Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz Part 1 b/w The Power Of Rock (1990)
UK chart peak - Number 2
Over in Funky's thread, we've seen numerous copycat hit singles that proves out Soul II Soul were the band that provided THE SOUND of 1990. In here, I think I've uncovered a rather more SINISTER influence on the charts that year: Jive Bunny. It's been forgotten about, but the bunny inspired all sorts of hits that year, from Craig McLachlan covering Bo Diddley, to the revivals of old hits by Bobby Vinton, to this rock & roll medley by the Quo, who I'm hazarding a WILD GUESS aren't Moopy favourites. They're certainly not a band I've EVER voluntarily chosen to listen to.
After their career best song, debut hit "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", reached the top 10 & gave them their only US hit of any note in the late 60s, the aptly named Status Quo somehow managed to turn countless variations on one song & three chords into a hugely successful UK chart career stretching over decades. I thought their drivetime Dadrock might have found an American audience with the odd single, so I can only congratulate our AMERICAN COUSINS on their UTTER REJECTION of all things Quo. They only ever spent a week atop the charts in the UK, with "Down Down", but scads of singles got close to the top spot, including this one.
I'm not entirely sure if the band put this together to CASH IN on the Jive Bunny megamix phenomenon, or if they were a bit pissed at the novelty aspect & put this out as a sort of REAL MUSIC alternative. To give the band credit, I was surprised to see this was a live track - 20 odd years together mean they know how to play, & the hits blend together properly & professionally, unlike the jumpy, rushed, cheapo mixing from Jive Bunny. If they'd got this out in 1989 when Jive Bunny were number 1, I could see this scaling the charts as a PROTEST BUY, although I think a Jive Bunny/Status Quo rock & roll medley chart top 2 would have sent many even more APOPLETIC with rage
B side "The Power Of Rock" could totally be a Spinal Tap parody, or a ChatGPT APPROXIMATION of a Status Quo song. Ridiculous lyrics & guitar twiddling about how GREAT REAL MUSIC IS. Despite that it's the same chugging MOR soundalike they'd been HAWKING since the 70s.
Status Quo have, I assumed, kept such longevity due to 2 aspects: being a well respected live act who know how to ENTERTAIN A CROWD, & being the musical equivalent of a margherita pizza - it's plain, it's unadventurous & you always know exactly what you're going to get. They're still touring despite founder member Rick Parfitt carking it in 2016, & although I've heard nothing new from them in DECADES, I'd wager the recent stuff is still the same three chord standard they've always been known for.