Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in hospital in Spain at the age of 68. A statement from the Parfitt family and Status Quo Manager Simon Porter reads as follows:

We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away at lunchtime today.

He died in hospital in Marbella, Spain as a result of a severe infection, having been admitted to hospital on Thursday evening following complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall.

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.

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

No further comment will be made at this time and Rick's family, and the band, ask for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

Parfitt united with future bandmates Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster in 1967 and later that year the name Status Quo was born. According to Wikipedia, Status Quo have had over 60 chart hits in the UK, more than any other rock band, from "Pictures of Matchstick Men" in 1967 to "In the Army Now" in 2010. Twenty-two of these reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1991, Status Quo received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Status Quo’s total album sales exceed 122 million!