Background and release
The song was written by band leader Francis Rossi and roadie / harmonica player Bob Young on a table napkin in the dining room of a hotel in Perranporth,Cornwall,in 1971. A demo was cut with Rossi playing guitar and bass,with Terry Williams on drums. The group changed the arrangement from a slow blues song,doubling the tempo,and recorded it mostly live using their stage gear and amplifiers. [4] On the single release,the song fades out,while the album version is about thirty seconds longer and has a conclusive ending.
The song became one of the opening numbers in Quo's live setlist for over 25 years. [4] It was the second number played at their Live Aid gig in 1985 [5] and it inspired Apollo 440's 1999 single "Stop the Rock". [6]
The song was reprised,in 2014,for the band's thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare) . It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October,the concert being recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series. [7] [8]
Another re-recorded version of the song appears on the band's 2003 album Riffs .
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