"I think about Rick Parfitt most days" admits Status Quo's Francis Rossi

QUO — (Image credit: Joby Sessions/Total Guitar Magazine/Future via Getty Images))

Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi speaks about the death of his friend and former bandmate Rick Parfitt in the new issue of Classic Rock magazine, which is on sale. now.

Asked if he ever thinks about Parfitt, who died on December 24, 2016, or Quo's longtime bassist Alan Lancaster, who passed away on September 26, 2001, Rossi admits that memories of both men surface in his thoughts from time to time.

"Rick, most days," he says, "Usually with affection, though sometimes it’s pure fucking anger at things that went on that shouldn’t have, or whether or not we indulged him too much; stop believing your PR – you’re just another person that sells records.

"I dream of Lancaster occasionally,"Rossi continues. "Mostly it’s horrendous, other times it’s not so bad. When I dream of Rick it’s nice feelings, from when we were young."

On a more light-hearted note later in the inteview, conducted to celebrate 300 issues of Classic Rock magazine, Simmons is asked whether he thinks Quo will still be around in 2030, to witness the publication of issue 400 of the mag.

Hearing the question, Rossi bursts out laughing, pointing out that he'll be 81.

He replies: "When I leave the bedroom in the morning, I find myself thinking: 'I should make it back into here tonight.' So will we still be going in 2030? Jesus, surely not. But I thought the same thing at forty, and then forty-five."

Quo are set to kick off a busy 2022 with a show at the Vibes Festival in Denmark on June 10.

The 300th edition of Classic Rock is available now and features new interviews with Jimmy Page, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Heart & Halestorm, Geddy Lee, Metallica, Brian May, Genesis, Iron Maiden and many more.

Classic Rock 300th issue cover — (Image credit: Future)

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.