User:Pierre potter

Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi OBE (born 29 May 1949) is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar. He was born in Forest Hill, London.

He has enjoyed minor success with brief projects outside the group. In 1985 when Status Quo were on hold, he recorded two singles and a (so far unreleased) album with his longtime writing partner Bernie Frost. The single releases were "Modern Romance (I Want to Fall in Love Again)" (UK No. 54[1]), and "Jealousy". In 1996 he issued a solo album, King of the Doghouse, which was not a commercial success, although it produced a UK No. 42 hit single, "Give Myself to Love".[1] Some years earlier, in 1976, he appeared on the soundtrack album and film, All This and World War II, comprising cover versions of songs by The Beatles. Although the album sleeve credits the performance of "Getting Better" to Status Quo, the track featured Rossi's vocals and the London Symphony Orchestra.

In 1980, Rossi and Frost contributed vocals to Ships in The Night, a track from "Exiled", a concept album by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe which featured various other artists, including Colin Blunstone and Dan McCafferty. In 1981, he produced and played the Coral sitar, synthesizer, and guitar on two tracks on Line-Up by Graham Bonnet, one of which was the Top 10 hit, "Night Games".

3 May 2010 saw the release of his long-awaited second solo album, One Step at a Time, including a re-recording of Quo's 1973 classic "Caroline". Rossi wrote and recorded three songs with Guy Johnson, who penned the UK Top 20 hit "Going Down Town Tonight" for Status Quo in 1984.[2] On the news that Rossi will embark on a six date tour of the UK to promote the album, he commented, "I never stop writing songs and melodies but there have been many tracks over the years that just weren't right for Quo. These songs have been gathering dust in my mind for too long and now seems the right time to showcase them. It's a big step for me but I hope to see lots of the same faces out there on the road!" [3] Contents

* 1 Musical equipment * 2 Personal life * 3 References * 4 External links

[edit] Musical equipment

Rossi's main guitar is a 1957 Fender Telecaster which he purchased in 1968 for £70. Through the years several parts have been replaced with G&L parts and a third pickup has been added in a configuration much like a Fender Stratocaster. For amplification Rossi uses Marshall JCM800 or JCM900 Lead series amplifiers with 4x12 cabinets and a Roland GP8 to boost his signal. The sound from his Marshall rig is blended with Vox AC30 amplifiers that are kept behind his Marshall setup.[4] http://www.statusquo.co.uk