About Status Quo

Two south London fellows called [a=Alan Lancaster] (bass) and [a=Francis Rossi] (guitar – known as [a5373623] during the band’s early years) founded the band in 1962. First name The Paladins soon changed to [a=The Spectres (2)] (another previously-documented early name, The Scorpions, is disputed).
In 1966, the band changed their name to “The Traffic”, shortly thereafter to [a=The Traffic Jam (2)]. The lineup consisted of Lancaster, Rossi, [a=John Coghlan] (drums) and [a=Roy Lynes] (keyboard).
A year later, the band changed name once again to “The Status Quo”. [a=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”