For almost 50 years the guitarist Rick Parfitt formed one of the most recognisable and best loved guitar-playing partnerships in rock. Parfitt, along with band mate Francis Rossi were the beating heart of Status Quo and between them the two men inspired generations of future guitar heroes.
Parfitt was born in Woking, Surrey and began learning the guitar at the age of eleven. Whilst playing in a pub in Camden as a teenager of 15 he was approached by an agent who gave him a job as a performer at a holiday camp. In the early 1960s many young musicians learned their craft playing cover versions of popular records in seaside holiday camps and this early break was to prove pivotal in Parfitt's future in the music business. He went on to play at Butlins in Minehead and it was here that he met Francis Rossi. At the time Rossi had a band called The Spectres and Parfitt, after befriending the band, was drafted in because they needed another singer. The Spectres eventually went on to call themselves The Status Quo and ultimately would become known by rock fans all over the globe simply as Quo.
Parfitt became an integral member of the band and as the group became more and more successful, Parfitt's appetite for the rock & roll lifestyle grew in similar proportion. During his career with Status Quo Parfitt co-wrote some of the best known rock anthems of all time including 'Rockin' All Over the World', 'Down Down' and 'In the Army Now' and formed a key roll in a band which sold over 118 million records. He died in December 2016 in Marbella, Spain at the age of 68.
