Fleetwood Mac and Dire Straits so they have managed OK despite their failure.

That seems controversial. The relevant wiki page puts the three bands you name at 100m plus. It doesn’t even mention Status Quo.

That list starts off by explaining that it excludes lots of older acts but elsewhere on the same site :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_biggest_selling_British_acts_of_all_time when sorted correctly 122,000,000 sales.

They only claim 118,000,000 on their website.

I think they are great. Good old rock and roll. I wish I had heard about them sooner.

What, the “In the Army Now” guys? I always assumed they were a one-hit wonder.

And Cliff Richard has sold 260 million. So what? Nobody in the States has the slightest idea who he is, either.

I know who Cliff Richard is, but only because MTV was kind enough to broadcast The Young Ones in the '80s.

Judging by their performance at Live Aid,it is because Americans have good taste and don’t need to spend money on these mediocrities

I couldn’t have told you who sang it, but Matchstick Men was indeed a cool song. All Leslie speakers and phasing…pretty spacey.

Dennis

C’mon, you guys embraced Foghat.

I’m familiar with POMM because Camper Van Beethoven remade it.

p.s. The OP needs to learn how to use punctuation.

And utterly unlike the shite they put out for the next few decades. They basically make music for the sort of person who went to a bike rally once in 1975 and has been living the rebel life dream ever since.

Lonesome Dave was a badass!