With the death of Status Quo’s exuberant rhythm man, the British rock scene is a drabber place. We look back on a life lived at full-throttle…
In a year when some of rock’s brightest stars were cruelly snuffed out, the death of Rick Parfitt on 24 December from sepsis was a bitter sting in the tail. The Status Quo guitarist was not a visionary like Bowie, nor a virtuoso like Prince, but the chunky chug of his rhythm work on the band’s 60-plus UK hit singles was among the most exuberant sounds in rock ’n’ roll, while his blokey bonhomie made him one of the scene’s best-loved figures. “It’s hard to find words,” tweeted Brian May. “You truly rocked our world.”
Born 12 October 1948, and raised on the Elmbridge council estate in Woking, Richard John Parfitt was a self-described “typical naughty boy” whose mayhem often saw him thrashed by his insurance salesman father with a belt. Trying a guitar at 11, he was surprised to discover a natural talent (“I don’t know where that musical ability came from”), and would later recall the satisfaction, in 1965, of showering his disapproving parents with bank notes after early gigs on the British holiday camp circuit started to pay off. “It was about four in the morning and I woke them up and said, ‘Oi, look at this,’ then threw the money up in the air.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2017 من Guitarist.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2017 من Guitarist.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms