[2] He grew up in a household with his parents, grandmother, and "lots of aunts and uncles" and was given a Roman Catholic upbringing, having been named after Saint Francis of Assisi.

[5] His desire to become a musician began after seeing The Everly Brothers live on television at a young age, after which he asked his parents to buy him a guitar for Christmas.

[6][7] The two, along with other classmates Alan Key (drums) and Jess Jaworski (keyboards), formed a band called the Scorpions, who played their first gig at the Samuel Jones Sports Club in Dulwich.

Key was later replaced by Air Cadets drummer[6] and future Quo member John Coghlan, and the band was renamed the Spectres.

The Spectres wrote their own material and played live shows; the line-up soon included Redhill-based keyboard player Roy Lynes, whom they had seen performing with a band called the Echoes who were also based in Redhill.

There Rossi met his future long-time Status Quo partner Rick Parfitt, who was playing as part of another band, the Highlights.

[10] Rossi had written a song called "Pictures of Matchstick Men", which hit the charts in both the UK and the US in 1968, launching their hit-making career.

[citation needed] Status Quo continued to enjoy major success in the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand through the 1970s and 1980s.

[6] They were the opening act of 1985's Live Aid, and Rossi wrote and co-wrote some of their biggest hits, including "Caroline" and the band's only number one single, "Down Down".

[14] Some years earlier, in 1976, he had appeared on the soundtrack album and film All This and World War II comprising cover versions of songs by the Beatles.

Although the album sleeve credits the performance of "Getting Better" to Status Quo, the track featured Rossi's vocals and the London Symphony Orchestra.

[citation needed] In 2019, Rossi released a joint album with UK singer and violinist Hannah Rickard, entitled We Talk Too Much on the earMusic label.

[16] Rossi's guitar of choice is the Fender Telecaster, and he has used several over the years including his trademark green 1957 model with a maple fretboard, which he purchased in 1968.

[citation needed] In December 2014, Rossi was said to be "heartbroken" when his green 1957 Telecaster, after 46 years of use, became worn beyond use—the wood having become too soft to be able to properly tune the instrument.

In a December 2000 review of a Status Quo concert at Wembley Arena, Andrew Gilchrist writing for The Guardian called the white trainers "the only "visual" [the band] really have".

[30] This heavy cocaine use resulted in a piece of his nasal septum falling out, leaving a hole inside his nose which he once "pushed a cotton bud through during a TV interview" in order to demonstrate the dangers of drug addiction to young people.

[33] Rossi was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to music and charity, along with Parfitt.