Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes Retires From Live Performances

Deep Purple singer-musician Glenn Hughes said Tuesday he will be retiring from touring as he braces to undergo heart surgery.

The 74-year-old musical artist 'has made the difficult decision to step back from live performances for the foreseeable future,' a statement on his Facebook page affirmed.

Glenn Hughes Addresses Health Issues

"This past year, I’ve had some health issues," says Hughes. "The results from numerous MRIs, CT scans, and an echocardiogram have alerted my medical team that I need another open-heart surgery. I really have no option and no choice, as health is my number one priority. Grateful to have been chosen with a life full with the gift of music. Thank you for walking beside me."

"I had a heart attack on Christmas Day in 1991," Hughes told Classic Rock in 2016. "God obviously had a sense of humour: 'Let’s see if he’s paying attention – kapow!' He gave me the heart attack. Or something did – well, that would have been the drugs, wouldn’t it?

Glenn Hughes' Rise To Fame

"I realised how close to death I was then. I knew I had to get in a car, and my girlfriend drove me to hospital. And I very distinctly said to them at the hospital: 'I’ve OD’d.' And then I blacked out. I woke up, and I’d been sober for twenty-four hours. Which was a great moment for me, because I’d been trying for years. I was an embarrassment to myself. I never really went out in public. I lived in Laurel Canyon [in California] for two years and never really left. I used to get my food from the Country Store down the hill. I was kind of a hermit. Pretty sad."

He gained prominence with the group Trapeze in the 1970s before his 1973 addition to Deep Purple, which also featured David Coverdale joining the band. Hughes and his colleagues in Deep Purple had been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Hughes finished his extensive Chosen Years tour last November in Argentina, but cancelled his touring plans for this year in January citing health concerns.