| Pictures of Matchstick Men | |
| Cover: | Pictures of Matchstick Men by Status Quo UK vinyl.jpg |
| Caption: | A-side label of the UK vinyl release |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | the Status Quo |
| Album: | Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo |
| B-Side: | Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Café |
| Studio: | Pye, London[1] |
| Label: | Pye |
| Producer: | John Schroeder |
| Prev Title: | Almost but Not Quite There |
| Prev Year: | 1967 |
| Next Title: | Black Veils of Melancholy |
| Next Year: | 1968 |
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" is the first hit single by British rock band The Status Quo. It was released on 5 January 1968.[2]
The song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, number eight in Canada, and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their only top-40 single in the United States. Francis Rossi confirmed on DVD2 of the Pictures set, that it was originally intended to be a B-side to "Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe", but it was decided to swap the B-side and the A-side of the single.
There are two versions, one in stereo and another in mono, with significant differences: the original single was in mono and has the trademark wah-wah guitar in the breaks between lyrics, but this is omitted in stereo.
The song opens with a single guitar repeatedly playing a simple four-note riff before the bass, rhythm guitar, organ, drums and vocals begin. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" is one of a number of songs from the late 1960s which feature the flanging audio effect. The band's next single release, "Black Veils of Melancholy", was similar but flopped, which caused a change of musical direction.
Rossi (living in a prefab in Camberwell at the time)[3] later said of the song:
The "matchstick men" reference is to the paintings of Salford artist L. S. Lowry.
In 1989, Camper Van Beethoven scored a number 1 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States with their version from the album Key Lime Pie.[4]