Frontman Joe Strummer of seminal British punk band The Clash has died at the age of 50, a message on his website said this morning.
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"Joe Strummer died yesterday. Our condolences to Luce and the kids, family and friends," the statement said.
Friend and Clash video director Mr Don Letts said Strummer had died of a heart attack.
Police said his death was not believed to be suspicious and a post-mortem will take place tomorrow.
He had been touring with his most recent band The Mescaleros until last month, rounding off a tour in Liverpool.
Mr Strummer, born John Graham Mellor, formed The Clash in the mid Seventies. The band, along with the Sex Pistols, helped made punk music a worldwide phenomenon with hits like Should I Stay or Should I Goand Rock the Casbah.
The Clash were known for injecting left-wing politics into punk and their album London Callingwas named the best album of the Eighties by Rolling Stonemagazine - despite being released in 1979.
Paying tribute, U2 frontman Bono said: "The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2".
Mr Strummer's death came just three months before the Clash were due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He had hinted the band would reform for the night and play together for the first time in 20 years to perform the band's first single, White Riot, at the induction ceremony.
