Status Quo will attract full houses for their two performances at the New Theatre, Oxford, this week.

But it was a different story when the group played one of their first gigs in the city nearly 40 years ago.

Their concert at Elms Court, Botley, on Sunday, June 9, 1968, was sparsely attended - and didn't rank even one line in the Oxford Mail.

In fact, had it not been for Jeff Samways, the audience of about 30 would have been halved.

Mr Samways, of Finmore Close, Abingdon, tells me: "I hired a small coach and took along about 15 of my friends from Fitzharrys School.

"It was a good night. Status Quo were in flash clothes - yellow and red, with bell-bottomed trousers."

The ticket, which he has kept as a memento, shows that it cost 10 shillings to get in.

After the gig, the group signed their names on the back of it - they include Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, who remain with the band today.

The group's history can be traced back to 1962 when Rossi teamed up with two friends at school in Kent, to form the Scorpions. They later became the Spectres, then Traffic Jam, finally settling on the name Status Quo in 1967.

Any memories of Status Quo to share with Memory Lane readers?