Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt dead: Musician dies in Spain, aged 68

'He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow band members, management, crew and his dedicated legion of fans from throughout the world'

The rock star was planning to launch a solo career next year (Getty)

Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in Spain aged 68, his manager has said.

The rock musician died on Saturday in a Marbella hospital after developing a "severe" infection. He had been admitted on Thursday with a shoulder injury.

A statement from his manager said: "We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away at lunchtime today.

“This tragic news comes at a time when Rick was hugely looking forward to launching a solo career with an album and autobiography planned for 2017 following his departure from Status Quo's touring activities on medical advice.

“He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow band members, management, crew and his dedicated legion of fans from throughout the world, gained through 50 years of monumental success with Status Quo."

Born in Surrey in 1948, Parfitt began playing guitar aged 11.

He formed Status Quo, along with Francis Rossi, Alan Lancaster, John Coghlan and Roy Lines in 1967. The group found huge success with singles such as "Rockin' All Over The World" and "Whatever You Want" and in 2015, it was announced they had spent a total of 500 weeks in the UK album charts. In 1985, they opened Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid concert at Wembley.

In September, Parfitt pulled out of the band's autumn tour for health reasons. He suffered a heart attack in June where, according to the band's manager Simon Porter, he "died" for several minutes.

Prior to this, he underwent a quadruple heart bypass in 1997 and was told to slow down his rock-and-roll lifestyle by doctors.

In 2014, he said he had not "smoked a joint for 27 years and I haven't done any cocaine for 10 years", the BBC reported.

He has also vowed not to become a "born-again Christian" and said he still enjoyed the odd pint.

Parfitt is survived by his third wife Lyndsay, their twins Tommy and Lily, and his adult children Rick Jnr and Harry.

Additional reporting by the Press Association