A green Fender Telecaster belonging to Status Quo’s Francis Rossi has sold at auction for £118,812.
The 1965 instrument went under the hammer at Bonhams in London, with Rossi saying: “The green Tele served me extremely well for almost 50 years and I'm always amazed when I look back and realised what a chequered history we had together.”
Rossi bought the guitar second-hand in Glasgow back in 1968 for £75 and has played it extensively in the studio and out on the road ever since.
It was originally a standard sunburst model, but Rossi went on to heavily modify the guitar over the years – including removing the finish, painting it black and, when unhappy with the results, re-sanding it and then applying green furniture paint.
Meanwhile, Rossi and his Status Quo bandmates will head out on the road in late 2020 across the UK and Europe in support of their latest studio album Backbone which was released earlier this year.
The record is the Quo’s first without Rick Parfitt, who died on December 24, 2016, with all the songs recorded at Rossi’s studio in late 2018/early 2019.
Status Quo 2020 Backbone tour
Nov 05: Hamburg Barclaycard Arena, germany
Nov 06: Strasbourg La Laiterie, France
Nov 08: Paris L'Olympia, France
Nov 09: Lyon Le Transbordeur, France
Nov 11: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Nov 12: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Nov 15: Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, Germany
Nov 17: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany
Nov 18: Hanover Swiss Life Hall, Germany
Nov 20: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Hall, Germany
Nov 21: Berlin Max-Schmelling-Halle, Germany
Nov 23: Brussels Ancienne Belgique, Belgium
Nov 25: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Netherlands
Nov 27: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, UK
Nov 28: Leicester De Montford Hall, UK
Nov 30: Cardiff St David’s Hall, UK
Dec 01: Birmingham Symphony Hall, UK
Dec 03: Brighton Centre, UK
Dec 05: London Eventim Apollo, UK
Dec 06: Bournemouth International Centre, UK
