Topic: Francis Rossi

Francis Rossi (born Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi 29 May 1949 in Forest Hill, London) is co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.

He has enjoyed minor success with brief projects outside the group. In 1985 when Status Quo were on hold, he recorded two singles and a (so far unreleased) album with his longtime writing partner Bernie Frost, 'Modern Romance (I Want To Fall In Love Again)' (No. 54), and 'Jealousy'. In 1996 he issued a solo album, 'King of the Doghouse', which was not a commercial success though it produced a No. 42 hit 'Give Myself to Love'. Some years earlier, in 1976, he appeared on the soundtrack album and film 'All This And World War II', comprising cover versions of songs by the Beatles. Although the album sleeve credits the performance of 'Getting Better' to Status Quo, the track features Rossi's vocals and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1980, he and Frost contributed vocals to 'Ships in The Night', a concept album by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe which featured various other artists, including Colin Blunstone and Dan McCafferty. In 1981, he produced and played Coral Sitar, synthesizer, and guitar on two tracks on 'Line-Up' by Graham Bonnet, one of which was the Top 10 hit 'Night Games'.

Rossi's main guitar is a 1957 Fender Telecaster which he purchased in 1968 for £70. Through the years several parts have been replaced with G&L parts and a third pickup has been added in a configuration much like a Fender Stratocaster. For amplification Rossi uses Marshall JCM800 or JCM900 Lead series amplifiers with 4x12 cabinets and a Roland GP8 to boost his signal. The sound from his Marshall rig is blended with Vox AC30 amplifiers that are kept behind his Marshall setup.