Rick Parfitt quits performing with Status Quo for good (original) (raw)

Rick Parfitt has said he won't return to Status Quo in any performing capacity.

The 68-year-old had a heart attack in June and was forced to pull out of the band's autumn tour.

The band will only perform acoustic shows after the current tour, and Parfitt said he won't take part.

"No. I don't think I really want to," he told, external Classic Rock's Dave Ling. "In my heart I'm a rocker... If I'm going to make music it's got to rock."

Parfitt added: "There would probably have been room for me if I decided I wanted to, but I'm not a great fan of the whole acoustic malarkey. It doesn't float my boat.

"What I am disappointed in is missing the last of the band's electric shows."

Band manager Simon Porter said Parfitt "died" for several minutes after an attack that left him with "mild cognitive impairments".

Parfitt said he is now "fully recovered".

"As the weeks pass I'm better and better. I don't know whether I will be able to improve on that because I feel as well as I did when I fell over."

He has been replaced by Richie Malone in the band. Parfitt said he was doing a great job and wished him "all the best".

He added that the band have his blessing for any future plans.

The guitarist has had a number of health issues in recent years, including a throat cancer scare in 2005 and a heart attack in 2011.

Status Quo cancelled a series of gigs in 2014 after Parfitt was told to rest by doctors, following surgery to correct a problem with the quadruple heart bypass he underwent in 1997.