Status Quo plan final electric shows

Status Quo have announced they’ll hit the road towards the end of 2016 in what will be their last-ever electric tour.

They released Aquostic (Stripped Bare) in 2014 – a fully-acoustic collection of 25 tracks – and followed it with live album Aquostic! last year, recorded at London’s Roundhouse.

And while they say it’s not the end of the road, the 2016 dates – which will be announced in due course – will be the last time they break out the electric guitars.

Vocalist and guitarist Francis Rossi says: “We’ve talked about it for some time and have decided that it’s time for us to hang up the electrics – it’s getting harder for us to play those shows. It’s 30 years since we last said we were stopping but this is a final decision.

“It doesn’t mean we won’t do other things, perhaps the odd special, but we’re agreed that the moment has come. There’s more to come from us in the years ahead, but we won’t tour the electric set ever again.”

Guitarist Rick Parfitt adds: “We always thought we’d see a red light when it was time to stop. The show hurts now, physically. It’s hard to maintain that level of energy and without that it’s not really a Quo show. So we don’t feel we should continue.

“This is definitely the end of our lives on the road with the electric set, life won’t be the same for us – or many of the fans – but we can’t go on at this pace any more.”

Tickets for The Last Night Of The Electrics tour will go on sale later this month, with further details to be revealed in due course.

In December, Status Quo launched a pre-order campaign for 2CD package Accept No Substitute: Live In Concert.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.