John Victor "Rhino" Edwards (born 9 May 1953) is an English

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

ist, playing in the rock group

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

Career

Born in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Edwards learnt classical

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

as a child and won a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

to the London College of Music at the age of eleven. He was educated at Chiswick Grammar School and Stinsford School, Dorchester. Around 1973–4, Edwards was to be found playing simultaneously in two pub bands in The White Bear in

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

(a venue renowned at that time as a music venue, where

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

had been a regular player). The two bands were The Sunday Band (playing on that day of the week), playing covers of rock standards, and Rococo, with a regular Friday slot, and sharing the same singer as well as bass player. Rococo released a single "Ultrastar"/"Wildfire" on Decca Deram in 1973. Later on he joined

Judie Tzuke Judie Tzuke ( ; born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1979 hit " Stay with Me till Dawn", which reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. Life and career Early life Tzuke's family relocated ...

's backing

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

whereupon he was given the nickname "Rhino" for being so clumsy. Edwards has played with Peter Green, ex-

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

Climax Blues Band Climax Blues Band (originally known as The Climax Chicago Blues Band) is a British blues rock band. The band was formed in Stafford, England, in 1967 by vocalist and harmonica player Colin Cooper (1939–2008), guitarist and vocalist Pete Hayco ...

and

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

. Edwards was working with

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Jeff Rich Jeffrey Dennis Rich (born 8 June 1953) is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with Status Quo between 1985 and 2000. Early life Born in Hackney, London, Rich attended Upton House Comprehensive School, and whilst there he a ...

, when

guitarist

Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist with rock band Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in pubs and holiday cam ...

approached them both to work on his solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Recorded Delivery''. When Status Quo reformed with a new lineup in 1986, Edwards and Rich were called in to replace founding member

Alan Lancaster Alan Charles Lancaster (7 February 1949 – 26 September 2021) was an English musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Status Quo, playing with the band from 1967 to 1985, with brief reunions in 2013 and 2014. As ...

and drummer

Pete Kircher Peter Derek Kircher (born 21 January 1945, Folkestone, Kent) is a retired English rock/ pop drummer. Between 1982 and 1985 he was a member of Status Quo, performing with the band at Live Aid and on the albums '' Live at the N.E.C.'' and '' Back ...

. He released the album ''Rhino's Revenge'' in 2000, on which some tracks featured other members of Status Quo. Recently he has played a small number of gigs in the UK and Europe with Woodedz, playing alongside his children. As a fan of

Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England, which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020–21 Champi ...

, Edwards wrote a song in early 2006 about striker

Lloyd Owusu Lloyd Magnus Owusu (born 12 December 1976) is a retired professional footballer who last played for Hakoah Sydney City East in the NSW State League Division One, Sydney, Australia. After a move from non-League Slough Town, his career took off at ...

's return to the club for the start of that football season.

Equipment

Edwards owns several different basses from different manufacturers, including

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

and

Wal WAL or Wal may refer to: Places * Wał, Lublin Voivodeship, village in eastern Poland * Wał, Masovian Voivodeship, village in east-central Poland * Wales, constituent nation of the United Kingdom * Wallonia, Walloon Region of Belgium * Wallops F ...

. However while playing live with Status Quo he uses Status basses, mainly two headless four stringed and a five stringed model. For amplification he uses a Markbass F1 amp with 2 4x10 horn loaded cabinets, with a repeater amp on the other side of the stage through a regular Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet. During the song '

Gerdundula ''Dog of Two Head'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Status Quo, released by Pye Records in November 1971. Background At the time of recording, the band consisted of Francis Rossi (credited on the sleeve as ''Mike Rossi''), Ri ...

' Edwards plays a Tanglewood guitar through a Marshall JCM800 head and a 4x12 cabinet.

Family

Edwards's son Freddie is a guitarist. In October 2014 he accompanied Status Quo on stage at ''

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...

'' in London, in a concert broadcast live by

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, to launch the band's album '' Aquostic (Stripped Bare).'' He is also a member of the subsequent Aquostic touring version of the band and a member of the band Flawes. After Parfitt's 2016 retirement from the band, due to ill health, Freddie also performed in place of Parfitt for shows in July and August. Edwards's daughter Mae and son Max are both drummers.

References

External links

Status Quo official website

Rhinos Revenge official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, John 1953 births Living people People from Chiswick English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists Status Quo (band) members