Runrig lead vocalist Bruce Guthro has died, former bandmate Pete Wishart has announced.
The singer-songwriter joined the Scottish rock group in 1998 and remained with the band until their final performances in 2018.
Wishart said the 62-year-old Canadian had been an “exceptional singer, musician and song writer” who had been “taken far too soon”.
“He was just the nicest person you could ever hope to meet and a joy to perform with,” he said.
Getty Images“We are going to miss him”.
The Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. Guthro replaced Donnie Munro who had been lead vocalist during the 80s and 90s and left to pursue a career in politics.
Guthro, who had been a solo artist beforehand, helped grow the band’s fanbase in Canada.
In 2008, their track Loch Lomond was voted Scotland’s greatest ever song and it became an anthem for the Tartan Army.
Scottish Green culture spokesman Mark Ruskell said: “For many, Runrig and Bruce Guthro were about more than music.
“His voice was a clarion call for Scots everywhere to think of home, the Gaelic culture, and the spirit that makes us so fiercely passionate about who we are.
“He may have been born in Cape Breton Island in Canada, but his legend was forged in the hearts of tens of thousands of music fans across the world.
“Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and all those who will miss his extraordinary talent.”
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