31 May 1986
Status Quo had two Irish number one singles in 1986; I know the later one but not this first one, ‘Rollin’ Home’. So, as per my standard operating procedure, I will listen to this for the first time LIVE as I write this. I expect this to be exactly the same three-chord blues-rock boogie as literally every other Status Quo track – but who’s to say this won’t be completely different and prove me wrong?
[One listen later]
The jazzy atonal bassoon intro and Francis Rossi’s rap really threw me at first, but- only kidding; it’s exactly the same three-chord blues-rock boogie as literally every other Status Quo track. This one has no distinguishing features at all. I only know there’s a chorus because they repeat the song title a few times. There must have been a pretty extensive Quo tour of Ireland around this time, with fistfuls of discount vouchers for ‘Rollin’ Home’ being handed out at the door after the gig; that’s the only plausible explanation for this nondescript single getting to number one.
