Roy Alan Lynes (born 25 October 1943, Redhill, Surrey) is an English musician and occasional singer, who was the keyboardist for the rock band Status Quo (originally

The Spectres Status Quo are a British rock band that formed in 1962. The group originated in London as The Scorpions and was founded by Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster while they were still schoolboys. After a number of lineup changes, which included the i ...

then

Traffic Jam Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...

). He joined the band in 1964/1965, two years after its foundation. He appeared on Quo's first three albums – ''

Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo ''Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Status Quo, released in September 1968. It features several covers, including "Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers. Background The ...

'', '' Spare Parts'' and ''

Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon ''Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon'' is the third studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released in August 1970. It was the first album by the band to leave behind their early psychedelic sound and begin experimenting with a hard rock style, wh ...

'' – and

wrote Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute ...

"To Be Free", the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the second Quo single, "Black Veils of Melancholy". The track "Umleitung" was a co-composition with bassist

Alan Lancaster Alan Charles Lancaster (7 February 1949 – 26 September 2021) was an English musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Status Quo, playing with the band from 1967 to 1985, with brief reunions in 2013 and 2014. As ...

, but was not released until the first album after Lynes' departure, 1971's '' Dog of Two Head''. Lynes left the band in 1970, and was eventually replaced by

Andy Bown Andrew Steven Bown (born 27 March 1946) is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo. Career Bown's first major band was The Herd, along with Peter Frampton. After The ...

in 1977. "We were frightened out of our lives to play without him," recalled Lancaster, "because the organ had always drowned out the bad bits." According to the group's producer John Schroeder, who wrote the booklet notes for the 3-CD compilation ''The Early Years'', Lynes was 'the quietest member of the group' and 'somehow always seemed to be the odd one out'. He had fallen in love on tour, claiming he could see how serious the other band members (Lancaster,

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 ...

Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist with rock band Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in pubs and holiday ...

and John Coghlan) were about fame and glory, and that he just wanted to settle down to a life with his newfound love. "I was shocked, but Roy was like that," recalled Rossi in 2001. "He'd met a bird in some petrol station a week earlier, and they're still married today." In the group's autobiography ''Just for the Record'' (1993), Parfitt said Lynes was 'a bit laid back, the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

type who liked tinkering and finding out about things,' and Rossi remarked that he showed up at a gig in New Zealand about ten years later to say hello; 'He seemed a much happier bloke.' He is still active in Australia and has continued to perform in his own right. On Status Quo's 2000 tour of Australia, Lynes contributed to keyboards with them onstage in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Lynes has also occasionally contributed keyboards and vocals to Australian tribute band Statoz Quo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynes, Roy 1943 births Living people Status Quo (band) members English rock keyboardists People from Redhill, Surrey