FRANCIS ROSSI THE WAY WE WERE VOL. 2 – OUT SEPTEMBER 25TH 2026

Following the critical and commercial success of ‘The Way We Were Vol. 1’ and the acclaimed studio album ‘The Accidental’, Francis Rossi returns to his personal archive with ‘The Way We Were Vol. 2’ . Released on September 25, 2026, on CD, 2LP and digital formats, the collection features 17 previously unreleased demo recordings, with ‘My Little Heartbreaker’ available to stream and download from today.

Released last year, ‘The Way We Were Vol. 1’ was warmly received by critics and fans alike. Classic Rock magazine said the songs “collectively… portray a craftsman committed to his art. An impressive set. Here’s to Vol. 2”. Now, ‘The Way We Were Vol. 2’ shines once again a light on the songwriting partnership of Francis Rossi and longtime collaborator Bob Young.

Five of the 17 recordings have never been heard outside the studio. Others would later appear on Status Quo’s ‘Heavy Traffic’ (2002), ‘The Party Ain’t Over Yet’ (2005), ‘In Search Of The Fourth Chord’ (2007) and ‘Quid Pro Quo’ (2011), Francis Rossi’s solo album ‘One Step At A Time’ (2010), and the Rossi/Rickard release ‘We Talk Too Much’ (2019). Released today alongside the album announcement, ‘My Little Heartbreaker’ is the original demo of the song later released on ‘In Search Of The Fourth Chord’.

Captured at the point of creation, these recordings preserve Rossi’s original arrangements, lyrics and melodies before they evolved into the finished recordings familiar to Francis Rossi and Status Quo audiences.

Francis Rossi says: “Some ideas, sketches and demos just don’t survive long enough to become something that could be finished off effectively – and the reasons are not always good ones. I could listen to this for hours, and I need to find out if other people feel the same, that’s why I am putting this album series out there. There’s something that I tell any of the musicians that I work with, even those of my kids who record things: once you write a song, it exists and it will always be there.”

Whilst all of these songs are indeed demo versions, they have been carefully and comprehensively laid down – these are much more than sketches. ‘The Way We Were Vol. 2’ offers another fascinating insight into the creative process behind one of British rock’s most enduring songwriters.

Shortly before the album’s release, Francis Rossi embarks on another UK solo tour beginning on September 22nd, 2026. Between September and November 2026, and again between March and May 2027, he will also be welcoming audiences to his Quo Song Book – Past, Present, Future tour. All tour dates and further information can be found here: https://www.francisrossi.com/tour