(Credits: Far Out / AVRO)
Wed 18 February 2026 0:00, UK
When you’re a musical pioneer like Suzi Quatro, where do you even begin to draw inspiration from?
You’ll struggle to find a female rocker in the modern age who hasn’t, in some way, shape or form, been influenced by Quatro – mot that men aren’t also inspired by her, as her music speaks for itself, but the fact that she managed to establish herself as a rock pioneer in what was a heavily male-dominated industry meant she became the blueprint for a lot of budding musicians out there keen to do something similar.
She was the first to do a great deal, and it begs the question: What inspires you when what you make is so individual? Well, in the case of Quatro, musical loves aside, it was her father. He was the man who bought the would-be rocker her first bass, and this started a chain reaction that would change everything.
“My father gave me my first bass. It’s ridiculous: a 1957 Fender Precision, gold scratch plate, sunburst finish, stripe up the back of the neck and an original Fender Bassman amp. I mean, that just doesn’t happen!” she said. “I still have the bass, it hangs on the wall. The amp, I don’t know what happened to that. But I won’t take the bass out on the road anymore because it’s too valuable.”
Her father didn’t just buy bass guitars, though; he also taught her about the degree of professionalism needed to make it in music. When Quatro went out on the road, despite the rock-infused music and rockstar aesthetic, she was always pretty professional. It means there is a lack of rock ‘n’ roll tour stories, but in her professionalism, she had longevity and was taken seriously as an artist.
(Credits: Stefan Brending)
When Quatro was asked if she had any wild stories about life on the road, she replied, “No, because that’s not who I am,” she continued. “You know, I’ve been a professional about what I do. I don’t have to live the rock and roll image off the stage; I keep it on the stage. My Dad taught me that. I’m a professional.”
Of course, while Quatro might have resisted the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle somewhat, this didn’t mean she was impervious to the regular side effects that come with touring. The self-destructive behaviour may have been swerved, but when you’re spending time in close confines with like-minded people, feelings are often going to develop, and that’s exactly what happened with her.
When she came over to the UK, it took some time to round up the musicians, but once she had her band together, she went out on the road with Thin Lizzy and Slade. This is a period of her life that she remembers very fondly, as it gave her a chance to meet other great musicians, play her original material on stage in front of different audiences, and generally experience what it was like to tour.
“I joined that tour – it was Slade and Thin Lizzy and me at the beginning,” she said. “So, I wasn’t famous yet, but I had 20 minutes at the beginning of the show, and that was great. I did all my own original material. I became good friends with everybody.”
The main portion of the tour that really changed her life, though, was meeting her guitar player. As previously said, in close confines, like-minded people, the shared euphoria of playing music together, often band members wind up falling for one another, and that’s exactly what happened with Quatro. However, this wasn’t just an on-the-road fling; her life changed as the two wound up getting married and staying together for 20 years.
“I’d hired my English band, and I fell in love with my guitar player, and he was my husband for 20 years,” she said, concluding, “We had two kids together, and he was my guitar player for 20 years.” Who says that rock ‘n’ roll and love can’t co-exist?