Musician Lobby Loyde, who taught rock legend Billy Thorpe how to "really" play the guitar, is dead.
Loyde died in a Melbourne hospital on Saturday night after a long battle with cancer.
He was 65.
Loyde made his mark on the Australian pub rock scene in the 1970s, playing alongside Thorpe in his band the Aztecs, and also with the Coloured Balls.
Celebrated for his plectrum guitar technique, he died with his family and his favourite black Gibson guitar by his side.
In a death notice in the Herald Sun, Loyde was described as the "grandfather of Australian rock n' roll" who performed his "final orchestra with humour and magnificence".
"We have lost one of our time's most eccentric and unique souls," the tribute read.
"The intervals (sic) over so go up and start your second set. Rock the balls out of heaven."
Friends and fans said the fact he battled cancer for as long as he did was a testament to his courage.
Pop music guru Molly Meldrum told News Limited it was typical of Loyde to have outlasted the experts' diagnosis.
"He was very, very sick and he was very brave in the way he handled it too," Meldrum said.
"Lobby was one of those amazing characters. I mean, he was a brilliant guitarist and he was also just an incredible character.
"Family and friends were very important to him, and he had some great friends in his family as well."
Meldrum said Loyde and his good friend, Thorpe, who died in February, laid the foundations of the Australian rock music scene.
"We were talking about this at Billy's funeral. What became pub rock, they more or less paved the way for it," Meldrum said.
"They set a scene, and Melbourne became the rock capital of Australia - whether Sydney liked it or not.
"Once you took him off the stage and away from his guitar there was a different person.
"A very thoughtful and a very intelligent person, quite frankly.
"And that combination, plus the brilliance of him as a musician, people just absolutely revered him."Labels: Australian Pub rock scene, Aztecs |
