Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt dead at 68 after suffering a severe infection
STATUS Quo legend Rick Parfitt chillingly spoke of dying just weeks before he passed away following his third heart attack.
The guitarist died in a Spanish hospital just months after suffering a massive heart attack while on tour with the band in Spain, where he had to be revived by paramedics.
Last month, the rocker defiantly spoke of the moment he “died”, saying: “It will take more than death to kill me”.
Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi were a phenomenal live act. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
“We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away,” his family and manager said in a joint statement.
“He died in hospital in Marbella, Spain as a result of a severe infection, having been admitted to hospital on Thursday evening following complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall.”
In nearly five decades in rock and roll, Status Quo have sold more than 100 million records.
They are known for their stripped-down, three-chord hits such as Rockin’ All Over the World and Caroline and were the opening act for the 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised money for famine-hit Ethiopia.
Status Quo open Live Aid in 1984
The band enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle filled with drugs and alcohol — Parfitt once admitted spending $2000 a week on cocaine and another $1000 on vodka.
His lifestyle played havoc with his personal relationships, and he had a number of divorces behind him.
He later joked: “It’s not buying the drugs that is the most expensive thing. It’s the divorce which taking drugs eventually leads to.”
The rocker had been dogged by ill health after having a quadruple heart bypass in 1997.
Doctors told him he could “die at any time” unless he changed his rock and roll lifestyle of drinking, drugs and smoking.
It was the first of a string of heart problems for Parfitt — he suffered a heart attack was in December 2011 and he underwent surgery the following day.
In August 2014, Parfitt was on a tour bus following a performance in Austria when he suffered another heart attack.
Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, pictured in Sydney, were regular visitors to our shores. Picture: SuppliedSource:News Limited
He later said he was pleased to have the heart attack as it forced him to stop smoking and drinking after 50 years.
The guitarist admitted he was drinking a bottle of wine and smoking 30 cigarettes a day.
While on tour with Status Quo in Turkey, in June, the rocker suffered a massive heart attack.
He was left with “mild cognitive impairments” following the scare.
He was found by a personal assistant after his hotel room was ajar and she discovered him lying on the floor.
Paramedics saved the guitarist’s life after he “died” while they were treating him in the hotel room.
’It will take more than death to kill me’
RIP Rick here's one of my favs from the band.
STATUS Quo legend Rick Parfitt chillingly spoke of dying just weeks before he passed away following his third heart attack.
The guitarist died in a Spanish hospital just months after suffering a massive heart attack while on tour with the band in Spain, where he had to be revived by paramedics.
Last month, the rocker defiantly spoke of the moment he “died”, saying: “It will take more than death to kill me”.
Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi were a phenomenal live act. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
“We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away,” his family and manager said in a joint statement.
“He died in hospital in Marbella, Spain as a result of a severe infection, having been admitted to hospital on Thursday evening following complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall.”
In nearly five decades in rock and roll, Status Quo have sold more than 100 million records.
They are known for their stripped-down, three-chord hits such as Rockin’ All Over the World and Caroline and were the opening act for the 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised money for famine-hit Ethiopia.
Status Quo open Live Aid in 1984
The band enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle filled with drugs and alcohol — Parfitt once admitted spending $2000 a week on cocaine and another $1000 on vodka.
His lifestyle played havoc with his personal relationships, and he had a number of divorces behind him.
He later joked: “It’s not buying the drugs that is the most expensive thing. It’s the divorce which taking drugs eventually leads to.”
The rocker had been dogged by ill health after having a quadruple heart bypass in 1997.
Doctors told him he could “die at any time” unless he changed his rock and roll lifestyle of drinking, drugs and smoking.
It was the first of a string of heart problems for Parfitt — he suffered a heart attack was in December 2011 and he underwent surgery the following day.
In August 2014, Parfitt was on a tour bus following a performance in Austria when he suffered another heart attack.
Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, pictured in Sydney, were regular visitors to our shores. Picture: SuppliedSource:News Limited
He later said he was pleased to have the heart attack as it forced him to stop smoking and drinking after 50 years.
The guitarist admitted he was drinking a bottle of wine and smoking 30 cigarettes a day.
While on tour with Status Quo in Turkey, in June, the rocker suffered a massive heart attack.
He was left with “mild cognitive impairments” following the scare.
He was found by a personal assistant after his hotel room was ajar and she discovered him lying on the floor.
Paramedics saved the guitarist’s life after he “died” while they were treating him in the hotel room.
’It will take more than death to kill me’
RIP Rick here's one of my favs from the band.
