Status Quo frontman ‘embarrassed’ by BBC Radio 1 lawsuit

Status Quo singer Francis Rossi has admitted he was “embarrassed” by the band’s lawsuit against the BBC to get them played on the radio.

The rock band famously launched legal proceedings against BBC Radio 1 in 1996, claiming the station had issued a “blanket ban” on producers playing their music.

Status Quo, who formed in 1962, initially issued two writs against the broadcaster, one seeking a judicial review of BBC policy, and the other seeking damages for lost sales.

“Someone seems to not like us at Radio 1,” Rossi said at the time. “But the staff are not paid to be tastemakers. They should play the current Top 40, which is their remit.”

The band also alleged that Dann’s predecessor had made a verbal agreement with their manager in 1992 and 1993, promising “all reasonable consideration in relationship to their playlists and broadcasts” as an “inducement” for them to headline Radio 1’s 25th birthday party.

When Radio 1’s then-boss Trevor Dann dismissed the lawsuit as a publicity stunt during an interview, the band sued him for defamation.

In an interview with The Telegraph, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the lawsuit on 29 February 1996, Rossi said he always knew it would make the band look “f***ing ridiculous”.

“I remember feeling very uncomfortable at the time, stood outside the Langham [hotel],” he said. “I remember I saw it on the news and heard me say, ‘We’re just not having it.’ And I was embarrassed by it, to be honest.”

He said the legal action was driven by the band’s late manager, David Walker.

At the time, Radio 1 was undergoing a major overhaul, hiring new, younger presenters such as Chris Evans and Zoe Ball, and favouring acts such as The Prodigy and Oasis over popular but “uncool” rock and pop acts.

“There have been a number of occasions in the past two years where we have not playlisted records in the charts, including Mr Blobby, Michael Barrymore, Michael Ball, Robson & Jerome and Cliff Richard,” a Radio 1 spokeswoman said in response to the band’s legal action.

“Unlike everyone else Status Quo don't seem to have noticed that there have been a few changes at Radio 1… We do not slavishly follow the Top 40.”

Status Quo lost their case, as their motion for a judicial review was thrown out; a judge accepted the BBC’s argument that the station had the right to determine its own playlist based on its target audience.

Despite the failed lawsuit, Rossi ended up reconciling with Dann in 2004, when the former BBC Radio boss ended up interviewing Status Quo as a freelancer for their label, Universal Music.

The band used a five-minute audio recording titled “Trevor Dann interview”, about the court case, as the B-side for their single “Thinking of You”, which charted in the Top 40.