Veteran musicians Status Quo were rockin’ all over the Ark when the band filmed their latest video on the aircraft carrier’s flight deck – and you could watch them in action at the BBC if you answer a simple question and the band’s new single makes it into the higher regions of the charts.

The Quo – who first broke into the UK charts 34 years ago – were linked to the carrier earlier last year when band member Rick Parfitt won a trip to sea in the Ark Royal for himself and his 12-year-old son Harry in a King George’s Fund for Sailors raffle.

Now one lucky winner and a guest could see Status Quo perform their new single, Jam Side Down, on Top of the Pops.

The single is released in two formats on Monday August 5. CD1 contains video footage shot on board Ark Royal, while CD2 includes extra live tracks recorded for TOTP2. Each single will sell at a special price of £1.99 for the first week.

If it goes into the top ten in the chart announced on August 11, the winner and a guest will be guests of the Quo at the recording in the BBC TV Centre in London on August 15, as it is a certainty that the band will be featured.

If it gets into the top 20 in that chart, the winner could still see the show – but only if the band are invited to perform.

If the chart entry is not high enough, then the winner will receive the Status Quo back catalogue instead, plus a copy of the new album.

Accommodation and transport will be provided by UMTV, who will also donate £1,000 to RN charities if the record is in the top 20, and £2,000 if it is top ten.

To win the prize, tell us how Status Quo leave HMS Ark Royal at the end of the video.

Write to us at Status Quo, Navy News, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth PO1 3HH, or email to edit@navynews.co.uk, by 4pm on Friday August 9, 2002, and the winner will be drawn from all correct answers received.

The appearance of the band on the Ark provided an upbeat end to Dynamic Mix, a NATO exercise which featured 18 warships from various nations in a series of confrontations around the Straits of Gibraltar.

Friendly units consisted of Type 42 destroyer HMS Cardiff, tanker RFA Orangeleaf, Italian Maestrale-class frigate Zeffiro and the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Underwood.

The opposition forces were grouped around the Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias – known as PDA on the exercise.

The nature of Dynamic Mix was such that the Sea Harrier squadron embarked in Ark Royal, 800 Naval Air Squadron, played a key role from the start, undertaking a range of missions including defending the carrier, reconnaissance and maritime strike.

The clarity of the water in the region also added an unusual role to the Sea Harriers’ repertoire – that of submarine detection platform, as both Flt Lt Parker and Lt Tremelling spotted and alerted the task group as to the presence of submerged submarines.

Sorties were conducted against a number of aircraft types, including Spanish F-18s, Mirages and AV8Bs, and American, Turkish and Greek F-16s – and the Sea Harrier is reported to have given a good account of itself in the proceedings.

The exercise culminated in an audacious and successful long-range strike against the PDA task group, of particular note as it involved all elements of the Ark’s air group working in co-operation, together with a strike package of German Tornadoes.

The final evolution was a photographic event with all participants, including three submarines, taking part.

The exercise proved a good platform for the strengths of the Sea Harrier, and the engineering teams managed to achieve a high sortie rate over an extended period.

As the ship passed through the Straits of Gibraltar she passed HMS Ocean on the way home – a timely reminder of the need to be ready for tasking anywhere, any time.

Status Quo joined the ship as she approached Portsmouth on the home leg, and 800 Squadron took the opportunity to get an unusual set of autographs – the band members signed Sea Harrier no. 128.

Squadron Commanding Officer Cdr Dickie Payne seized the chance to ‘drive’ the ship, under the watchful eye of Capt David Snelson, before she came alongside in Portsmouth.

The trip ended with a Families Day, which involved the squadron doing a four-ship flypast, led by senior pilot Lt Cdr Tim Taylor, and a deck launch by the Commanding Officer of 800 Squadron.