Former King Crimson singer and bassist Gordon Haskell has died at the age of 74.
The sad news was shared in a statement on his official Facebook page.
"It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Gordon, a great musician and a wonderful person who will be sadly missed by so many," read the post.
King Crimson were formed in London by Robert Fripp back in 1978 and underwent numerous line-up changes.
Haskell, a school friend of Fripp, was asked to join the band in 1970 and went on to work on their second and third albums - In the Wake of Poseidon and Lizard - where he sang and played bass guitar.
He also featured on Fripp's pre-King Crimson band League of Gentlemen and played with psychedelic pop band Fleur de Lys - during which time he shared a London flat with Jimi Hendrix.
After departing the band, Haskell continued to make music as a solo artist and in 2001 became a contender for the coveted Christmas number one spot with his single How Wonderful You Are.
It came following a huge campaign from BBC Radio 2 listeners and the backing of drive time host at the time Johnnie Walker.
Haskell's single reached number two in the charts and narrowly lost out to Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman's cover of Somethin' Stupid in the end - but his tune still holds the title of most requested song on Radio 2.
As a result of the success of his single, Haskell was offered a multi-million dollar recording contract with Warner Bros, Records and released album Harry's Bar on 7 January 2002.
His album peaked at number 2 in the UK charts and enjoyed similar success around Europe.
The success came after Haskell spent much of the 1980s in considerable debt.
He moved to Denmark in 1984 where he said he spent playing 'seven nights a week to drunks in bars' before returning to England and playing gigs in small pubs and clubs.
"I was trapped. But the time wasn't wasted. I was practising. I was in the wilderness for a long time. But I met a lot of really interesting characters in bars, and that's where my songs tend to come from. I was self-contained, self-supporting, and I didn't really have anything to do with the recording industry," he later mused.
In 2017 he toured Britain with Hannah's Yard.
Following news of Haskell's death, the collective tweeted: "Just heard the sad news that singer-songwriter Gordon Haskell has passed away following a battle with cancer. We have many fond memories performing on stage with him back in 2017; I always looked forward to singing ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ with him to close the show. RIP Gordon."
