Status Quo - "Under the influence"

Although they are mainly known (outside of the UK) for their 1986 hit "In the army now", Status Quo put out their first album as early as 1968, and are still releasing new material to this day (the last offering being 2004’s "XS All Areas"). They released an album in 1999 called "Under The Influence" that contains a song of the same name.

Francis Rossi (vocals and guitars ; the slightly baldy one on the picture) talks about how the song came about, over two separate periods of time : "We had the tune and, in fact, part of the melody, the chorus - or the idea of that melody in the chorus - I remember playing on the piano when I was probably 15, maybe 16. I was playing around on the piano at my parents’ house and I had that "de de de derr da der da deerr" melody". Many years later : "And then, when Bernard [Frost, session vocalist for Status Quo between 1976 and 1982 and with whom Rossi wrote many Quo songs] and I were doing our writing stint, we got into that melody. This song came up in tempo and up in tempo..."

As for the lyrics, Rossi again : "The lyrics... l was having some dreams. Lots of very sensuous dreams about twos and threes and various women - and really panicking in my sleep thinking I'd actually been unfaithful to my wife. And I thought "Oh, no - I've done it ! I`ve done that", and I swore I'd never do it, then I'd wake and think, Oh, I haven't! But some of the dreams were so vivid. I could feel bits on the end of my dome-ious, you know? So the line 'I found a new amigo to help me to get my reality right' is obviously the wife..." Hence the influence he is under ?

Available on the album “Under The Influence”