Rock veterans Status Quo have said their tour at the end of this year will be the last one of its kind as they hang up their electric guitars.

The band – Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andy Bown, John “Rhino” Edwards and Leon Cave – will tour Europe in October, followed by UK dates in December, but it will be their last tour featuring their trademark electric guitars.

Status Quo (Christie Goodwin/Press Association Images)Status Quo (Christie Goodwin/Press Association Images)

 

Founding member Rossi, 66, said the band had been discussing hanging up their “electrics” for some time now.

“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,” he explained.

He stressed that the band may still do “the odd special” and said: “There’s more to come from us in the years ahead, but we won’t tour the electric set ever again.”

Guitarist Parfitt, who joined the band in 1967, said the show “hurts now, physically”.

It's time to say goodbye to the electric guitars ( Christie Goodwin/Press Association Images)It’s time to say goodbye to the electric guitars ( Christie Goodwin/Press Association Images)

 

The 67-year-old said: “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.”

He continued: “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 any more.”

Over the years the band has produced hits galore, including Blues For You which spent 30 weeks in the charts and 12 Gold Bars.

Tickets for the tour, which is called The Last Night Of The Electrics, will be on sale from February.