GREEN FINGERS

Status Quo’s Francis Rossi on baiting the purists, swapping guitars

- Jamie Dickson & Henry Yates

We're talking to a series of great guitarists about the Telecaster...

"Well, I'll find you someone who can play one! You really need to be a shit-hot player to make a Telecaster sound good. Particularly when playing lead. I never thought I did. I still don't. People think I'm looking for compliments: 'Oh no, you're a player.' I fuck up so badly. I know a lot more than I did, but I still look at the fretboard when I'm in the midst of the gig and think, 'Oh God...'"

How did the Telecaster come into your life?

“We were touring with Badfinger. Pete Ham had this Grimshaw and he said, ‘Do you want to swap?’ So I swapped my Gibson Stereo for this very average Grimshaw. Within a week or so, the bridge collapsed. We were in Scotland somewhere and the [tour manager] got two Telecasters brought in. Three days later, I had to make up my mind which one to keep. There was a blonde one and a sunburst. And I kept the sunburst.”

In the late 60s, you bought your iconic ’57-bodied green Tele. How did it end up looking like that?