Francis Rossi

Acting

Francis Rossi

Born 1949-05-29 · Forest Hill, London, England, UK

Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Rossi was born on 29 May 1949 in Forest Hill, London. His father's side of the family were Italian ice cream merchants and had an ice cream business in South London, and his mother was a Northern Irish Roman Catholic from Liverpool. He grew up in a household with his parents, grandmother, and "lots of aunts and uncles" and was given a Roman Catholic upbringing, having been named after Saint Francis of Assisi. He spent his summer holidays as a child with an aunt in Waterloo, Merseyside. He attended Our Lady and St Philip Neri Roman Catholic Primary School in Sydenham, and then Sedgehill Comprehensive School, from which he was expelled on his last day for having allowed his classmates to deface his school uniform. His desire to become a musician began after seeing The Everly Brothers live on television at a young age, after which he asked his parents to buy him a guitar for Christmas. In 1962, while attending Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Rossi became close friends with future Status Quo bassist Alan Lancaster while playing trumpet in the school orchestra. The two, along with other classmates Alan Key (drums) and Jess Jaworski (keyboards), formed a band called the Scorpions, who played their first gig at the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich. Key was later replaced by Air Cadets drummer and future Quo member John Coghlan, and the band was renamed the Spectres. The Spectres wrote their own material and played live shows; the line-up soon included Redhill-based keyboard player Roy Lynes, whom they had seen performing with a band called the Echoes who were also based in Redhill. In 1965, the Spectres played at a Butlins holiday camp in Minehead. There Rossi met his future long-time Status Quo partner Rick Parfitt, who was playing as part of another band, the Highlights. The two became close friends and agreed to continue working together. In 1966, the Spectres signed a five-year deal with Piccadilly Records, releasing three singles that failed to chart. The group again changed their name, this time to Traffic Jam, after embracing psychedelia. In 1967, Traffic Jam changed its name to The Status Quo, but eventually dropped the definite article. Shortly afterward Parfitt joined the band, completing the original line-up, and beginning an almost 50-year partnership with Rossi until Parfitt's death in 2016. Rossi had written a song called "Pictures of Matchstick Men", which hit the charts in both the UK and the US in 1968, launching their hit-making career. After some years of minor success, the band reached #5 in the album charts in 1972 with Piledriver. Released on Vertigo Records, it included "Paper Plane", a song penned by Rossi and Bob Young, which was released as a single. Status Quo continued to enjoy major success in the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand through the 1970s and 1980s. They were the opening act of 1985's Live Aid, and Rossi wrote and co-wrote some of their biggest hits, including "Caroline" and the band's only number one single, "Down Down". ... Source: Article "Francis Rossi" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Acting credits

Live Aid poster
7.9

Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"

Live Aid

1985

An Audience with Billy Connolly poster
8.4

Billy Connolly delivers his special brand of stand-up comedy and abrasive humour in front of a celebrity audience.

An Audience with Billy Connolly

1985

Hello Quo poster
5.8

Collecting hours of previously unseen footage and classic live material with full exclusive access to all band members this is the definitive story of a band that has done and seen it all. As well as full access to the band, Hello Quo! Also features input from a host of the biggest names in rock including: Brian May of Queen, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy, Buzzcocks, Slade, Paul Weller, Sir Cliff Richard and Midge Ure. The documentary also exclusively features the moment when the original line up of the band met again for the first time in over 30 years. A truly poignant reunion, after years of legal wrangling, saw the band clear the air but also plug in and play together once again... This Access All Areas Collector s Edition includes 3 hours of astonishing never seen before Quo footage!

Hello Quo

2012

The Best of Cannon & Ball poster
NR

Double act Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball entertain us with their own unique brand of humour. The programmes feature various sketch shows along with many celebrity guests.

The Best of Cannon & Ball

1985

Concert for Diana poster
7.6

Concert for Diana was a benefit concert held at the then newly built Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday. 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death. The concert was hosted by Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who helped to organise many of the world's most famous entertainers and singers to perform. Proceeds from the concert went to Diana's charities, as well as to charities of which William and Harry are patrons. The concert was broadcast in 140 countries with an estimated potential audience of 500 million. In December 2006, 22.500 tickets were made available for purchase for the concert, selling out in just 17 minutes. 63.000 people turned out to Wembley Stadium to watch the performances to commemorate Diana.

Concert for Diana

2007

Bula Quo! poster
4.1

Status Quo play a series of shows in Fiji and become embroiled in a secret Russian Roulette ring lorded over by Jon Lovitz.

Bula Quo!

2013

Queen: Champions of the World poster
8.3

This documentary on the music group Queen includes performance and rehearsal footage, and exclusive interviews from backstage at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

Queen: Champions of the World

1995

Best of Night of the Proms Vol.  5 poster
NR

Best of Night of the Proms 5

Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 5

2011

Live Aid Against All Odds poster
NR

Documentary which traces the story of Live Aid from its humble beginnings, a pop tune cobbled together in the back seat of a taxi, to the eve of the biggest televised event ever. Artists from the time tell the story of the day that music rocked the world. Organiser Bob Geldof recalls how after 12 weeks of manic preparation, the big day finally arrived.

Live Aid Against All Odds

2005

Top of the Pops: The True Story poster
NR

BBC documentary on the long-running British TV show, Top of the Pops.

Top of the Pops: The True Story

2001

The Making of Do They Know It's Christmas? poster
8.0

Forty years on from the release of the hit single by charity supergroup Band Aid, this documentary unearths 75 minutes of rare and previously unseen film footage from the day of recording

The Making of Do They Know It's Christmas?

2024

Live Aid poster
9.2

4 × DVD, The broadcast of the biggest benefit concert in history, organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief. This entry is for the compilation box set released in 2004.

Live Aid

2004

The Kemps: All True poster
8.0

Spandau Ballet global superstars Gary and Martin Kemp, their lives, and their careers.

The Kemps: All True

2020

Status Quo - Pictures Live at Montreux 2009 poster
8.3

Status Quo's album "Pictures" (released in November 2008) celebrated 40 years of Status Quo filling the UK charts with hit after hit. The album was an instant success, charting at No.8 and selling over a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone. In July 2009 the Pictures live tour landed at Montreux in Switzerland as part of the world famous festival.

Status Quo - Pictures Live at Montreux 2009

2009

Status Quo: Accept No Substitute! - The Definitive Hits & More! poster
NR

Compilation of Status Quo videos and performances

Status Quo: Accept No Substitute! - The Definitive Hits & More!

2015

The Kemps: All Gold poster
NR

Spandau Ballet brothers Martin and Gary Kemp return to the BBC for a New Year comedy documentary special. Rhys Thomas OBE has been given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to their lives for a whole year, and what a momentous one it’s been - with Martin publishing an explosive biography, his two wives, Pepsi and Shirlie, wanting a divorce, and Gary writing Spandau: The Ballet.

The Kemps: All Gold

2023

John Peel's Record Box poster
8.0

John Peel's Record Box is a documentary film made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on Channel 4. It was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award. It is about a small private collection of the British radio DJ John Peel who died in 2004 at the age of 65. Peel's main archive contained more than 100,000 vinyl records and CDs. This smaller private collection, however, contains 143 singles - some of them doublettes - stored in a private wooden box representing some of his personal favourites. According to the documentary, there are no singles by Peel's favorite group, The Fall, because he kept them in a separate box. The film features interviews with John's wife Sheila Ravenscroft, radio DJs and artists like Mary Anne Hobbs, Sir Elton John, Ronnie Wood, Roger Daltrey, Fergal Sharkey, Jack White, Michael Palin and Miki Berenyi.

John Peel's Record Box

2005

Prince's Trust Rock Gala - Volume 1 poster
8.0

The Prince's Trust celebrates it's 10th anniversary in 1986 with a concert at Wembley Arena featuring a variety of rock stars and attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince's Trust Rock Gala - Volume 1

1986

Status Quo, Rockin' All Over The World poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Status Quo, Rockin' All Over The World

2024

Status Quo: XS All Areas - The Greatest Hits poster
NR

The DVD features 40 video performances taken from promotional videos, TV performances and concerts, and features previously unseen footage.

Status Quo: XS All Areas - The Greatest Hits

2004

Status Quo - The Frantic Four Reunion poster
6.8

Full coverage of Status Quo's March 2013 gig at Wembley Arena. The show saw the band's original line-up of Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, John Coghlan and Alan Lancaster reunite to perform a number of hits from their 1970s heyday including 'Down Down', 'Is There a Better Way', 'Junior's Wailing' and 'Little Lady'.

Status Quo - The Frantic Four Reunion

2013

Status Quo – Live Alive Quo poster
NR

Filmed at the Radio 1 FM "Party In The Park" at Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, on sunday the 30th august 1992 in celebration of their 25th anniversary and includes an exclusive anniversary version of Roadhouse Medley.

Status Quo – Live Alive Quo

1992

Status Quo - Avo Session 2005 poster
8.0

Near perfect quality Pro-shot broadcast recording of the Status Quo, recorded Live at AVO sessions, in Basel, Switzerland on November 10th 2005.

Status Quo - Avo Session 2005

2005

Status Quo – Live In Mexico Neza 2003 poster
NR

concert in neza February 22, 2003

Status Quo – Live In Mexico Neza 2003

2003