Status Quo will refund disgruntled fans who bought tickets for their upcoming shows before it was announced founder Rick Parfitt wouldn’t take part.
The 67-year-old singer and guitarist had a heart attack earlier this year, after which he “died for several minutes.” Earlier this month it was revealed he may never perform live with the band again.
His place in the band has been filled by Richie Malone after bassist John ‘Rhino’ Edwards’ son Freddie covered some of their summer shows.
And after a small number of fans asked for refunds on future dates, the band have agreed to give them back their money.
Status Quo manager Simon Porter says: “Rick is extremely disappointed to be unable to be part of the tour but, as you will have read, he is acting under medical orders and quite rightly is putting his health first and foremost.
“The band – with Rick’s total blessing – have opted to honour all existing commitments and the reaction from both fans and promoters during Quo’s recent summer shows is that the band has continued to perform as brilliantly and as powerfully as ever.
“A small handful of fans have requested refunds on the forthcoming winter tour and although they actually purchased tickets to see a band rather than a solo performer, we will honour their request for a refund on this occasion purely as a gesture of goodwill and on an ex gratia basis.”
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Until Parfitt makes a final decision on whether to return to performing live shows with Quo, he will remain part of the band’s numerous offstage activities.
He also continues to work on a solo album, which he aims to record in the coming months.
