Status Quo’s John Coghlan Reflects on “Pictures of Matchstick Men” and the Moment Everything Changed
In a revealing and warmly candid interview, John Coghlan, the original drummer of Status Quo, looks back on the band’s breakthrough moment with “Pictures of Matchstick Men”, offering rare insight into the uncertainty, hope, and strange twists that surrounded the song that changed their lives.
Coghlan recalls finishing the recording of “Matchstick Men” almost matter of factly. The band walked out of the studio and spoke with producer John Schroeder, asking the simplest but most important question of all. What happens next. The answer was uncertain. They would simply have to wait and see. Yet beneath that calm response was a powerful sense of anticipation. The band genuinely believed they had made a great record and quietly hoped it might become a hit. For them, appearing on Top of the Pops represented success, validation, and the feeling that everything had finally begun.
Interestingly, Coghlan admits that within the band there were differing opinions. Many of them felt “Magic Man” was a stronger song. At the time, they already had several tracks recorded and ready. Still, “Pictures of Matchstick Men” was chosen, a decision that would soon prove decisive. He also shares a now famous anecdote involving Francis Rossi, who once joked that he wrote the song while sitting on the toilet. Delivered with humor, the story underlines how unexpectedly great songs can come into existence.
The interview also revisits the band’s early psychedelic image, particularly the uncomfortable flower power phase. Coghlan vividly remembers being dressed in an impractical maroon jacket while expected to play drums on stage. The band never truly felt at ease in that scene. One unforgettable moment occurred at a friend’s house in Peckham, where Coghlan accidentally stood too close to an electric heater. The jacket caught fire while he was wearing it. He escaped unharmed and jokes that destroying that jacket was the best thing that ever happened to it.
Beyond the humor, the interview reveals an important truth. Status Quo were never fully comfortable with the psychedelic label, even as “Pictures of Matchstick Men” carried them into public attention. The song opened doors, but it also marked the starting point of a journey toward the harder, more direct rock sound that would later define them.
Coghlan’s reflections transform “Pictures of Matchstick Men” from a psychedelic classic into a vivid memory of ambition, uncertainty, and accidental destiny, capturing the moment when Status Quo stood at the edge of something life changing without yet knowing how far it would take them.