Status Quo

Two south London fellows called Alan Lancaster (bass) and Francis Rossi (guitar - known as Mike Rossi during the band's early years) founded the band in 1962. First name The Paladins soon changed to The Spectres (another previously-documented early name, The Scorpions, is disputed).

In 1966, the band changed their name to "The Traffic", shortly thereafter to The Traffic Jam. The lineup consisted of Lancaster, Rossi, John Coghlan (drums) and Roy Lynes (keyboard).
A year later, the band changed name once again to "The Status Quo". Rick Parfitt (guitar) joined the band. Their first hit record, "Pictures of Matchstick Men", was released. "The" was omitted from the name of the band in 1969, known thereafter as just "Status Quo"

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