Grateful Dead co-founder dies at 84

Phil Lesh, bassist and co-founder of the US rock group The Grateful Dead, has died at the age of 84.

The musician's official Instagram account said he “passed away peacefully this morning.” He was surrounded by his family.

The psychedelic band, which formed in California in 1965, split up 30 years later following the death of frontman Jerry Garcia.

Lesh was there from the beginning – and also joined the group's other surviving members for a reunion US tour in 2003 and a final series of concerts in 2015.

Lesh's Instagram account said he “brought great joy to everyone around him and left a legacy of music and love. We ask that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.”

With a distinctive, trippy blend of rock, folk and jazz, The Grateful Dead are arguably one of the most influential bands in American history and wrote the soundtrack for the countercultural generation of the 1960s.

Lesh was born in Berkeley, California in 1940. He started out as a violinist, then switched to trumpet and later bass guitar when he joined The Grateful Dead in 1965.

Over the next three decades, he added his improvisational skills to the tunes of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia and his bandmates Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.

He became best known for the song “Unbroken Chain,” which is about the band’s connection to their audience.

Lesh also sang the wistful Box Of Rain, which he wrote while his father was dying.

Loyal fans, known as “Deadheads,” often followed the band from city to city across the United States to hear them play at packed concerts.

The band has always made things easy for their fans Record his concerts and distribute tapes to like-minded people around the world.

Despite their large fan base, they only had one top 10 hit in the US in 1987 with “Touch of Grey”.

Although the cause of Lesh's death is unknown, he had a number of health problems over the years.

In 2015, he announced that he was being treated for bladder cancer in the United States. Nine years earlier, he had surgery for prostate cancer and made a full recovery.

He also underwent a liver transplant in 1998 and became a passionate advocate for organ donation.

Lesh is survived by his wife Jill and their two sons.

Additional reporting by David Bamford.