Rock legends Status Quo trace their origins to the early 1960s, when frontman Francis Rossi and original bass player Alan Lancaster started a pop group while still at school. The band has enjoyed an extraordinarily suucesful career, selling well over 118 million records worldwide.

Yet, Francis harbours a constant fear of his music career coming to a sudden end. Francis, who will celebrate his 76th birthday on May 29, remains active on the touring scene.

Refusing to slow down, Francis shared his financial fears with The Guardian: “The thing that worries me constantly is: will I have enough money if I stop now and there’s no more income? I’m scared s***less of that.”

After going through various transformations and member changes, the band solidified as Status Quo with the addition of lead guitarist Rick Parfitt in 1967.

Their breakthrough came with the Top 10 hit “Pictures of Matchstick Men” in early 1968, marking the start of a dynamic duo between Francis and Rick that lasted until Rick’s death on Christmas Eve, 2016, at the age of 68.

Rick’s later years were marred by health issues, with doctors warning him that after his 1997 heart attack, which was quite possibly precipitated by years of reckless substance abuse, he could have died at any moment.

In a candid 2014 interview with the Daily Telegraph, Rick reflected on his excessive lifestyle: “Throughout the Eighties, [I was spending] about a grand a week,” he said. “But that was just the cocaine.”

Rick further explained the extent of his issues, saying: “You would consume a humungous amount of vodka also because the two went together very well,” adding, “vodka and tonic and a line of cocaine.”

Rick’s wild days saw him consuming two or three bottles of vodka daily, racking up a weekly bill of around £500. He admitted: “I drank two or three bottles of vodka a day, which probably cost another £500 a week. I enjoyed every moment but I’m pleased I’ve come out of the other side.”

Behind Rick’s party-hard image lay a man battling inner turmoil, feeling overshadowed by Francis throughout their time in Quo.

“He was my greatest friend,” Francis said, “but someone got to him. Somebody knew it was a weakness with him. And as we got older it got worse and worse.

Francis reminisced about their close bond, saying, “I always saw it as the two of us, because we made a great pair – and I think we were a bit unfair on the rest of them.

“We would sit in the car and hold hands and dress the same just to wind people up, and I think certain people decided to get between the two of us.”

Despite being deeply affected by Rick’s passing, Francis confesses that expressing his feelings doesn’t come easily to him.

He revealed a particularly stark reaction to loss, recounting how he prodded his mother’s body to ensure she had died, and how he was eager to return to normalcy after his father’s death.

Francis shared his internal conflict: “I said, ‘Is the car coming to pick me up?’ And it makes me feel like I’m cold. But if I’m in a situation and I’m told what I’m supposed to do, I can’t do it.”

He struggles with societal expectations surrounding grief, admitting, “I’m supposed to grieve, I’m supposed to say certain things. And I will be thinking, ‘I shouldn’t say that, that’s not appropriate.”

Bob Dylan may be about the turn 84, but the reclusive singer-songwriter shows no sign of stopping.

Performing this week in Phoenix, Arizona, at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival tour, the Bard covered The Pogues’ A Rainy Night in Soho for the first time.

During his co-headliner 13 song set, Dylan surprised fans by performing one of his biggest No 1 hits live for the first time in 15 years.

The track in question was Mr Tambourine Man, the first song on the acoustic side of his Bringing It All Back Home album.

Australia has been officially competing in Eurovision for the past 10 years, but why is a country thousands of miles away from Europe able to compete?

Fans of the wildly popular song competition will be questioning their entry as the contest kicks off in Basel, Switzerland this week.

The first semi-final took place on Tuesday, 13th May and said goodbye to Slovenia, Belgium, Azerbaijan, Croatia and Cyprus.

Tonight (Thursday, 15th May), Australian singer Go-Jo will get the chance to qualify with his single Milkshake Man.

He’ll be facing off against the likes of Ireland, Denmark, Greece and Austria, but why is he able to compete when Australia isn’t in Europe?

Why Australia is able to compete in Eurovision

Australian entries have been competing in Eurovision for the past 10 years following decades of enthusiasm for the contest Down Under.

The competition was first broadcast on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which is an associated member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in 1983 and has been doing so each year ever since.

SBS’s broadcast has been a huge success from the beginning and Australia have had their own commentators for the show since 2001. From 2010-2014, SBS held their own televote for Australian viewers, though this did not count towards the overall result.

The following year, 2015, marked the first time Australia actually competed, although their first appearance at the song contest actually happened two years earlier.

During the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden, SBS submitted a pre-recorded video titled Greetings from Australia (also called Why Australia Loves Eurovision) to commemorate 30 years of broadcasting the show there. The following year, the DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) granted permission for Australian singer Jessica Mauboy to perform as an interval act during the second semi-final in Copenhagen.

The 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria marked the first time Australia was able to officially perform. The honour was granted to American Idol winner Guy Sebastian, who came an impressive fifth place with his song Tonight Again.

Both the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster ORF decided to let Australia not only take part, but to go straight to the final, due to it being the 60th Anniversary of Eurovision.

They skipped the semi-finals to reduce the chances of countries actually in Europe being eliminated, but the EBU and SBS confirmed that, were Australia to win, they would not host the contest the next year, as per tradition.

Australia has been competing in Australia ever since, only failing to qualify in 2021 and 2024.

Their best performance in the contest came just a year after their first entry, when singer Dami Im came second overall with her song Sound of Silence at the 2016 final in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Eurovision Grand Final airs Saturday, 17th May at 8pm on BBC One.