Back to Back (Status Quo album)

Lancaster co-wrote the first single, "Ol' Rag Blues", with Keith Lamb, lead singer of British bands The Kase, Sleepy Talk and Mr. Toad, and founder and lead singer of Australia's successful glam rock band Hush. Lancaster was angered when the production company declined to release the version featuring his lead vocal (which has since been made available as a bonus track on the 2006 remastered reissue), in preference to that featuring the voice of Francis Rossi. He also made no secret of his dislike of "Marguerita Time", which he thought was too pop-orientated for the group.

When they appeared on BBC's Top of the Pops to mime to the single, his place was taken by Jim Lea of Slade, who were also on the programme that week. The Top of the Pops performance was also notable for Rick Parfitt falling into Pete Kircher's drum set near the end of the song while the song kept playing. On the DVD Hello Quo, Parfitt claims that he had planned this action, although many people thought he was drunk. On the same DVD, Alan Lancaster also said that he wasn't so concerned with "Marguerita Time" as he was with "Going Down Town Tonight", which – according to him – was not a Status Quo recording and featured no Status Quo musicians apart from Francis Rossi.

The fourth and the final single, "Going Down Town Tonight", was released in 1984. A different version was included on the album Back to Back.{{cite web |url=http://www.statusquo.co.uk/records/singles5.htm |title=Status Quo discography |publisher=statusquo.co.uk |access-date=2010-01-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212112624/http://www.statusquo.co.uk/records/singles5.htm |archive-date=2010-02-12 }} "Going Down Town Tonight" was written by a songwriter/pianist Guy Johnson. Johnson had originally approached Rossi with some demo pieces in 1981 and Rossi later signed him to his publishing company Dump Music. The song was re-recorded and extended for this release. The picture sleeve featured a cartoon drawing of the band by Rob Fletcher, an artist who has also worked extensively with Bob Young.

"Too Close To The Ground" had also been a planned single, as adverts in the press announced that it was to be the band's new single.

{{Track listing

| title1 = A Mess of Blues

| writer1 = Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman

| length1 = 3:23

| title2 = Ol' Rag Blues

| writer2 = Alan Lancaster, Keith Lamb

| length2 = 2:51

| title3 = Can't Be Done

| writer3 = Francis Rossi, Bernie Frost

| length3 = 3:07

| title4 = Too Close to the Ground

| writer4 = Rick Parfitt, Andrew Bown

| length4 = 3:43

| title5 = No Contract

| writer5 = Parfitt, Bown

| length5 = 3:40

| title6 = Win or Lose

| writer6 = Rossi, Frost

| length6 = 2:35

| title7 = Marguerita Time

| writer7 = Rossi, Frost

| length7 = 3:27

| title8 = Your Kind of Love

| writer8 = Lancaster, Ferguson Skinner

| length8 = 3:24

| title9 = Stay the Night

| writer9 = Rossi, Frost, Andrew Miller

| length9 = 3:02

| title10 = Going Down Town Tonight

| writer10 = Guy Johnson

| length10 = 3:33

}}

The 2006 remaster has a snippet of Bernie Frost singing "I've Got Tears In My Ears From Lying On My Back In Bed Crying Over You" by Homer and Jethro at the beginning of "No Contract" and a slightly longer fade, extending the runtime by almost twenty seconds.{{Citation |title=No Contract |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTEpF-W2Ck |language=en |access-date=2023-02-28}}

{{Track listing

| headline =

| title11 = The Wanderer

| writer11 = Ernie Maresca

| length11 = 3:27

| title12 = Going Down Town Tonight [Re-recorded Single Version]

| writer12 = Johnson

| length12 = 3:38

| note12 = initial releases contain a different mix of the album version, which was mistaken from the single version.

| title13 = I Wonder Why

| writer13 = Rossi, Frost

| length13 = 3:59

| title14 = Ol' Rag Blues [Extended Version]

| writer14 = Lancaster, Lamb

| length14 = 4:54

| note14 = This contained a different mix and also some different vocals for parts of it, as well as being extended.

| title15 = A Mess of Blues [Extended Version]

| writer15 = Pomus, Shuman

| length15 = 4:48

| title16 = Cadillac Ranch [Recording during the session for what became The Wanderer single]

| writer16 = Bruce Springsteen

| length16 = 4:15

| title17 = Ol' Rag Blues [Alan Lancaster Version containing a different mix and vocals]

| writer17 = Lancaster, Lamb

| length17 = 2:49

| title18 = The Wanderer [Sharon the Nag Mix]

| writer18 = Ernie Maresca

| length18 = 3:34

| note18 = This was released in 1988 as track 4 of the Who Gets the Love CD single

}}

{{Track listing

| headline =

| title1 = The Wanderer

| writer1 =

| length1 =

| note1 = Single

| title2 = Going Down Town Tonight

| writer2 =

| length2 =

| note2 = (re-recorded version) - Single

| title3 = I Wonder Why

| writer3 =

| length3 =

| note3 = Original B side to cancelled Too Close to the Ground single

| title4 = Ol' Rag Blues

| writer4 =

| length4 =

| note4 = Extended Version - contains different mix and some different vocals at times, as well as being extended

| title5 = A Mess of Blues

| writer5 =

| length5 =

| note5 = Extended Version

| title6 = Cadillac Ranch

| writer6 =

| length6 =

| note6 = Out-take from planned single - song chosen for single was The Wanderer

| title7 = Ol' Rag Blues

| writer7 =

| length7 =

| note7 = original Alan Lancaster Version containing a different mix as well as vocals.

| title8 = Modern Romance

| writer8 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length8 =

| note8 = Extended Version

| title9 = I Wonder Why

| writer9 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length9 =

| note9 = Extended Version

| title10 = The House

| writer10 = Bernard Frost

| length10 =

| note10 = this was recorded in the mid 70s

| title11 = What Do You Want to Hear Today?

| writer11 = Bernard Frost

| length11 =

| note11 = this was recorded in the mid 70s

| title12 = Modern Romance

| writer12 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length12 =

| title13 = I Wonder Why?

| writer13 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length13 =

| title14 = Jealousy

| writer14 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length14 =

| title15 = Where Are You Now?

| writer15 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length15 =

| title16 = That's All Right

| writer16 = Francis Rossi / Bernard Frost

| length16 =

}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• Rick Parfitt – guitar, vocals
• Francis Rossi – guitar, vocals
• Alan Lancaster – bass, vocals
• Andrew Bown – keyboards, backing vocals
• Pete Kircher – drums, backing vocals

{{col-2}}

• Bernie Frost – backing vocals
• Tim Summerhayes – engineering
• Steve Churchyard – engineering
• Chris "Props" Ranson – instrument technician

{{col-end}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
Chart (1983–1984) ! Peak position
scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=19}} | align="center"| 97
{{Album chart|Netherlands|26|artist=Status Quo|album=Back to Back|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 8, 2023}}
{{Album chart|Germany4|60|id=51|artist=Status Quo|album=Back to Back|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 8, 2023}}
{{Album chart|Sweden|38|artist=Status Quo|album=Back to Back|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 8, 2023}}
{{Album chart|Switzerland|20|artist=Status Quo|album=Back to Back|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 8, 2023}}
{{Album chart|UK2|9|date=19831127|rowheader=true|accessdate=November 8, 2023}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

+ "Going Down Town Tonight" ! Chart (1984) ! Peak position

{{single chart|Ireland2|14|song=Going Down Town Tonight |rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2021|refname="ire"}}

{{single chart|UK|20|date=19840527|rowheader=true|access-date=20 September 2018|refname="uk"}}

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=United Kingdom |artist=Status Quo |title=Back to Back |type=album |award=Gold |relyear=1983 |certyear=1983|id=660-1538-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom |nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Status Quo}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back To Back (Album)}}

Category:1983 albums

Category:Status Quo (band) albums

Category:Vertigo Records albums

Category:Albums recorded at AIR Studios