Pictures of Matchstick Men
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" is the first hit single by Status Quo, released on 5 January 1968.
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() A-side label of the UK vinyl release | ||||
Single by The Status Quo | ||||
from the album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo | ||||
B-side | "Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Café" | |||
Released | 5 January 1968 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:09 | |||
Label | Pye (UK) Cadet Concept (United States) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Francis Rossi | |||
Producer(s) | John Schroeder | |||
The Status Quo singles chronology | ||||
|
Status Quo version
The song reached number 7 in the British charts, number 8 in Canada, and number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their only hit single in the United States.[3][4][5] Francis Rossi confirmed on DVD2 of the Pictures set that it was originally intended to be a B-side to "Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe", but it was decided to swap the B-side and the A-side of the single.
There are two versions, one in stereo and another in mono, with significant differences: the original single was in mono and has the trademark wah-wah guitar in the breaks between lyrics, but this is omitted in stereo.
The song opens with a single guitar repeatedly playing a simple four-note riff before the bass, rhythm guitar, drums and vocals begin. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" is one of a number of songs from the late 1960s which feature the flanging audio effect. The band's next single release, "Black Veils of Melancholy", was similar but flopped, which caused a change of musical direction.[6]
Rossi (living in a prefab in Camberwell at the time)[7] later said of the song:
I wrote it on the bog. I'd gone there, not for the usual reasons...but to get away from the wife and mother-in-law. I used to go into this narrow frizzing toilet and sit there for hours, until they finally went out. I got three quarters of the song finished in that khazi. The rest I finished in the lounge.[8]
The "matchstick men" reference is to the paintings of Salford artist L. S. Lowry.[8]
The song was reprised, in 2014, for the band's thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare). It was featured in the 90-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October, and was recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series.[9][10]
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" is featured in Men in Black 3, in a scene set in 1969 at Andy Warhol's Factory. It is also featured in the computer game Mafia III, set in 1968, where it can be heard on the radio.
Releases
- 1968: Pictures of Matchstick Men / Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe [Promo] 45 rpm Vinyl 7"; Pye / 7N 17449
- 1969: Retrato de hombre con bastón / El café del caballero Joe 33 rpm, Mono Vinyl 7"; Music Hall / MH 31.101 Argentina
- 1973: Pictures of Matchstick Man / Ice in the Sun 45 rpm Vinyl 7"; Pye / 12 746 AT
Other versions
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" | |
---|---|
![]() Artwork for UK release | |
Single by Camper Van Beethoven | |
from the album Key Lime Pie | |
Released | 1989 |
Genre | Psychedelic rock |
Label | Virgin |
Songwriter(s) | Francis Rossi |
- In 1989, Camper Van Beethoven scored a number 1 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States with their version from the album Key Lime Pie. One of the instruments played in this rendering is a violin.[11] It is played at the end of the Ray Donovan episode, "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" (2017; season 5, episode 7).[12]
- In 1997, a take by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative was recorded, featuring vocals by Ozzy Osbourne, and released on the Private Parts: The Album soundtrack.
- In 2018, Florida-based gothic metal band October Noir released it as a non-album single.[13]
References
- DeRogatis, Jim (2003). "Ten Great Psychedelic Rock Songs". Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 162. ISBN 0-634-05548-8.
- Prown, Pete; Newquist, Harvey P. (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists (4th ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 113. ISBN 0-7935-4042-9.
- "BBC - Music / Profiles - Status Quo". BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- "The enduring appeal of Status Quo". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 December 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- staff (12 November 2008). "Cue The Quo". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland: Aberdeen Journals. OCLC 29379669. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- Rawlings, Terry (1 November 2002). Then, Now and Rare British Beat 1960-1969 (illustrated ed.). London, England: Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780711990944. OCLC 50272043. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- "Prefabs - Camberwell Borough Council". camberwellboroughcouncil.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- Headon, Tanya (17 December 2002). "Songs About Laurence Stephen Lowry". FreakyTrigger. Tom Ewing. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- "Status Quo Concert Setlist at Roundhouse, London on October 22, 2014 - setlist.fm". setlist.fm. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- "Status Quo - Acoustic". Radio 2 In Concert. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- Akamatsu, Rhetta (11 February 2014). "Music Review: Camper Van Beethoven – Key Lime Pie [Reissue]".
- Tallerico, Brian (24 September 2017). "Ray Donovan Recap: Confessions". Vulture. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- October Noir Pictures of Matchstick Men (RIPeter) (Single) - Spirit of Metal Webzine (fr)