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Status Quo Honoured an OBE

Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi have been handed Order of the British Empire (OBE) medals in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for their services to charity and the music industry.

The rockers have enjoyed chart success for the past five decades, notching a whopping 60 hits, including Rockin’ All Over the World, which they performed to open Live Aid in 1985.

The duo has also helped numerous charities over the years, including the Prince’s Trust, the Heart Foundation and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.

Parfitt admits he feared his wild past may have cost him the high honour: “I thought there had been a chance that we may have got something, but I had kind of given up hoping. Particularly with my wild past, if they’d reviewed some of my old newspaper cuttings.

“To be perfectly honest, with all the hard work we have put in over the years, I accept it graciously.”

Meanwhile, Rossi admits he was “so made up it’s ridiculous”.

He adds, “My partner (Parfitt) is even more excited about it – he’s probably blubbing (crying). You start off rebellious, a teenager in a band, but you end up being part of the establishment.

“No matter how you feel about these things, it means that people have recognised what we’ve done.”

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Tags: 01/01/2010, OBE, status quo