Entertainment

Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt dies, aged 68

London: Queen guitarist Brian May has led tributes to fellow rock star Rick Parfitt, who has died after suffering from a severe infection at the age of 68. 

The long-time member of Status Quo was hailed by his long-haired contemporary, who said he "joyfully rocked our world".

Parfitt's son, Rick Jr, also paid his own emotional tribute online.

Similar outpourings of sadness came from across the musical community, where he was praised as "a lovely man" and "one of the nicest guys in rock 'n' roll".

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One of the most celebrated live performances of Parfitt's career came at Live Aid on July 13 1985, when he opened the historic 16-hour concert with Status Quo in a 15-minute slot at the original Wembley Stadium.

The event's co-organiser and fellow musician Midge Ure said: "Status Quo's Rick Parfitt dies. Dreadfully sad. Lovely man. Thoughts go out to his family and friends."

Parfitt – a self-confessed former drug addict who at one time drank a bottle of wine and smoked 30 cigarettes a day – suffered a litany of health complaints.

In 1997 he underwent a quadruple heart bypass, in 2005 he had a throat cancer scare and he had a heart attack in 2011.

Earlier this year, Parfitt suffered another heart attack which later saw him announce he would not return to perform with Status Quo.

He pulled out of the band's tour after he was taken ill after a show in Turkey on June 14 and the heart attack and associated complications saw him ordered by heath professionals to rest for the remainder of the year.

Status Quo carved out a place in musical history with their thumping rock sound, which shot them to stardom in the 1970s with their Piledriver, the band's first album with heavy rock and progressive label Vertigo.

Line-up changes threatened to impact the group in the 1970s but their distinctive unchanging sound kept the fans happy.

The band celebrated their 40th UK top 40 album after their latest release, Aquostic II - That's A Fact!, went in at number seven in the charts in October this year.

PA