Status Quo - Live at the N.E.C (2CD) (2017)

×

Status Quo - Live at the N.E.C (2CD) (2017)

Close

"Is There Anybody Out There That Wants To Rock?" is the war cry for fans of those denim clad boogie rockers Status Quo, and the fans are in for a real treat on Friday 20th October, when Quo's famous 1982 show at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC), is set to be re-released in it's entirety, as a standalone release for the first time, on both double CD and triple vinyl.

Recorded on 13th and 14th May 1982 at the NEC, the latter show was performed in front of HRH Prince Charles in aid of the Princes' Trust charity, and this show was the very first rock event to be performed in front of a member of the British Royal Family. At the time the band consisted of Francis Rossi (vocals/guitar), Rick Parfitt (vocals/guitar), Alan Lancaster (bass guitar/vocals, Andy Bown (keyboards/backing vocals) and Pete Kircher on drums, and the performance has been widely regarded as one of the finest Quo have ever committed to record.

Selected tracks from the show were originally released on vinyl and cassette as part of the band's 1982 box set, 'From The Makers Of…', which also included a double album of all the UK Top 20 hit singles up to that point from 1968s 'Pictures Of Matchstick Men' up to and including 1982s 'Dear John' single which was the first appearance of Kircher in the band after original drummer John Coghlan quit in late 1981.

A further standalone version of the live NEC material which was included on the 'From The Makers Of…' release was later made available on vinyl and cassette on it's own in 1984 and this album, titled simply 'Live At The NEC', was included as part of Quo's 2006 standard album re-issue programme.

The landmark NEC show was also recorded on video tape by BBC Pebble Mill and in 1982, fourteen tracks, including 'Rockin' All Over The World', 'Johnny B Goode', 'Whatever You Want' and 'Over The Edge', were released on home video, however, large chunks of the show, including the legendary 'Forty-Five Hundred Times' which clocks in at an impressive twenty-three minutes, remained unreleased until Quo brought out their 'Live At The BBC' box set in late October 2010.

This set included the full NEC show in audio format as part of the highly sought after seven disc set along with eleven tracks on DVD (confusingly, not all originally included in the VHS release) taken from the original BBC television broadcast which was introduced by rock legend Tommy Vance.

This new CD and vinyl release makes the entire show available once again as a standalone audio release and, as with the recent influx of Status Quo Deluxe Edition releases, these releases are re-mastered by Andy Pearce and include a brand new set of liner notes from Dave Ling.

The Status Quo of today still continue to tour after the loss of guitarist Rick Parfitt, and the band's previously announced acoustic UK Winter Tour was changed to a full-on electric show back in July due to pressure from the band's fan base.