A founding member of DEEP PURPLE, keyboardist, Jon Lord, who amongst many other songs co-wrote their legendary 'Smoke On The Water' has died on Monday, July 16th from pancreatic cancer, he was 71 years old. He broke news of his illness last year and continued to compose music as part of his therapy. His family released a statement on his website: "Jon passes from Darkness to Light". His former one-time band-mate Joe Satriani, Iron Maiden, Anthrax amongst many other bands and musicians have started to pay him tributes.
Source: BBC and Press Association
