"Pictures of Matchstick Men" is the first hit single by

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 ...

, released on 5 January 1968.

The Status Quo version

The song reached number 7 in the

British charts The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

, number 8 in Canada, and number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming their only Top 40 single in the United States.

Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born o ...

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 A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

before the bass,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, organ, drums and vocals begin. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" is one of a number of songs from the late 1960s which feature the

flanging Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and not ...

audio effect. The band's next single release, "Black Veils of Melancholy", was similar but flopped, which caused a change of musical direction. Rossi (living in a

prefab Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

at the time) later said of the song: The "matchstick men" reference is to the paintings of Salford artist

L. S. Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...

. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" is featured in ''

Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film se ...

'', in a scene set in 1969 at

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

. It is also featured in the

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

Mafia III ''Mafia III'' is a 2016 action-adventure video game developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K Games. It was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, in May 2017 for macOS, and in October 2021 for Google Stadia. It is ...

, set in 1968, where it can be heard on the radio. The Sky Documentary ''The United Way'', the song featured in the clips of triumphs of the Busby Babes and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Releases

* 1968: Pictures of Matchstick Men / Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe

romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia ...

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

*In 1983,

the Slickee Boys The Slickee Boys were a Washington, D.C. area punk rock, punk-psychedelic rock, psychedelic-garage rock band whose most-remembered lineup consisted of guitarist Marshall Keith, guitarist Kim Kane, singer Mark Noone and drummer Dan Palenski. The g ...

released the first cover of the song on their album ''

Cybernetic Dreams of Pi ''Cybernetic Dreams of Pi'', released in 1983, is an album by The Slickee Boys. It was released on LP by the Minneapolis record label Twin/Tone (catalog number TTR 8337). Along with songs penned by the band, there are cover versions of songs by ...

'. *In 1989,

Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and world music. The band init ...

scored a number 1 hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart in the United States with their version from the album ''

Key Lime Pie Key lime pie is an American dessert pie. It is made of lime, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. It may be served with no topping, topped with a meringue topping made from egg whites, or with whipped cream; it may be cooked in a pie crust, ...

''. One of the instruments played in this rendering is a violin. It is played at the end of the ''

Ray Donovan ''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30, 2013. The pilot episode broke viewership records, becoming the biggest premiere of all t ...

'' episode, "

If I Should Fall from Grace with God ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' is the third studio album by Irish folk-punk band the Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God ...

" (2017; season 5, episode 7). *In 1996,

Arjen Anthony Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the ...

recorded a cover of this song for his cover album

Strange Hobby Strange Hobby is an uncredited cover album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released in 1996. The album and the booklet contained no information about Lucassen and did not explain who was responsible for the recordings, to make the album even more "str ...

. *In 1997, a take by the American

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band

Type O Negative Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percussi ...

was recorded, featuring vocals by

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, and released on the '' Private Parts: The Album'' soundtrack. * In 2007, Kasabian covered the song. *In 2018, Florida-based gothic metal band

October Noir October Noir is a gothic/ doom metal band formed in Pensacola, Florida in 2016. They have released 3 full-length albums and 9 stand-alone singles. Background October Noir was started by Tom Noir in late 2016 and released the first album, ''The Ha ...

released it as a non-album single.October Noir Pictures of Matchstick Men (RIPeter) (Single) - Spirit of Metal Webzine (fr)
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Charts

References

External links