Paper Lace bassist and Nottingham musician Cliff Fish has died at the age of 73

Cliff Fish has died at the age of 73, following a battle with cancer.

The musician was best known as the bass guitarist in 1970s rock band Paper Lace alongside Phil Wright and Carlo Paul Santanna.

Paper Lace is one of the biggest bands to come from Nottingham. They first rose to fame on talent show 'Opportunity Knocks,' when Cliff was in his 20s.

Then, the Nottingham-based band went on to have big hits with 'Billy Don't Be a Hero' and 'The Night Chicago Died.'

His wife Elaine and son Rob announced the news of his death in a statement in the The Sun newspaper as they said: "We just wanted to share the sad news that Cliff passed away on Friday afternoon after losing his battle with cancer."

Elaine and Rob continued to explain that the two years of Cliff battling cancer was tough but he faced it with "bravery, courage and lived his life to the fullest he possibly could right to the end."

They added: "Everyone that knows Cliff will already know what a kind, caring, fun loving, wonderful, genuine person he was and what a pleasure it was to spend time in his company.

"Not only a talented musician and performer, he made a success from anything he turned his hand to in life and was a devoted Husband, Father and Grandfather throughout."

The news was also announced on Facebook on Cliff’s page. They confirmed that he had passed away at his house in Cyprus.

The family thanked the two carers who "treated and fought for Cliff until the end". As well as this, Cliff’s family shared that they will plan arrangements to celebrate his life in the UK.