Francis Rossi

Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE (born 29 May 1949), is an English singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of the rock band Status Quo. Born in Forest Hill, London, to a family of Italian and Northern Irish ancestry who ran an ice cream business, he formed the band in the 1960s, evolving from The Spectres through Traffic Jam to Status Quo, achieving their first hit with 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' in 1968. Rossi has fronted the band for over 50 years, blending genres from psychedelic rock to hard rock and boogie.