Status Quo @ Burntwood RUFC

Aug 14 2006 By Andy Coleman, Birmingham Mail

BRAVO to the brains behind the Burntwood Wakes Festival for persuading Britain's best boogie band to headline last night's rock 'n' roll spectacular.

The rest of the bill included tributes, Counterfeit Stones and Talon (The Eagles), but Status Quo were the real deal.

And, true to their track record when it comes to playing outdoor shows in the Midlands, it was cold and wet.

Not as wet as Warwick Castle in 2001 or as cold as Ragley Hall in 2004, but temperatures on the rugby club pitch were soon raised with a blistering 90 minutes of 12-bar boogie.

The crowd of between 3,000 and 4,000 may have been smaller than Quo are used to playing for at their annual NEC gig but they never gave less than 100 per cent.

After guitarist/singer Rick Parfitt's recent throat problems he left more songs for Francis Rossi to lead.

And though the wet stuff started to come down an hour into the set - during Down Down - it failed to dampen the spirits of a crowd who left on a high.

Now we only have to wait till December 9 for the NEC gig.