The music world has been paying tribute to Deep Purple co-founder Jon Lord, who passed away yesterday (July 16th) at the age of 71.
Lord had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and died yesterday surrounded by his family at the London clinic.
Lord was a part of the original Deep Purple line-up which formed in 1968, and co-wrote much of the influential band’s material, including the classic 1972 single ‘Smoke On The Water‘, and also created the inimitable organ riff which underpins ‘Child In Time‘.
Many musicians have been quick to pay their own respects to Lord, with his 70s metal contemporary Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath writing on his website:
“Very sad to hear of Jon’s death, following his battle with the demon cancer. One of the great musicians of my generation. Tony Iommi recently worked with Jon, and said what a lovely bloke he was. I met him a few times, but never got to work with him. Blessings.”