British Rocker Hart Dies

TIM HART, one of the founding members of British folk-rock group STEELEYE SPAN, has died. He was 61.

The star passed away on Christmas Eve (24Dec09) in the Spanish Canary Islands following a year-long battle with lung cancer.

Hart shot to fame in Britain in the 1960s, before partnering with Maddy Prior in 1970 to form electric folk band Steeleye Span.

After finding success in both America and Australia, as well as their native Britain, Hart left the group to launch a solo career.

He released two solo albums before retiring to La Gomera in the Canary Islands to focus on his love of photography, after a decline in his health.

Hart returned to Steeleye Span in 1995 for the War Child charity concert and again reformed with Prior for another one-off gig in 2008.

He was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 1998 and returned to the U.K. for treatment, only heading back to La Gomera in early December (09) just weeks before his death.