About Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the founder, leader, lead singer, lead guitarist, and sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. == Early life == Rossi was born on 29 May 1949 in Forest Hill, London. His father's side of the family were Italian ice cream merchants and had an ice cream business in South London, and his mother, who was from a Northern Irish Roman Catholic background, came from Liverpool. He grew up in a household with his parents, grandmother, and "lots of aunts and uncles" and was given a Roman Catholic upbringing, having been named after Saint Francis of Assisi. He would spend holidays in Crosby, Merseyside where his maternal grandparents and aunts and uncles lived. Rossi attended Our Lady and St Philip Neri Roman Catholic Primary School in Sydenham, and then Sedgehill Comprehensive School, from which he was expelled on his last day for having allowed his classmates to deface his school uniform. His desire to become a musician began after seeing the Everly Brothers live on television at a young age, after which he asked his parents to buy him a guitar for Christmas. == Career == === Early career === In 1962, while attending Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Rossi became close friends with future Status Quo bassist Alan Lancaster while playing trumpet in the school orchestra. The two, along with other classmates Alan Key (drums) and Jess Jaworski (keyboards), formed a band called the Paladins, who played their first gig at the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.