Boomtown Rats guitarist Garry Roberts dies aged 72

Guitarist and founding subordinate of the Boomtown Rats, Garry Roberts, has died aged 72, the set has announced.

He was the "guy who summed up the consciousness of who The Rats are", the Irish stone radical said successful a statement.

It said they had known Garry since they were children and that they felt "strangely adrift" without him.

Lead vocalist Sir Bob Geldof fronted the Boomtown Rats which started successful Dublin successful 1975.

The radical said that to fans helium was "The Legend - and helium was. For america helium was Gazzer."

The connection was signed by remaining members of the set including Sir Bob, drummer Simon Crowe and bassist Pete Briquette.

It continued: "Safe travels Gaz. Thanks for everything mate."

They said: "On a wide outpouring evening successful 1975, successful a pub successful Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, Garry became the founding subordinate of what turned retired to beryllium a large stone 'n' rotation band, driven mostly by that dependable of his - a tempest of monolithic considered sound that punched retired from his overtaxed amplifiers and which animated not conscionable the remainder of the radical but audiences helium played to astir the world."

Roberts, arsenic 1 of the group's founding members, is said to person been instrumental successful the set settling connected the sanction Boomtown Rats.

He is said to person threatened to discontinue unless they changed their sanction from The Nightlife Thugs.

Their caller sanction was chosen by Geldof aft helium work the operation successful US protestation vocalist Woody Guthrie's autobiography, Bound for Glory.

In a tweet, the set besides described Roberts as: "A antheral who volition beryllium missed, a person who volition beryllium remembered, a dependable that volition ne'er been forgotten".