Glenn Hughes, the 75-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee best known for his years fronting Deep Purple, is back home after an eight-day hospital stay and a grueling 10-hour open-heart surgery at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. Hughes shared the update himself, telling fans he is now recovering after the operation that had been anticipated since late summer.
The singer and bassist shared the news in an Instagram Stories post on Wednesday, according to blabbermouth.net. “Now home after an eight day stay, and a 10 hour open heart surgery, operation, at UCLA, Ronald Reagan, Medical Center,” Hughes wrote, confirming both the length of his hospitalization and the scale of the procedure.
A Retirement Announcement Months in the Making
The surgery did not come as a total surprise to Hughes’s fans. As reported by MLive, Hughes revealed on Aug. 4 that he was retiring from touring and that surgery was imminent. He said at the time that health issues over the past year had led his medical team to recommend another open-heart procedure.
“The results from numerous MRIs, CT scans, and an echocardiogram have alerted my medical team, that I need another open-heart surgery,” Hughes said in August, per the same blabbermouth.net report. He added plainly that he felt he had little choice in the matter: “I really have no option and no choice as health is my number one priority.” Hughes said he would step back from live performances for the foreseeable future as a result.
Final Shows Before Stepping Away
Before the announcement, Hughes had kept a steady performance schedule. His most recent full live show took place May 30 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois, the music news outlet reported. His last appearance of any kind came Aug. 1, when he joined the rock supergroup Kings of Chaos onstage at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California.
A planned Oct. 2 concert with the Purple Daisies at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California, was ultimately canceled once his retirement took effect, the outlet noted. That cancellation followed an earlier disruption to his schedule: Hughes had already canceled his spring 2026 U.S. tour because of what was described at the time as a minor health issue, a sign in hindsight that his condition had been building for months.
A Career Spanning Five Decades of Rock
Hughes first found success fronting Trapeze; he joined Deep Purple in 1973, while his time with Trapeze extended from 1973 through 1982, according to blabbermouth.net. Over the decades that followed he lent his voice and bass to Black Sabbath, the Dead Daisies and Black Country Communion, cementing a reputation as one of hard rock’s most versatile frontmen, as noted by cleveland.com. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a member of Deep Purple.
Hughes released his latest solo album, Chosen, on Sept. 5, 2025, continuing to record even as his touring plans grew uncertain. For now, fans know only what Hughes himself has shared: that he is home, recovering, and grateful after a procedure that forced him to step away from the stage he has occupied for more than fifty years.
