The Status Quo cancel shows as Parfitt taken ill

Stadium rock band Status Quo have been forced to cancel a series of forthcoming concerts after guitarist Rick Parfitt was taken ill in hospital.

However, it is one of six shows on the current leg of their European tour to be shelved while Parfitt is assessed in a hospital in Pula in the northern part of Croatia.

The band’s manager Simon Porter said: “The band do not cancel shows lightly, as any of our fans will tell you, but in this instance we have no option but to follow medical advice.”