"What are my songs about? Things that piss me off. I don't like rednecks, I don't like the 'spend, spend, spend' culture. I don't like people with no morals. I'm a bit of a lone voice on these issues and, hey, it's not very rock 'n roll - but stuff it. In my opinion, music should be something to listen to, not wash over you."

Clearly not the mildman of rock, John 'Rhino' Edwards has an outspoken point of view - backed by an equally uncompromising brand of music. And how would he describe it, exactly? "Rhino Rock. Thug Rock. Animal Rock. Heavy Rock. Pop Rock... with an emphasis on songs. That's the one."

But what's all this 'revenge' business about? "A lot of people, over the years, have said to me 'You'll never get anywhere, you'll never do anything. You can't sing, you're a shit bass player, you can't write songs. Rhino's Revenge is a custard pie in the face of people who have slagged me off. It's a big finger to all of those people - and they know who they are - who told me that I'd never make it. This is me saying 'Here you go - '**** off.' It's my way of getting back at people, I suppose. Not Status Quo though - not Status Quo."

And why would it be? For the past 15 years, John 'Rhino' Edwards has been the fully paid-up bass player with the band that is officially the most successful of all time in terms of UK hit singles. He has toured the world with Quo - possibly the only band to sell out an annual UK arena tour every year - and, in terms of recording and writing, emerged as a pivotal force.

All of which is bound to make anyone wonder why he felt the need to do his own record. "I sat down one evening and I wrote a song, called 'Julia', and I really liked it. I played it, and I thought 'This is really great'. I was singing it and I thought 'There's just no point in presenting it to Quo - because Francis and Rick wouldn't want to sing it, and the band wouldn't want to do it. It was very '60s, psychedelic. And I suddenly thought 'Well, hold on, I really like this...why don't I, just for my own satisfaction as much as anything, write a few songs an do and EP?' Just put it out to Quo fans, or anyone who was interested, to say 'Well, this is another side of me.' Although I'm in Status Quo, I'm a bit more of a multi-faceted person, if you like."

A brief trawl through Rhino's musical pedigree - pre-Quo - would undoubtedly confirm that view. He made his first appearance on 'Top Of The Pops' (in a silver astronaut's suit, of course) playing bass with France-based band Space, whose 'Magic Fly' hit No. 2 in 1977. He toured, co-wrote and recorded for several years with Judie Tzuke. He played with tortured ex-Fleetwood Mac guitar genius Peter Green. He was a member of The Climax Blues Band, The Kim Wilde Band and Dexy's Midnight Runners, playing bass on the band's Top 20 single 'Let's Get This Straight (From The Heart). He played sessions for Pet Shop Boys, Nick Kamen and for the solo album by Quo's own Rick Parfitt - a gig that led to his eventual invitation to join Status Quo, back in 1985.

Rhino has also already made his mark as a songwriter, co-penning Quo's 1994 Top 40 hit 'Sherri Don't Fail Me Now' and, for Manchester United Football Club, the 1994 UK No.1 'Come On You Reds', along with its follow-up, 'We're Gonna Do It Again', which reached No. 6 a year later.

None of which, particularly Quo's relentless working itinerary, ever left too much time for Rhino to work on his own material, to be sung by himself - and, ultimately, produced by Mike Paxman, also behind the desk for Quo's widely successful 1999 Eagle Records album 'Under The Influence', as well as the band's recently released 'Famous In The Last Century' covers set.

Rhino and Paxman have known each other since their days with Judie Tzuke, whom Paxman wrote with and produced. "I asked Mike to produce 'Rhino's Revenge' as a favour - I don't think he knew what he was getting himself into! It could have taken six weeks, but it's taken 4 years! I started writing 'Julia' on the 3rd of January, 1996, and the album is coming out in September - without that particular song on it, incidentally. It was a question of getting the right studio, because we wanted a very continuous sound, and getting availability... finding time when both Mike and I were around, the actual recording process didn't take that long, but it was done over a four year period."

We all know the jokes about Quo and a certain number of chords and, naturally, listeners might be expecting some form of musical link between the band and 'Rhino's Revenge'. "Well, there isn't. I've been in the band for 15 years and, of course, Quo has made a sub-conscious mark on me, I'm sure. But the reason why my music is different from Quo's is in the delivery of the singing. My songs depend on a different type of vocal performance than Quo's do. Theirs are just great, stand-alone songs. And, for the record, one song on my album has only two chords.

"I've never been with a band for so long, so of course, there's an element of Quo in what I do but, if it is there, it's subliminal. It's not intentional. I've made my own record. For me, it's just a total bonus that, because I'm in Status Quo, I'm able to talk about it to more people than I would if I had just been Joe Bloggs from down the street. Of course I'm using that connection, I'm using what I've got, because I want to get this record across to as many people as possible."

And Quo have been happy to contribute to the cause; Francis Rossi solos on 'Spend Spend Spend', Rick Parfitt plays on 'Jungle Love' and 'Republican' (which also has backing vocals by former Go West frontman Peter Cox) while Quo keyboard player Andrew Bown is featured on 'Rocker' and 'Mine All Mine' and new Quo drummer Matt Letley is featured on two tracks. Judie Tzuke also contributes backing vocals to the album, which was recorded at her private studio.

"I'm really knocked out that I've had Francis, Rick and Andrew playing on it because I love their playing, I really do. I think they're all shit hot. I asked Andrew to do it because I wanted the kind of keyboards that he does, I asked Rick because he's such a strong rhythm player and I asked Francis to play on 'Spend Spend Spend' because I thought it would be perfect for him, and they all really enjoyed it, which was very gratifying. Quo have been very supportive."

So, finally, what are Rhino's expectations for the album? "Oh, triple platinum, probably…. No, it seems stupid to record an album's worth of material, have the facility to put it out - and not do it. When you record something, it's always in the back of your mind to get it out there. I spent a lot of time writing these songs. I'm happy to put this record out, and I'm really looking forward to the next one."