Status Quo Name New Drummer

Status Quo have named Leon Cave as their new drummer after Matt Letley bowed out following a 13-year stint.

Multi-intrumentalist Cave has been a member of Francis Rossi’s solo band and an in-demand session drummer, guitarist and bassist.

Quo say in a statement: “Leon has been in rehearsal with the band and will be playing at the Wolkenkratzer Festival in Frankfurt, Germany.”

Cave is described as “a fast learner of new material with the ability to play across all genres of music.”

Last year Letley announced his decision to move on. He was scheduled to make his final appearance at the O2 Arena in London on December 19, then stayed on to cover the band’s Australian tour in February this year.

He said: “It’s been a fantastic journey – but I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave Quo and move on to something new.”

But he denied the move was anything to do with the band’s Frantic Four reunion shows, played by Rossi and Rick Parfitt alongside founding members Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan.

The last of those concerts, in London March 17, was filmed for a later DVD release.

The veterans released their feature film Bula Quo! in July and tour the UK in December with 10cc:

Dec 6: Liverpool Echo Arena

Dec 7: Birmingham LG Arena

Dec 8: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena

Dec 10: Plymouth Pavilions

Dec 11: Bournemouth BIC

Dec 13: Brighton Centre

Dec 14: Nottingham Arena

Dec 15: London O2

Dec 17: Leeds Arena

Dec 18: Glasgow Hydro

Dec 19: Newcastle Metro Arena