Glenn Hughes, Ex-Deep Purple Singer, Recovering After Heart Surgery

Glenn Hughes, the English musician best known for his stints in Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, said he is recovering after undergoing an open heart surgery operation that lasted 10 hours.

Hughes shared the news on Instagram, saying he was finally back home after an eight day stay in the hospital. The bassist and singer underwent an aortic valve replacement, which are undertaken to treat one of the valves that controls blood flow to the heart when damaged or diseased. This is the second time Hughes has undergone an aortic valve replacement, having previously done so in 2013. 

“Each day as I move forward, I am getting my energy back,” Hughes wrote after thanking his doctor and the rest of the staff at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center. “There is only love in my life. There are no mistakes.”

The operation took place just a few months after Hughes canceled a planned six-week tour and announced that he was retiring from touring. The musician cited ongoing health issues and his doctors’ orders that he undergo another open heart surgery. 

Despite being force off the road, Hughes appeared zen about his circumstances in his new Instagram post. “Everything is in its right place,” he wrote. “Never believe that there is something wrong in your life. You are where you’re supposed to be. Going through those experiences that are necessary for you right now. When you become angry at yourself, because you don’t like the experiences that you are going through, you are hindering your growth. Rather be grateful, & thankful, for every experience that you’re going through.”

Hughes got his start as a founding member of the British hard rock group Trapeze, playing bass and singing for the group until 1973 when he was offered the chance to join Deep Purple. Hughes stayed with the band for three albums and, after Deep Purple’s dissolution, briefly rejoined Trapeze and released a solo album, Play Me Out, in 1977.  Over the decades, Hughes would play with a variety of artists, including Gary Moore and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. He worked with Iommi on the 1986 album, Seventh Star, which was supposed to be a solo record, but was ultimately released under Black Sabbath’s name due to label pressure. 

Hughes released his most recent solo album, Chosen, in 2025.