Status Quo icon Francis Rossi says a sheikh as soon as provided him £12m in a restaurant
The 75-year-old rocker said he was approached by a fella after a gig in Dubai – but Rossi wanted 10 times that amount to ‘buy the band’
Status Quo legend Francis Rossi says a sheikh once offered him £12m to ‘buy’ the band. The 75-year-old rocker – famed for hits Rockin’ All Over the World – said he refused the offer, saying he’d only accept 10 times more.
Francis, whose band sold more than 130m records worldwide, said he had just done a gig in Dubai when he was ‘approached’ by the chap. He said: “I once had a shandy at the downstairs restaurant of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai in front of that massive aquarium.
“We’d been invited by some sheikh-type person who came to us after a gig and said ‘I want to buy your group’. He wanted to give us £12 million to do whatever he wanted. I said he could have us for £120 million.”
The singer also confessed that he’d want mega cheap Lambrusco wine served at his funeral – so mourners didn’t have ‘too much fun’.
He said: “I’d serve Lambrusco at my funeral. I’m that horrible about alcohol these days and I don’t necessarily see it as a good time any more. So if you want a good drink, don’t come.”
The Daily Star previously reported that Francis Rossi revealed it “hurts” to keep Rockin’ All Over The World.. The singer explained he has to spend weeks in training to prepare for his shows.
Rossi said: “The Quo is taxing as it’s a physical thing that the body tenses when you walk on and you feel you have to try to deliver this energy and try and live up to whatever last night was.”
He went on to add: “We will go at rehearsals in a few weeks’ time and every day you go in and try and get used to building this energy. And that hurts at first, which is why I’m in training.”
“I do all sorts of stuff to build up,” said Rossi.
The hitmaker added: “It sounds silly about music that you’re in physical training for music. But believe me, there’s a physicality to this that is very demanding.”
His band member Rick Parfitt suffered a heart attack in 2016. Parfitt was raced to hospital after he’d performed with Status Quo on stage in Turkey.
Just six months later, Parfitt died in Spain on Christmas Eve after contracting Sepsis.
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