Pictures of Matchstick Men


"Pictures of Matchstick Men" is the first hit single by Status Quo, released on 5 January 1968.

Status Quo version

The song reached number seven in the British charts, number eight in Canada, and number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their only hit 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 of the song, a stereo and mono version, with significant differences: the mono version, which was the original single, has the trademark wah-wah guitar in the breaks between lyrics, but the stereo version omits it.
The song opens with a single guitar repeatedly playing a simple four-note riff before the bass, rhythm guitar, 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 later said of the song:
The "matchstick men" of the song refers to the paintings of Salford artist L. S. Lowry.
The song was reprised, in 2014, for the band's thirty-first studio album Aquostic . It was featured in the 90-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October, and was recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series.
The song is featured in Men in Black 3, in a scene set in 1969 at Andy Warhol's Factory.

Releases

In 1989, Camper Van Beethoven scored a number-one hit on the American Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart with their version from their album Key Lime Pie. One of the instruments played in this version is a violin. This version is played in the end of the Ray Donovan episode, "If I Should Fall from Grace with God".

Type O Negative/Ozzy Osbourne version

In 1997 a version by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative, featuring vocals by Ozzy Osbourne, was released on the soundtrack.

October Noir version

In 2018 a version by Florida-based gothic metal band October Noir was released as a non-album single.