End of the road sees Quo hit Birmingham

Arena date for seminal British band.

Birmingham rock fans will have the final opportunity to see one of the most enduring bands of the past fifty years in decemebr. Status Quo have announced that this winter’s tour, The Last Night of the Electrics, will be the last time they tour with the electric show.

Supported by REO Speedwagon and The Lounge Kittens, the 11 date tour starts on 8th December at the Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, stops off at Birmingham Barclaycard Arena on 16th December, with the final show at Liverpool Echo Arena on 23rd December.

Of the final tour, guitarist Rick Parfitt said, “We always thought we’d see a red light when it was time to stop. The show hurts now, physically. It’s hard to maintain that level of energy and without that it’s not really a Quo show. So we don’t feel we should continue. This is definitely the end of our lives on the road with the electric set, life won’t be the same for us – or many of the fans – but we can’t go on at this pace anymore.”

Singer Francis Rossi added, “We’ve talked about it for some time and have decided that it’s time for us to hang up the electrics. It’s getting harder and harder for us to play those shows. It’s 30 years since we last said we were stopping but this is a final decision. It doesn’t mean we won’t do other things, perhaps the odd special, but we’re agreed that the moment has come. There’s more to come from us in the years ahead, but we won’t tour the electric set ever again.”

While fans have been expecting this to happen for the last few years, now that the time is finally here, it’s hard to imagine a December without a Quo concert! The only glimmer of hope for dedicated fans is that Quo are not saying they won’t tour again, just that they won’t tour with the electric set again.

Following the success of their last album, Aquostic (Stripped Bare), which saw Quo achieve their 500th week in the album charts, after it’s release in October 2014, many fans expect a second Aquostic album to be released next year, with the possibility of another Aquostic tour, although nothing is confirmed.

Whilst the Aquostic set is nothing like the electric one, and is not to everyone’s taste, it is at least another chance to see the band performing their hits, even if it’s not the pounding set we are used to.

Tickets for the Barclaycard Arena show on 16th December go on sale Thursday 24th March, from www.ticketmaster.co.uk