Bob Young - American Stories (2003)

Robert Keith Young (born 16 May 1945) is an English musician and author, who became famous for being the unofficial fifth member of the rock band Status Quo.

From the mid-1960s onwards, Young has been working in the music business, starting as a crew member for Amen Corner, The Nice and also for The Herd. Based on this experience he was hired by the management of Status Quo, after they had their first hit with "Pictures of Matchstick Men" in 1968.

Since he spent a lot of time with the band while being on tour, he got involved with their music as well. As early as 1969 he started writing songs for the band. On Status Quo's single "The Price of Love" he could be heard on harmonica for the first time, making him an unofficial member of the group.

In the following years he wrote a number of songs for Status Quo, usually together with lead guitarist and singer Francis Rossi. Among these songs were hits such as "Caroline", "Paper Plane" and "Down Down".

In 1978 the book "Alias The Compass" was released which contained poems and song lyrics by Bob Young, written while he was working with Status Quo. In the second half of the 1970s his collaboration with Francis Rossi became less intense although Young remained Quo's tour manager until 1980. The biography "Again and Again" (co-written by Bob Young and John Shearlaw), came out in 1984. In this book Young reports on his years with Status Quo.

Apart from writing with Rossi, Bob Young also co-wrote songs with other bandmembers, most notably Rick Parfitt and Alan Lancaster.