Status Quo drummer Matt Letley has an unusual way of winding down between gigs: he goes mountain climbing. He has now climbed Snowdon more than 80 times, and on one particularly crazy occasion undertook what he describes as “quite a risky walk in South Wales” before having to drive to the next gig in Southport and only just making it in time for the sound check.

“If there’s a mountain nearby, I’ll try to seek it out,” he says. “I just love all that scrambling and walking, and whatever helps me keep fit for the gigs.”

Almost ten years ago, Matt had a mountain of a different sort to climb when he found himself catapulted, with very little warning, into one of this country’s most iconic rock bands, becoming its fourth drummer in as many decades.

Before that, the 48-year-old, who started drumming at the age of six, had clocked up plenty of experience with high-profile artists such as Hank Marvin, David Essex, Elkie Brooks, Bob Geldof and Vanessa Mae. But playing with Quo, he discovered, was something else.

“It was quite daunting,” he says, with what must surely be a massive understatement. “The first day of rehearsals was quite nerve-racking, and it didn’t go great because of the way they play, which is why they sound like Status Quo – they do push the beat a lot and I wasn’t used to that!

“Physically, it’s a very demanding set. There aren’t many ballads – maybe just one if we’re lucky – so it’s a very gruelling set to play, and we’re now touring a lot as well.”

As a 14-year-old, Matt was a fan of Quo’s original drummer, the legendary John Coghlan, and he found Coghlan’s influence a great help when he took on his mantle.

“I had an admiration for John Coghlan – I thought he was one of those rock drummers that did have a bit of technique as well, so I looked into how he played the gigs in those early days, and what we did was we brought the tempos back, because they had tended to race away with my predecessor. So we made a conscious decision to bring the tempos back, and that made the sound a lot heavier, which is a good thing, I think!”

Now, with the tenth anniversary of his joining Quo coming up next May, he is amazed to have reached such a milestone. “When I joined the band I thought it would carry on for five years, and here we are, ten years on, and there’s no sign of them wanting to stop.” Quo’s faithful army will be relieved to hear it.

Meanwhile, another band has reached a milestone anniversary this year; Steeleye Span, who follow Quo into the New Theatre on Sunday, are celebrating 40 years in the business. Like Quo, they have had a number of line-up changes over the years, but have survived them all. After a major world tour earlier this year, the band is now embarking on a 40th anniversary UK tour, hot on the heels of the release of their 21st studio album, Cogs, Wheels and Lovers, in May.

Catching up with Maddy at the beginning of a rehearsal week in Oxford, I found her in buoyant mood, and very excited about the tour. “It’ll be lovely,” she enthused. “I’ve got my frocks! We’ll be doing Christmas material later in the tour, so it’ll be a slightly different tour from usual because we’ll be changing material.”

So what can fans expect to hear in Oxford? “We always do a mixture of old and new material, so we’ll be doing something off the new album, and something from our early days. The problem is we have a vast repertoire, so the difficulty is picking songs that work together, and that make a good set.”

Looking back, Maddy is amazed to find the band still together. “I was only going to do this for a bit!” she laughs. “I did a week in a Wimpey bar and I got £10, so I thought, I’ll do this for a bit. And here I am 40 years later! In some ways it doesn’t seem that long since we started, but in other ways it feels like a million years ago. Technology has changed, so the technology of working in a band has changed. The world is a very different place now.”

A happy coincidence links the two bands’ appearances in Oxford this weekend – 13 years ago, Maddy joined Quo onstage during their ‘Don’t Stop’ tour to sing All Around My Hat. “Oh, that was fantastic,” Maddy says when I remind her of this. “They’re great lads, and going onstage with them at the end of the night – I’ve never been on a stage with so much energy! They really work hard, those lads. So it was great.”

Status Quo will be at the New Theatre tomorrow and Saturday; Steeleye Span follow on Sunday. Box office: 0844 847 1588. Quo’s new DVD, Live at Montreaux 2009 (Cat. No. EREDV756) and Steeleye Span’s new album, Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (Cat. No. PRKCD106) are both available now.