What is Francis Rossi's Net Worth?
Francis Rossi is an English singer, songwriter, and musician who has a net worth of $8 million. Francis Rossi is best known for co-founding and serving as the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Status Quo. After achieving its commercial breakthrough in 1972 with the album "Piledriver," the band continued to find success throughout Europe, Japan, and Australia in the 70s and 80s. Rossi has also done solo work outside of Status Quo. Francis Rossi was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 and published his autobiography "I Talk Too Much" in 2019. In a 2015 interview, Francis admitted that after several divorces and five children, he still needs to tour to fund his lifestyle and that he might never retire. He says he should have been much richer than he is today, but spent an enormous amount of money on drugs, cars, wives and general partying.
Early Life and Education
Francis Rossi was born on May 29, 1949 in London, England to a Roman Catholic family. He was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. Growing up, he spent his summers with an aunt in Waterloo. Rossi went to Our Lady and St Philip Neri Roman Catholic Primary School, and then to Sedgehill Comprehensive School.
Founding of Status Quo
While a student at Sedgehill, Rossi befriended Alan Lancaster in the school orchestra. The pair soon teamed up with fellow classmates Alan Key and Jess Jaworski to form the band the Scorpions. After Key was replaced by John Coghlan, the group was renamed the Spectres. Eventually, Roy Lynes joined the band on keyboards. In 1966, the Spectres signed to Piccadilly Records and released three unsuccessful singles. The band subsequently changed its name again, this time to Traffic Jam, before settling on its final name in 1967: Status Quo. Shortly after that, Rick Parfitt joined the group, completing the original lineup.
Status Quo Hits
Status Quo had its first hit single in 1968 with "Pictures of Matchstick Men," written by Rossi. The band had another hit later in the year with "Ice in the Sun." Status Quo went on to release four relatively unsuccessful albums before achieving its commercial breakthrough in 1972 with "Piledriver." Reaching number five in the UK, the album spawned the hit single "Paper Plane." Throughout the remainder of the 70s, Status Quo continued to produce numerous hits songs, many of which peaked inside the top ten in the UK. Among the group's biggest hits were "Caroline," "Down Down," "Rain," "Rockin' All Over the World," and "Whatever You Want."
Status Quo underwent some contentious lineup changes in the 80s, during which time members of the band were heavily abusing alcohol and cocaine. After resuming recording, the group released the successful album "In the Army Now," whose title track became one of Status Quo's biggest singles in the UK. The next album, "Ain't Complaining," launched the hit single "Burning Bridges."
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Status Quo in the 90s and 21st Century
Status Quo experienced declining album sales in the 90s. During this time, the group released "Rock 'til You Drop," "Thirsty Work," the cover album "Don't Stop," and "Under the Influence." The band had relatively better success kicking off the 21st century, with albums such as "Famous in the Last Century" and "Heavy Traffic." Subsequent albums included "Riffs," "The Party Ain't Over Yet," "Quid Pro Quo," and "Aquostic II – That's a Fact!," the final of the band's albums to feature Parfitt, who passed away shortly after its release in late 2016. Later, in 2019, Status Quo had its biggest hit album since the early 80s with "Backbone," which debuted at number six in the UK. The band continues to tour.
Other Musical Endeavors
Among his other musical projects, Rossi contributed to the soundtrack of the 1976 musical documentary film "All This and World War II," which featured covers of Beatles songs. The year after that, he produced and played guitar on John Du Cann's album "The World's Not Big Enough."
When Status Quo was going through some turbulence in the early-to-mid 80s and was put on hold, Rossi embarked on a solo career, recording a pair of singles with his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Frost. Later, in 1996, he released his debut solo album, "King of the Doghouse." Rossi didn't release his next solo album, "One Step at a Time," until 2010. Nine years after that, he collaborated with singer and violinist Hannah Rickard to release the joint album "We Talk Too Much."
Bula Quo!
Francis Rossi made a notable appearance as himself alongside his Status Quo bandmate Parfitt in the 2013 adventure comedy film "Bula Quo!" Also featuring Jon Lovitz, Laura Aikman, Craig Fairbrass, and Matt Kennard, the film portrays Status Quo getting embroiled in a local mob operation in Fiji.
Personal Life
Rossi was previously in a relationship with rock publicist Elizabeth Gernon, with whom he had a daughter named Bernadette. He was estranged from his daughter for 17 years until the two reconciled in 2007. Rossi has seven other children, three of them from his first marriage and four with his second wife Eileen.
For his services to music and charity, Rossi was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010. In 2019, he published his autobiography "I Talk Too Much."
