MUMBAI: Mott the Hoople drummer and late singer David Bowie’s collaborator Dale Griffin has died following a battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 67.

Griffin, a founding member of British rock band Mott the Hoople that’s best known for classic tracks ‘Roll Away The Stone’ and ‘All The Young Dudes’, breathed his last on Sunday, reports bbc.com.

“He died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday night,” said Peter Purnell from record label Angel Air records.

He called Griffin “one of the nicest, friendly and talented men I have ever known”.

Born in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, Griffin played in a number of local bands before forming Silence with singer Stan Tippens, keyboard player Verden Allen, guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Pete Overend Watts in the late 1960s.

In 1972, Mott the Hoople scored their biggest hit with the Bowie-penned and produced anthem ‘All The Young Dudes’.

The band split by the mid-1970s, with Griffin later working as a producer for BBC live music sessions, with an array of artists including Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins and Pulp.

Mott the Hoople reformed in 2009, but Griffin, who was already ill, only appeared during encores, his place was taken by Martin Chambers of the Pretenders.

Several stars in the rock world took to Twitter to pay tribute to the British drummer following the news of his death on Monday.

The drummer’s death comes just one week after the passing of his collaborator Bowie, who died after a long and secret battle with cancer.

Griffin is survived by his long term partner Jean Smith.

(Source: IANS)