John Victor 'Rhino' Edwards
Status
Quo
The night John got the job, he set off on tour with Judie Tzuke's band. And the first TV showQuo were on with John in the lineup, John appeared on with Kim Wilde's band too. He had wanted to start slowing it down a little, less touring, more session work. But Francis' second reaction to the fantastic rehearsals with the 'new boys' [the first being the 'In the Army Now' album] was to tour the new group to Belgrade, the night of Chernobyl in fact. It was while walking the city's then deserted streets, John asked Francis if he'd got the job. 'Yeah, course you have!' came the reply; a stark contrast to the limp, uninterested handshake he had received at the start of his time with them.
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From this he became a permanent member [number 4,Francis Rossi being #1, Rick Parfitt #2,Andrew Bown #3 andJeff #5] recording and touring with them right up until the present day.
He is a well-credited songwriter with the group as well as one of the most visual bass players of the arena rock circuit.
Since his arrival he has had to cope with everything the band has thrown at him; from recording sessions in the Bahamas, to the gruelling but adrenalin-filled 'Rock 'til You Drop' day. A world record-breaking 4-gig UK tour achieved by the group in 11 hours and 11 minutes in September of 1991.
Through Quo, John has supported Queen on their tour, including a Wembley Stadium two-nighter in 1986, as well as playing alongside Brian May for the 1996 studio covers album 'Don't Stop'. He has also worked with theBeach Boys and folk-queenMaddy Prior.
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Right from the start of his time with Quo, John has written many fantastic songs used as album tracks and B-sides by the band. One of which, 'Sherri Don't Fail me Now', co-written with 'boardist,Andrew Bown, was released as a single in 1994 and charted atUK #39. It was also released on the album 'Thirsty Work' from the same year.
In 2000, Jeff Rich left to pursue other aspects of his career, and spend more time with his family on the South Coast. His replacement came in the 'strong and silent' form ofMatthew Letley, an asset to any group, and who comes with a high recommendation from John.
In the same year, Andrew took leave to deal with more personal matters, and, as Andrew was due to return and would continue recording but not touring, John recommendedPaul Hirsh as a suitable on-stage substitute... looks like someone's starting to take over...
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The British rock 'n' roll institution
are still very much in evidence and are currently [as always!]
working on new material for release in the immediate future as well
as rehearsing for the next world tour - an annual event for the
behemoths of boogie. No doubt we can expect some excellent
foot-tappers from the Bown/Edwards partnership as well as some of the
heavier style driving tracks John has been developing with Monsieur
Parfitt.
There are some
brilliant compilations to show the full range of their outstanding
prowess. So far I have found the following two CD's spinning
frantically in my player almost constantly, perfectly describing
within their contents Quo's raison d'etre and containing some of
Rhino's greatest moments...
Title Label Cat. No. Track Listing Spectrum 554 891
-2 Down Down I Love Rock 'n' Roll Connoisseur VSOP CD
213 Magic* Doing it
All for You* | ||||||||||||||||||||
Status Quo