Roy Lynes
Encyclopedia
Roy Alan Lynes was the keyboardist
and occasional singer with Status Quo (originally The Spectres then Traffic Jam). He joined the band in 1964/1965, two years after its foundation.
He appeared on Status Quo's first three album
s, Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo
, Spare Parts
and Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon
, and wrote
"To Be Free", the B-side
of the second Quo single
, "Black Veils of Melancholy". He left the band in 1970. He was replaced by Andy Bown
in 1976.
According to the group's producer
John Schroeder
, who wrote the booklet notes for the 3-CD
compilation
The Early Years, Lynes was 'the quietest member of the group' and 'somehow always seemed to be the odd one out'. He left the group in 1970 when he fell in love whilst on tour, claiming that he could see how serious the other band members (Francis Rossi
, Alan Lancaster
, Rick Parfitt
and John Coghlan
) were about fame and glory, and that he just wanted to settle down to a life with his new found love.
In the group's autobiography
Just For The Record (1993), Rick Parfitt
said Roy was 'a bit laid back, the Open University
type who liked tinkering and finding out about things,' and Francis Rossi
remarked that he showed up at a gig they were playing in New Zealand
about ten years later to say hello; 'He seemed a much happier bloke.'
He is still active in Australia
and has continued to perform in his own right and, more recently, has worked with Quo tribute band Quo Vadis. On the Status Quo 2000 tour of Australia, Roy performed keyboards live with Quo on stage in Brisbane. Lynes has also featured occasionally on keyboards and vocals with Australian Quo tribute band Statoz Quo.
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and occasional singer with Status Quo (originally The Spectres then Traffic Jam). He joined the band in 1964/1965, two years after its foundation.
He appeared on Status Quo's first three album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages From The Status Quo
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo is the 1968 debut album by the British psychedelic rock group, Status Quo. The album features a large number of covers, including "Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers....
, Spare Parts
Spare Parts
Spare Parts is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.Spare Parts was partially adapted into the television episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" although, in actuality, the two stories bear little...
and Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon
Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon
Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon is the third album by English rock band Status Quo. It was the first album by the band to leave behind their early psychedelic sound and begin experimenting with the hard rock style which remains their signature sound....
, and wrote
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
"To Be Free", the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the second Quo single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Black Veils of Melancholy". He left the band in 1970. He was replaced by Andy Bown
Andy Bown
Andy Bown is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
in 1976.
According to the group's producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
John Schroeder
John Schroeder (musician)
John Francis Schroeder is a British easy listening composer, arranger, and producer.Schroeder worked as an A&R assistant to Norrie Paramor at Columbia Records. He was also a songwriter and, with Mike Hawker, wrote the song "Walkin' Back to Happiness", which in a version by Helen Shapiro reached...
, who wrote the booklet notes for the 3-CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
The Early Years, Lynes was 'the quietest member of the group' and 'somehow always seemed to be the odd one out'. He left the group in 1970 when he fell in love whilst on tour, claiming that he could see how serious the other band members (Francis Rossi
Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
, Alan Lancaster
Alan Lancaster
Alan Lancaster is a bassist and a founding ex-member of the English rock band, Status Quo...
, Rick Parfitt
Rick Parfitt
Richard John Parfitt, OBE is best known for being a singer and the rhythm guitarist in the English rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
and John Coghlan
John Coghlan (drummer)
John Robert Coghlan was an original member of the English rock band, Status Quo.The son of a Glasgow-born father and a London born half-French mother, Coghlan grew up in Dulwich, and was educated at Kingsdale Comprehensive school until leaving school at 15 to begin an apprenticeship as a...
) were about fame and glory, and that he just wanted to settle down to a life with his new found love.
In the group's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Just For The Record (1993), Rick Parfitt
Rick Parfitt
Richard John Parfitt, OBE is best known for being a singer and the rhythm guitarist in the English rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
said Roy was 'a bit laid back, the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
type who liked tinkering and finding out about things,' and Francis Rossi
Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
remarked that he showed up at a gig they were playing in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
about ten years later to say hello; 'He seemed a much happier bloke.'
He is still active in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and has continued to perform in his own right and, more recently, has worked with Quo tribute band Quo Vadis. On the Status Quo 2000 tour of Australia, Roy performed keyboards live with Quo on stage in Brisbane. Lynes has also featured occasionally on keyboards and vocals with Australian Quo tribute band Statoz Quo.