Last updated 11:43, Thursday, 31 July 2008

ROCK band Status Quo will play Whitehaven on Saturday.

The veteran group are topping the bill at a spectacular £300,000 open-air concert at The Recreation Ground, home of Whitehaven RLFC. Up to 10,000 fans are expected at the town’s biggest ever music event, being staged by the Whitehaven Maritime Festival committee to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Royal Act for Whitehaven Harbour.

Quo’s lead vocalist Francis Rossi said: “I can’t wait to come and do the gig.

“Quite honestly we’re all looking forward to the experience. We’ve played all over the world, in front of hundreds of thousands of people, from Wembley to Moscow, but it’s nothing to do with statistics, venue and size, it’s more about the people and the vibes, that’s what makes it work for us.

“If you go out expecting things to be fantastic and the band to be fantastic you can fall flat on your face. For me it’s all about the vibes from the audience and getting cocooned in it all.

“If we knew the secret of how to make it happen it would happen all the time, but from what we’ve heard about Whitehaven and you Cumbrians we hope we definitely will get the vibes up there and it will be fantastic. We know it’s an important occasion for Whitehaven. We just hope we can live up to it and everybody has a great time.”

Status Quo will be backed by Cumbria’s only ever top 10 chart band It Bites, plus Gobstopper, a glam rock band from Barrow and Weathered Rock, a Copeland band consisting of Sellafield workers.

Tickets cost £30, available from www.ticketline.co.uk or by calling 0871 424 4444.