Anyone who has even a remote interest in 60's Pop-Psych will know who Status Quo are, and have probably heard one of tonight's tracks at least a thousand times.
It was that popularity that became their undoing for the rest of the 60's. Pictures Of Matchstick Men became something of an anthem and they were hard pressed to duplicate its Instant Classic status for the rest of their Psychedelic period. It wasn't until they re-invented themselves in the early 1970's as a quasi-Hard Rock/neo-Heavy Metal outfit that they regained their appeal and dumped the notion they were one-hit wonders until their eventual breakup in the 1980's.
But tonight it's going back to the "Matchstick Men" period, as a struggling band who finally had a hit single after five years of trying, first as The Spectres, then as The Status Quo and finally as just Status Quo. Here they are during one of their Top Of The Pops appearances from March 29, 1968. Starting off with an interview by Brian Matthew, playing Matchstick Men, and then following it with Things Get Better.
A familiar song, heard in an unfamiliar version.
