91Èȱ¬

To put it briefly, they were so good I went back the next night!

It was what made me part with 7/6d to see them on a Tuesday night.

We all knew them for Pictures Of Matchstick Men and Ice In The Sun - two 1968 psychedelic chart hits that defined them as an image-conscious pop band, and I wasn't sure what to expect.

Trevor Copeman and his band were playing on the ballroom's big stage doing the pop hits of the day.

I seem to recall the drummer wearing a comedy cowboy hat with an arrow through it while they played Don Fardon's Indian Reservation. It was a soon-to-be forgotten hit of summer 1970.

Quo played on a low stage opposite with no real separation from the expectant summer season audience, which included me and my best mate, Martin Getliffe.

Blown away

The crowd were standing in a semi-circle as the group hit the first strains of their new style heavy 12-bar boogie.

It was loud and blew us away in more ways than one. The band were scruffy in crumpled T-shirts, scuffed trainers and faded denim in contrast to Trevor Copeman’s nicely turned-out lads.

Halfway through the pounding boogies, Francis Rossi replaced his battered Telecaster guitar with a red Fender Stratocaster and started playing the weird, high-pitched riff of Matchstick Men and the holiday-makers cheered the chart hit they recognised. But my mate and I wanted the heavier stuff back.

This Quo were a five-piece before their keyboard man Roy Lynes left for a life Down Under.

Feelgood sounds

I couldn't believe how good this no-nonsense, head-down boogie felt and at the volume at which Quo played it you felt it!Ìý

Straight away we decided we'd go back for the second night, as Quo were booked for Wednesday as well.

We felt we'd found our own band and our own brand of rock music. They were so good again I sought out their roadie to tell him. I’ve since learned they played for £150 a night.

After that I never missed them – at Cromer Links, the Melody Rooms, Lowestoft's South Pier and even St Andrew's Hall where they supported Slade. Imagine how loud that was! No, best you don't!

The Norfolk Years

When I present The Norfolk Years each Sunday morning on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Norfolk, I look back at corresponding weeks in years between 1967 and 1990.

The stories you and I lived through in Norfolk are all there thanks to thumbing through back issues of the Evening News, but I also play the music of the week's charts as well. It’s amazing how many times Status Quo appear.

How long can they go on after 40 years? Well, keep going at least until 1 September, lads.

Listen to Quo In The Car on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Norfolk, a special one-off programme on Saturday, 1 September, broadcast straight after the Quo gig at Holkham Hall.

Featuring your calls and reaction to the gig, along with rare clips from Quo interviews with the 91Èȱ¬ over the years. Tune in on 95.1, 95.6 and 104.4FM or listen live via this website.