Status Quo are a British rock band formed in London in 1962 by Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster while they were still schoolboys. After a number of name and lineup changes, which included the introduction of John Coghlan in 1963 and Rick Parfitt in 1967, the band became the Status Quo in 1967 and Status Quo in 1969. As of 2025, the group have been active for 63 consecutive years.

Status Quo have had over 60 chart hits in the UK – more than any other band – including "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (their first charting song), "Caroline" (their first top five hit), and "Down Down" (their only No. 1 hit). 22 of these reached the Top 10 in the UK singles chart, and 57 reached the Top 40. They have released over 100 singles and 33 studio albums, most of which were bestsellers. Since reaching number five on the UK albums chart in 1972 with Piledriver, Status Quo have placed 29 consecutive studio albums on the UK charts, including 20 in the top ten studio albums, extending all the way up to their most recent release, Backbone, in 2019. In 2012, they were announced as the tenth best-selling group of all time on the UK singles chart with 7.2 million singles sales in their homeland alone. As of 2015, they were one of only 50 artists to have achieved more than 500 total weeks on the UK Albums Chart.

In July 1985, Status Quo opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium with "Rockin' All Over the World". In 1991, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2014, preparing to headline that year's Download Festival, they won the Service to Rock award at the Kerrang! Awards. Status Quo appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops more than any other band. Their success and longevity as well, in part, as their connections to the British Royal Family, including philanthropic work with the Prince's Trust, have seen them frequently described as a "national institution" by the media. The band claim to have sold over 118 million records worldwide.

Status Quo were formed in 1962 under the name the Paladins by Francis Rossi (vocals, guitar) and Alan Lancaster (bass) at Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Catford, London, along with classmates Jess Jaworski (keyboards) and Alan Key (drums). In 1963, Key was replaced by John Coghlan and the band changed their name to the Spectres. After changing their name, Lancaster's father arranged for the group to perform weekly at a venue called the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich, London, where they were noticed by Pat Barlow, a gasfitter and budding pop music manager. Barlow became the group's manager and secured them spots at venues around London, such as El Partido in Lewisham and Café des Artistes in Chelsea. In 1965, when Rossi, Lancaster and Jaworski left school, Jaworski opted to leave the band and was replaced by Roy Lynes.

During 1965, the band played a summer season residency at Butlins Holiday Camp in Minehead, during which they met Rick Parfitt, who was playing guitar with a cabaret band called the Highlights. By the end of the residency, Rossi and Parfitt – who had become close friends – made a commitment to stay friends and work together at some point in the future. On 18 July 1966, the Spectres signed a five-year deal with Piccadilly Records, releasing two singles that year, "I (Who Have Nothing)" (first recorded by Joe Sentieri and most famously covered by Tom Jones) and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (an original song by Alan Lancaster), and one the next year called "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" (originally recorded by New York psychedelic band the Blues Magoos). All three singles failed to make an impact on the charts.

In 1967, the group's sound began moving towards psychedelia and they renamed themselves Traffic, but were soon forced to change it to Traffic Jam to avoid confusion with Steve Winwood's new band Traffic, following an argument over who had registered the name first. The band secured an appearance on BBC Radio's Saturday Club, but in June their next single, "Almost But Not Quite There" (an original song by Francis Rossi), underperformed. The following month saw Parfitt, at the request of manager Pat Barlow, joining the band as rhythm guitarist and vocalist. Shortly after Parfitt's recruitment, in August 1967, the band officially became the Status Quo.

In January 1968, the group released the psychedelic-flavoured "Pictures of Matchstick Men". The song hit the UK singles chart, reaching number seven; "Matchstick Men" became the group's only Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. Although Status Quo's albums have been released in the United States throughout their career, they never achieved the same level of success there as they have in Britain. Though the follow-up was the unsuccessful single "Black Veils of Melancholy", they had a hit again the same year with a pop song penned by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott, "Ice in the Sun", which climbed to number eight. All three singles were included on the band's first album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo, released in September 1968. After the breakthrough, the band management hired Bob Young as a roadie and tour manager. Over the years Young became one of the most important songwriting partners for Status Quo, in addition to occasionally playing harmonica with them on stage and on record.

After their second album, 1969's Spare Parts, failed commercially, the band's musical direction moved away from psychedelia towards a more hard rock/boogie rock sound. The change in sound also brought a change in image, away from Carnaby Street fashions to faded denims and T-shirts, an image which was to become their trademark throughout the 1970s. The new direction was displayed on the band's third album, 1970's Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon and its preceding single "Down the Dustpipe". Lynes left the band in 1970 with the remaining members continuing as a four-piece, although they were often joined in the studio by guest keyboard players including Jimmy Horowitz, Tom Parker and Andy Bown, the latter an ex-member of the Herd and Judas Jump and part of the Peter Frampton Band. In 1976, Bown also began playing live with the band and was eventually made an official member of Status Quo in 1981. The band's first recording without Lynes was the late 1970 single "In My Chair", followed by their fourth album Dog of Two Head in 1971.