IN MY CHAIR: Francis Rossi Turns The Pages Of His Quo Songbook, Harrogate Royal Hall, 4th October 2026
Francis Rossi, Quo Song Book, 2026 tour flyer
As you enter the grand splendour of Harrogate’s Edwardian Royal Hall, to the sight of two deep velvet red high-back wingback armchairs, each accompanied by a duo of Fender American Acoustasonic Telecasters, the scene is well and truly set for a journey through the 60 year songbook of Status Quo frontman, Francis Rossi.
Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE, needs little introduction. The 77 year old has a musical lineage going right back to 1962, and as friendships and musical alliances with Alan Lancaster, John Coghlan and Rick Parfitt emerged over the following years, the musical beast that became Status Quo, dominated the rock arena in the 70s and 80s, before going through a number of reiterations as the band continued to be an enduring part of the musical scene.
The Quo Songbook Tour: Past, Present, Future
In tandem with what appears to be a winding down of the live Status Quo vehicle—its seemingly final show being played in August 2024—Rossi has undergone something of a re-invention of his craft. A tour in 2019 (with a COVID rescheduled second leg in 2021) to promote his autobiography “I Talk Too Much” saw a number of dates where his mixed playing songs with conversations with rock photographer, writer and journalist, Mick Wall.
More recently the Quo Song Book tour has seen more emphasis on his extensive back catalogue, less anecdotes and the introduction of Andy Brook, to provide musical accompaniment, such that the evenings are more a celebration of the music rather than the stories.
This marks a contrast with the recent John Coghlan “An Evening With…” that I attended in August 2026 and my review can be found here.
The crowd awaits Francis Rossi, Harrogate Royal Hall, 4th October 2026 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Andy Brook
Andy Brook and Francis Rossi’s paths have crossed significantly over the recent years. In 2020 Brook engineered the first post-Rick Parfitt, Status Quo album Backbone and was also involved on the Francis Rossi & Hannah Rickard 2024 project We Talk Too Much. More recently he performed production and engineering duties, whilst also playing, on Rossi’s solo 2026 album, The Accidental.
Brook has an illustrious music background and pedigree and, in addition to Status Quo and Rossi, has produced, engineered and toured with the likes of Bonnie Tyler, Ginger Wildheart, Uriah Heep, Mel Gaynor, Greg Jackman, Del-Amitri, Travis, Tiger Lillie's, Towers of London, Hayseed Dixie, Million Dead, and Breed 77.
Operating out of his studio environment (The Brook Studios), Brook has amassed hundreds of production, engineering, and mixing credits across rock, pop, and indie genres
It’s a powerful alliance—Brook’s impeccable guitar playing and vocals adding colour and depth to Rossi’s reinterpretations of his significant body of work.
Turning The Pages
The stage and chairs set for Francis Rossi, Harrogate Royal Hall, 4th October 2026 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
After Andy Brook takes to the stage, administering the final tweaks to the kit carefully placed on stage, Francis Rossi enters to the expected cheers from a busy Harrogate crowd, and a trademark “How are you then, alright?”.
With what could possibly be described as a gradual limbering up whilst he tests the water, Rossi paces the stage, mixing trying to reposition his head mic (“we just can’t seem to get this right”), establishing some friendly banter with the crowd, morphing into a deep gravel-voiced Cockney Octogenarian persona, whilst simultaneously exhibiting the signs of someone marking out his territory.
It is already clear he is in a mischievous mood, and after warning us the timings of the previous show and its interval went to pot due to his tendency to talk too much and go off at tangents, another marker is laid down that starts to make it feel that we are in for a special night.
A Crammed First Half
We get some early recollections of his youth, some guitar noodlings (“Valderie”, “Pink Panther” theme amongst some of the illustrations of his influences) interspersed with the first song “Pictures Of Matchstick Men” its 1967 psychedelic leanings now replaced with a dual guitar attack.
The timeless “In My Chair”, written by Rossi and Bob Young in 1970 is next up, its bluesy shuffle suiting the stripped down format of the evening perfectly.
“Spinning Wheel Blues’ from Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon, also from 1970, continues the down and dirty theme we’ve currently found ourselves inhabiting.
Brook adds a perfect musical foil to Rossi but doesn't steal the limelight. Rossi playfully tries to get him to speak during some of the onstage banter but Brook continues to simply nod in response.
As Rossi flags the significant numbers of songs still to be crammed into the first half of the show, it incongruously shifts him towards further banter, especially with those already getting up for a ‘comfort break’—Rossi’s piercing gaze or barbed, but playful, comments amusing the rest of the audience.
And then the Song Book gets into full action. A great take on the Honky Tonk angels imprinted “Wild Side Of Life” makes way for a medley of Dion’s “The Wanderer”, a detour into “Railroad” and “Rollin' Home”, 1982’s “Dear John” and the effervescent jig of “Hold You Back” as the stage backdrop displays the associated album and single sleeves.
Explaining the background of time spent in Germany (or “Gernamy” as he chuckles), the guitar heavy infusions of “Gerdundula” pays tribute to Gerd and Ula, the couple the song recounts.
Despite the acoustic nature of the show, the venom of songs such as “Don’t Waste My Time” are re-captured superbly by the two-pronged attack of the Acoustasonic guitars. Seamlessly flipping to the magnetic electric pickup, sees the more familiar Telecaster sound infiltrate the 70s powerhouse track.
But almost in the next breath, the more intimate laid back tones of “Rock ‘n Roll” provide a riposte to the 12-bar blues onslaught, the song appearing with a menthol-laced freshness.
With the clock now massively overrun, a spritely “Burning Bridges”, resplendent with sing-along ‘da, da, der, dah’s”, brings the first half to a close.
Some Deeper Cuts, Some Massive Hits
The second half sees a continuation of the first half. Noting that it will consist of some “deeper” cuts (or more “obscure” as he winces) it becomes clear that Rossi, sat in his chair, is massively, and rightly, at one with his impressive back catalogue.
An uplifting “What You’re Proposing” sees Brook and Rossi’s guitars mesh with a lack of abandon, as “Dirty Water” pokes its head above the parapet, encouraging more crowd-assisted participation.
After “Marguerita Time” gets an airing, it elicits a shout about Chas and Dave from the audience. Rossi, a longtime fan of the duo, adds some banter about the much-missed Chas and even launches into a impromptu slice of “There Ain’t No Pleasing You” to solidify his point.
Things simmer down slightly as the exquisite “Someone Show Me Home” from the If You Can’t Stand The Heat album from 1978, showcases the depth of Rossi’s songwriting and singing as the song ebbs and flows over a spellbound crowd.
The stage and guitars set for Francis Rossi, Harrogate Royal Hall, 4th October 2026 (Image: Damien Wilkinson)
Prefacing “Tongue Tied” with a comment that “I thought it would change the world…” he is appropriately proud of the song he co-wrote with Bob Young and the poignant version delivered does justice to the beautifully tender song.
With the set still overrunning, Rossi cheekily quips about ‘anyone needing to get back for the babysitter?”, there is still a flurry of ‘comfort break’ departures from what could be described as a vintage audience, again prompting some amusing exchanges from the stage.
Sensing the need to pick the pace back up sees a return to more familiar Quo territory with “Roll Over Lay Down”, again the dual guitars managing to fill the venue with some trademark boogie heft as things crank up, which continues into “Rockin’ All Over The World”; John Fogerty’s tune, but with custody rights well and truly in the camp of Quo, as ever hitting the heights.
Both songs encourage a solo ‘dancer’—a chap clad in a Porkpie hat and waistcoat weaves his way from one side of the stage to the other, dipping at certain intervals. As Rossi himself raises an eyebrow it creates an unusual spectacle, but adds to the fun and informal nature of the evening.
A version of “In The Army Now” in stripped down duo form perhaps doesn't quite hit the top notes of the original, but we are soon catapulted into “Down Down” which is massively revitalised—again the dynamics of Rossi and Brook’s guitar duelling reaping massive dividends in injecting vibrancy and vigour into the 1974 single that became Quo’s only number one. With false endings, searing guitar breaks and interplay the song is drawn out into an epic conclusion, and one that fully demonstrates the sonic treasure Brook has brought to tonight’s party.
And what else but “Caroline” to end things perfectly. Rossi is out of his chair for much of the song, and whilst it initially follows the slower shuffle-paced version Rossi has adopted in recent solo years, it also manages to sign off with a reprise of the raw power of the original song—Brook reprising Rick Parfitt’s head-down standing in front of the Marshall stack guitar onslaught, as the riffs resonate left, right and centre across the building.
It’s a fabulously great end to a fun and entertaining evening.
Francis Rossi and Andy Brook take the acclaim of the Harrogate audience, Harrogate Royal Hall, 4th October 2026 (Image: c/o Francis Rossi Facebook page)
Past, Present And Future
The show is billed as past, present and future.
On the evidence of tonight it is clear that Francis Rossi still has plenty left in the tank and has so much more to give. Who knows what that actually looks like but with the remainder of a tour that extends well into 2027, and a recent album release (The Way We Were Vol. 2), there are no signs of a let up.
Francis Rossi, Quo Songbook Leg 2, 2027 tour flyer
Indeed, whilst this might not involve a return of a full Status Quo line-up, it was abundantly clear that Rossi has found a format that he appears both comfortable with, and, more importantly, re-invigorated by, and it provides a highly entertaining spectacle to witness.
Showcasing a 60 year career its an amazing reminder of the significant songwriting talents and musical abilities of this treasured and much loved artist.
One that is well and truly in his chair.
Note: With photography and videography discouraged during the show I’ve therefore not included any performance shots in the above review.
Seat: Stalls , Seat K7
Setlist:
1. Pictures of Matchstick Men
2. In My Chair
3. Spinning Wheel Blues
4. Wild Side of Life
5. The Wanderer / Railroad / Rollin' Home / Dear John / Hold You Back
6. Gerdundula
7. Don't Waste My Time
8. Rock 'n' Roll
9. Burning Bridges (On and Off and on Again)
Interval
10. What You're Proposing
11. Dirty Water
12. Marguerita Time
13. Someone Show Me Home
14. Tongue Tied
15. Roll Over Lay Down
16. Rockin' All Over the World
17. In the Army Now
18. Down Down
19. Caroline
