Status Quo Status Quo in the 2000s
 From 1977 onwards the band's sound became more polished as they began to employ outside producers including Pip Williams, Roger Glover and John Eden. Sales remained high in the UK throughout the 1980s, but tensions within the band saw founding member John Coghlan leaving the band late in 1981 and replaced both live and in the studio by Pete Kircher from the 1960s pop band Honeybus. This line-up played its last gig in 1984 at the Milton Keynes Bowl, although the band were contracted to record more albums. Status Quo's final appearance with the Kircher line-up was to open the Live Aid charity event at Wembley in July 1985.
Francis RossiThat year Rossi recorded and released two solo singles with longtime writing partner Bernie Frost. Parfitt was also working on a solo album, Recorded Delivery, with bass player John Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich. The album remains unreleased, although some tracks were reworked and released sporadically as Status Quo B-sides until 1987.
In the summer of 1985 Rossi, Parfitt and Bown, along with Edwards and Rich started work on a new Status Quo album. Lancaster, who was by now permanently living in Australia, took out a legal injunction to stop the band using the Status Quo name on any records, citing his increasing musical differences with the group, notably during the sessions for the 1983 album Back to Back over two tracks which became hit singles for the group around that time. He had written Ol' Rag Blues, but was angered when the producers chose to release a version with Rossi singing lead vocal in preference to the one sung by himself, and he objected to Marguerita Time, which he thought unduly corny and too pop-oriented for them. The injunction was lifted after a court hearing in January 1986. Lancaster remained in Australia, and in 1986 joined a band called 'Party Boys', who had no success in Britain. He left the band in 1987.
Rick ParfittThe commercially successful In the Army Now album was released in 1986, the single of the same name becoming one of the band's biggest selling UK singles, reaching number 2. The following album, Ain't Complaining, released in 1988, was less successful but did produce the single Burning Bridges, which got to number 3. This was subsequently re-recorded with new lyrics in April 1994 with Manchester United Football Club as Come on You Reds, giving the band their second UK Number 1.
However the early to mid 1990s saw reduced album sales for the band. They were not helped by falling victim to Matthew Bannister’s shake up of BBC Radio 1 and they lost the subsequent court case they brought against the station. Parfitt had to undergo heart surgery in 1997, but was able to overcome it and make a successful return with a memorable performance in Norwich three months later. Rich left in 2000 and was replaced by Matt Letley. Andrew Bown also took a year off at the same time for family reasons, and was temporarily replaced on stage by Paul Hirsh, formerly of Voyager
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