Terry Hall, The leader of the Specials, a socially minded ska band, died at the age of 63.
The singer rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s thanks to singles such as Ghost Town, Gangsters, and Too Much Too Young.
In 1981, he departed The Specials to establish Fun Boy Three with fellow bandmates Neville Staple and Lynval Golding, and scored another string of singles.
The singer died following a brief illness, according to The Specials.
“Terry was a fantastic husband and father, as well as one of the nicest, funniest, and most honest individuals,” they said.
“His music and his performances embodied the very essence of life… the pleasure, the anguish, the humour, the battle for justice, but primarily the love.
“All who knew and loved him will miss him greatly, and he leaves us the gift of his extraordinary music and genuine compassion.”
Staple told the BBC in a second message that he learnt of his friend’s death when he landed in Egypt for a vacation with his wife.
“It affected me hard,” he said. “We made history by fronting The Specials and Fun Boy Three together.
“Terry will undoubtedly be missed.”
Jane Wiedlin, co-founder of band The Go Gos who co-wrote the band’s hit Our Lips Are Sealed with Hall, said he was a “beautiful, compassionate, brilliant and distinctive guy”.
“Our relatively brief affair culminated in the song Our Lips Are Sealed, which will eternally connect us together in music history.”
“The perfect instrument for the honest and vital songs on The Specials,” singer Elvis Costello said of Hall’s voice.
“That honesty is heard in so many of his songs in pleasure and sadness,” he remarked.
The band requested that Hall’s family’s privacy be respected. There was no mention of a cause of death.
