Jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and re-runs of Foyle's War is the Status Quo these days

DURING his rock'n'roll years of excess, Francis Rossi, fuelled by prodigious amounts of booze and drugs, would hunker down in the recording studio until dawn.

- BY TOM BRYANT

He famously claimed to have spent nearly £2million on cocaine during the 80s. But his recording studio at the bottom of his Surrey garden is far more wholesome now. It is clear his old vices have been replaced by new addictions.

He's keen to show me his recent labour of love: a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, depicting the end of the war in 1945 outside Buckingham Palace.

He says: "I find them so therapeutic, I've done about four or five this year, but I'd normally have done about 15 by this time of year." Then there is the daily crosswords and re-runs of Foyle's War. "It's a very different life but I am f***ing nearly 80." He has recorded his new solo album, The Accidental, in this studio. Rockers always like to boast it's their best work yet, and Francis is no exception.

But after listening to it, he may be right. At 76, Francis would have been excused for taking it easy - not least as it's increasingly difficult to make money these days. He says: "A quarter of a penny per download, you can f*** off. Even if they were giving us a pound, it's still robbery. I've got a lot of expenses.

"I don't have this massive £100million pot that people think I've got but I'm far from poor."