roadhouse
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Post by roadhouse on Sept 22, 2024 2:04:31 GMT
Inspired by another post I was involved in earlier, but if Back to Back and all its singles flopped simularly to Perfect Remedy, would it have meant that Quo would have been forced to continue touring?
I'm basing that question on I think Quo had already been looking to sell records without touring them, and the absence of a tour in 83 when Back to Back was released made me think we're they already testing the water by purposely not touring Back to Back to see if that could work after The end of the road had wound up.
All hypothetical I know, but a possibility, especially after two surprise low chart positions with Accident prone and She don't fool me, its not impossible to assume anything can go wrong.
The fact Back to back was a hit and all the singles from it and even The wanderer from that period could have given them the green light to a tourless Quo or the idea to push it through.
But could things had been different had B2B flopped? It does make you think why didn't Quo tour in 83, as they already missed 1980.
Thoughts 🤔
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Sept 22, 2024 9:16:39 GMT
Relatively speaking, it did flop
Piledriver (1972): 100,000 copies.
Hello! (1973): 200,000 copies.
Quo (1974): 200,000 copies.
On the Level (1975): 200,000 copies.
Blue for You (1976): 200,000 copies.
Rockin' All Over the World (1977): 450,000 copies.
If You Can't Stand the Heat (1978): 200,000 copies.
Whatever You Want (1979): 250,000 copies.
12 Gold Bars (1980): 300,000 copies.
Just Supposin' (1980): 250,000 copies.
Never Too Late (1981): 200,000 copies.
Back to Back (1983): 100,000 copies
(figures from AI)
Based on the above, Francis probably thought it was time to go solo
The "loyal army" : remarkable consistency from Hello through to NTL. 1982 a step too far for some, with BTB unacceptable for many
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col
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Post by col on Sept 22, 2024 15:43:34 GMT
Some odd numbers there.
Can't believe RAOTW sold that many, when it performed so (comparatively) poorly in the charts.
I remember it being stated than JS, back in late 1980, was the best selling album since OTL.
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Post by backwater67 on Sept 22, 2024 16:07:11 GMT
Relatively speaking, it did flop Piledriver (1972): 100,000 copies. Hello! (1973): 200,000 copies. Quo (1974): 200,000 copies. On the Level (1975): 200,000 copies. Blue for You (1976): 200,000 copies. Rockin' All Over the World (1977): 450,000 copies. If You Can't Stand the Heat (1978): 200,000 copies. Whatever You Want (1979): 250,000 copies. 12 Gold Bars (1980): 300,000 copies. Just Supposin' (1980): 250,000 copies. Never Too Late (1981): 200,000 copies. Back to Back (1983): 100,000 copies (figures from AI) Based on the above, Francis probably thought it was time to go solo The "loyal army" : remarkable consistency from Hello through to NTL. 1982 a step too far for some, with BTB unacceptable for many First few albums mentioned, up to BFY sales were based on £ value sold, last few albums based on certification only (unit minimum sales) No way RAOTW sold more than 12 G B. Back to back had 22 weeks in charts & sold well over 100k & also produced some big selling singles. It was classed as light weight by Quo’s usual standards. |
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Post by backwater67 on Sept 22, 2024 16:10:47 GMT
Some odd numbers there. Can't believe RAOTW sold that many, when it performed so (comparatively) poorly in the charts. I remember it being stated than JS, back in late 1980, was the best selling album since OTL. Correct Col it was. Also their fastest selling album since OTL. What your Proposin’ gave the album a kick up the arse, selling close on 500k in the UK alone. |
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roadhouse
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Post by roadhouse on Sept 22, 2024 16:41:42 GMT
Back to back reached number 9 in the charts, and produced 4 fairly big hit singles, in those days it meant everything in the garden was rosey.
I don't think actual overall figures are calculated until way after because albums continued to sell all be it moderately way after its initial chart position.
I think Quo and management would have viewed Back to back and the fact Quo were still having hit singles enough to continue as a band just releasing albums without touring.
What I mean is it proved to them they could do it without touring as there wasn't any in 83.
But did it single handedly spark the idea of The end of the road idea, or was this idea being kicked around long before?
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matt
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Post by matt on Sept 22, 2024 18:16:48 GMT
If you look at the weekly chart positions for back to back it did way worse than the preceding albums. Only marguerite time gave it a nudge back up the charts. It was nearly out of the top 30 3 weeks after release unheard of : www.officialcharts.com/artist/17941/status-quo/ |
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roadhouse
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Post by roadhouse on Sept 22, 2024 21:41:47 GMT
If you look at the weekly chart positions for back to back it did way worse than the preceding albums. Only marguerite time gave it a nudge back up the charts. It was nearly out of the top 30 3 weeks after release unheard of : www.officialcharts.com/artist/17941/status-quo/Thats a fair point. I do truely believe losing Coghlan also lost a lot of loyal fans towards record sales. I also found it amusing how stage trucks we're on the Back to back cover when around the corner it was announced about The end of the road tour. |
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Sept 23, 2024 7:57:58 GMT
Very few Quo albums have 'flopped' over the years. Although I suppose flopped is a relative term. As can be seen with the list provided by MrWaistcoat . Perfect Remedy could certainly be placed in that category but not many others. Riffs probably. Most of their releases have touched the chart in some way though. Overall sales is a fluid concept and probably never 100% accurate. In answer to the general topic, I don't think the success or otherwise of Back To Back was a factor in the whole "End of the Road" thing. It was happening regardless because working relationships had broken down. I imagine that '84-86 period was full of uncertainty for all of them. Francis and Rick had very briefly dabbled with solo work but it must have been obvious fairly quickly that success wasn't round the corner for either of them. I guess they were 'forced' to come back through financial necessity but Back To Back probably never entered into it. |
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Post by cammythemortonfan on Sept 23, 2024 13:10:23 GMT
Very few Quo albums have 'flopped' over the years. Although I suppose flopped is a relative term. As can be seen with the list provided by MrWaistcoat . Perfect Remedy could certainly be placed in that category but not many others. Riffs probably. Most of their releases have touched the chart in some way though. Overall sales is a fluid concept and probably never 100% accurate. In answer to the general topic, I don't think the success or otherwise of Back To Back was a factor in the whole "End of the Road" thing. It was happening regardless because working relationships had broken down. I imagine that '84-86 period was full of uncertainty for all of them. Francis and Rick had very briefly dabbled with solo work but it must have been obvious fairly quickly that success wasn't round the corner for either of them. I guess they were 'forced' to come back through financial necessity but Back To Back probably never entered into it. The mad thing about Riffs is that although it flopped initially, it must have somehow sold steadily over the years as last year it was awarded silver certification status! Took about twenty years to get there !! |
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Sept 23, 2024 13:26:27 GMT
My own view is that 'flopped' should apply to an album's immediate release. I dare say Dog of Two Head has shifted some units but it was certainly no hit when it first came out.
Although you could also argue that an album can only really flop when compared to an artist's previous success.
I never saw Back To Back as a flop at the time. It charted. End of. It was maybe slightly held back by the two advance singles which, in my view, were poor by Quo's lofty standards. Although, again, both charted.
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matt
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Post by matt on Sept 23, 2024 20:01:05 GMT
Well so did perfect remedy, under the influence and riffs
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Post by backwater67 on Sept 23, 2024 21:34:37 GMT
If you look at the weekly chart positions for back to back it did way worse than the preceding albums. Only marguerite time gave it a nudge back up the charts. It was nearly out of the top 30 3 weeks after release unheard of : www.officialcharts.com/artist/17941/status-quo/It eventually had 11 weeks in the top 30. Marge time did boost sales & the EOTR tour did bring it back into the top 75 for a few weeks. True to say though by Quo standards it wasn’t as big as earlier albums, probably due to the light weight sound. Not a flop though, still received a UK BPI GOLD award for sales over 100k. |
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roadhouse
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Post by roadhouse on Sept 23, 2024 22:15:16 GMT
Ok points taken.
But why then kinda rub salt into the wound by adding tour trucks on the cover of Back to Back?
Correct me if I am wrong but it would suggest they either had touring on their minds, or ending it.
And don't forget this was 83 before the announcement of The end of the road for 84.
The idea of making records without touring was obviously being kicked about.
It seems to fuel fire to my idea they didn't tour in 83, and the band were quite happy to just kick back and soak up any kinda success Back to Back to bring. While getting used to not touring anymore.
Sorry but thats how I see it. Especially if you look at interviews and stuff of that time on youtube. There are plenty of them.
Just search for Status Quo 1984. The interviews are endless.
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Sept 24, 2024 6:04:11 GMT
I think, at the end of the day, the fractious relationships behind the scenes and within the band simply led to the 'end of the road' thing. We didn't know at the time and everything discussed since has been in retrospect.
We'll never get a full, accurate account because Francis, Rick and Alan all seemed to have a different viewpoint. Everybody blamed everybody else. They'd probably just spent too much time in each other's pockets for nearly 20 years that it just fell apart. Happens.
When they came back as virtually another band, I was perfectly happy. I really liked In The Army Now, although it was all very hit and miss after that until Heavy Traffic. Quite a long time.
Back To Back was a very poor album (in my opinion, of course). It has almost nothing going for it. The trucks on the sleeve are certainly ironic given what was round the corner. Maybe just coincidence, who knows? I doubt the band were involved in the design process, so it probably was all coincidence.
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