Rick Parfitt, a hard-rocking British guitarist and songwriter who had multiple hits over the decades with the rock band Status Quo, 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.

Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt, who carved out a rock’n’roll career spanning half a century, has died at the age of 68. The veteran musician s uffered from a severe infection while in a Spanish hospital, which he had visited due to complications with a pre-existing shoulder injury, his manager said. His death at lunchtime on Saturday followed years of concern about his ill health, which had seen him stricken by multiple heart attacks and a cancer scare.