The bassist of the "britpop" band Pulp, Steve Mackey, died Thursday at the age of 56, announced the group, which paid tribute to his "dear friend" who joined the group in 1989.
Pulp, who this year has a reunion tour scheduled, shared through his Instagram account a photograph in which the musician appears climbing in the Andes during a tour of South America in 2012.
"Steve made things happen, both in his life and within the band. We would like to think that he has returned to those mountains for the next stage of his adventure," said the group led by Jarvis Cocker.
Katie Grand, wife of the bassist -who was not scheduled to participate in this year's tour-, said for her part that the musician spent "three months in the hospital, fighting with all his strength and determination."
"Steve was the most talented man I've ever met, an exceptional musician, producer, photographer and filmmaker," described his wife, who stressed that "everyone who came across him in his multiple creative disciplines adored him."
Mackey first contributed to Pulp during their third album, "Separations", and later appeared on all of their studio albums, including "Different Class" and "His 'n' Hers", considered among the most important works of "Britpop". "during the 1990s.
The band stopped their activity in 2002, although they returned to the stage in 2011 and 2012, and released their last album in 2013.
