Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in Spain at 68

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday Oct. 26, 2005, showing members of Status Quo, with Francis Rossi, left, and Rick Parfitt during the launch of a DVD to mark the 40th anniversary of the rock band in London. Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in Spain at age 68, according to a statement released by his manager Simon Porter, Saturday Dec. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, FILE) FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday Oct. 26, 2005, showing members of Status Quo, with Francis Rossi, left, and Rick Parfitt during the launch of a DVD to mark the 40th anniversary of the rock band in London. Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in Spain at age 68, according to a statement released by his manager Simon Porter, Saturday Dec. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, FILE)

By Associated Press December 24, 2016 2 min read

LONDON (AP) – Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in Spain at age 68.

His manager, Simon Porter, and Parfitt’s family said in a statement that Parfitt died in a hospital in Marbella, Spain, on Saturday from a severe infection.

“We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away at lunchtime today,” the statement read, asking for privacy for the family and the band.

It said he had been looking forward to starting a solo career after he stopped touring with the band because of medical issues, including a heart attack he suffered earlier this year.

The statement said Parfitt had been hospitalized since Thursday due to complications from an earlier shoulder injury stemming from a fall.