Update (6/19): The band’s manager Simon Porter, wrote on the Official Status Quo Fan Club’s Facebook page: “I’m happy for you to report on my behalf that Rick was today flown to London by air ambulance. He is comfortable and further tests will be conducted this week. There is nothing else to add at this stage and wild speculation is both unhelpful and upsetting to all concerned. We will give a further update as soon as there is something factual to report.”
Spanish newspaper EuroWeekly News wrote today (June 20): “The 67-year-old has suffered previous health problems which are said to be connected with his earlier life style, although he ‘cleaned up his act’ many years ago, but the band is currently undertaking a very grueling international tour in what is supposed to be their very last appearance as an electric band.”
The 67-year-old singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for 60s/70s British classic rockers Status Quo, Rick Parfitt, suffered a heart attack early Wednesday morning after a show with the band in Turkey on June 14. Although he had a previous attack and then quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1997 and subsequent heart attacks in 2011 and 2014, the band’s management says his condition is stable.
“Whilst his condition is serious, he has already demanded his customary cup of tea with two sugars and a sweetener.” Parfitt’s representatives reported in a statement.
Status Quo had played a show at Expo 2016 in Antakya, Turkey. The group plans to fulfill its immediate upcoming commitments by having guitarist Freddie Edwards, the son of Quo bassist John ‘Rhino’ Edwards, step in for Parfitt.
“No further comment will be made at this stage until the completion of the next round of tests and assessments to be made over the next few days,” says manager Simon Porter. “We would ask you to respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time.” Parfitt remains hospitalized in Antakya.
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Parfitt, 67, has played with his Status Quo bandmate, guitarist Francis Rossi, under the group name since 1967 (first as The Status Quo for two years). Best known in the U.S. for the 1968 #12 hit “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” the group has enjoyed a far higher profile in the U.K. and internationally. They’ve sold some 128 million records worldwide, and in 2010 Parfitt and Rossi were appointed Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in her annual New Year Honours.
After his ’97 bypass, the admittedly hard-living Parfitt was told he might die at any time by his doctors if he didn’t change his lifestyle of drinking, smoking and drug use. He told England’s Daily Mail that he was in fact pleased to have suffered another heart attack in 2014 as it had finally forced him to stop smoking and drinking after 50 years.
Thanks to BCB reader Terence for the heads’ up.
