Francis Rossi goes solo - and brings the family
It's something akin to seeing Siamese twins separated to witness Francis Rossi on a stage without his Status Quo counterpart Rick Parfitt.
Francis Rossi
Birmingham Town Hall
Concert review and photos by Ian Harvey
It's something akin to seeing Siamese twins separated to witness Francis Rossi on a stage without his Status Quo counterpart Rick Parfitt.
Rossi arrived at Birmingham Town Hall last night on just the second night of his first ever solo tour to promote his new album One Step At A Time.
He had earlier claimed to be nervous about appearing on stage without his Quo bandmates but there was no sign of that last night.
Backed up by a band which included his son Nicholas and two female backing singers, Rossi started off the gig in just the same way he starts most Quo concerts, with the 1973 classic Caroline.
This was a different Caroline though, slower and stripped down to the way he and his songwriting partner Bob Young originally wrote it.
The show gave Rossi a chance to showcase new Quo-like songs including Sleeping On The Job and Tallulah's Waiting as well as the lovely ballad One Step.
There were even a few old Quo obscurities like Twenty Wild Horses thrown in to please the fans as well as the classic Don't Waste My Time to finish on a real high.
Earlier, to make it a real family affair, Rossi's daughter Bernadette, fronted her own band, The North, who even included Quo's In My Chair in their set. Even her mum was in the audience.
