The former singer and founding member of the British reggae group UB40, who became famous in the 1980s with hits like 'Red Red Wine' and 'Can't Help Falling In Love' has died at the age of 64, after a short illness . His band made it known.
Terence Wilson, known by his stage name Astro, performed with UB40 until 2013, when he left the group to form another band of the same name for economic contrasts.
"We are absolutely devastated and saddened to announce that our beloved Astro has died after a brief illness," his current band UB40 with Ali Campbell and Astro tweeted. "The world will never be the same without him." His former band confirmed the news,saying that Wilson had died after "a short illness".
The reggae pop cover of Neil Diamond's UB40 'Red Red Wine' brought them to fame, selling over 100 million records.
They also broke the record, on par with Madness, for the most weeks topping the UK singles chart in the 1980s.
Coming from Birmingham, the group rode the wave of youth discontent of the time by choosing by name the form to apply for unemployment benefits.
Drummer Jimmy Brown told the Guardian this year that the group had even been guarded by British intelligence.
"MI5 was eavesdropping on our phones, monitoring our homes in various ways," he said.
"We weren't planning the revolution, but if the revolution had happened, we knew which side to stand on."