Singer
Joe
Cocker,
best
known
for
his
cover
of
The
Beatles'
With
A
Little
Help
From
My
Friends',
has
died
at
the
age
of
70.
The
Sheffield-born
singer
had
a
career
lasting
more
than
40
years,
with
hits
including
'You
Are
So
Beautiful'
and
'Up
Where
We
Belong'.
His
agent
Barrie
Marshall
said
Cocker,
who
died
after
battling
lung
cancer,
was
"simply
unique".
Paul
McCartney
said
he
was
a
lovely
guy
who
"brought
so
much
to
the
world".
Cocker's
friend
Rick
Wakeman,
keyboard
player
for
the
rock
band
Yes,
called
his
rendition
of
'With
a
Little
Help
From
My
Friends'
"sensational" and
said:
"He
had
a
voice
that
was
just
unique."
Known
for
his
gritty
voice,
Cocker
-
a
former
gas
fitter
-
began
his
singing
career
in
the
pubs
and
clubs
of
Sheffield
in
the
1960s
before
hitting
the
big
time.
He
was
propelled
to
pop
stardom
when
his
version
of
'With
A
Little
Help
From
My
Friends'
reached
number
one
in
1968.
He
performed
the
song
at
the
famous
Woodstock
Festival
in
New
York
state
a
year
later.
He
was
also
well-known
for
his
Mad
Dogs
and
Englishmen
Tour
of
1970,
which
visited
48
cities
across
the
US.
His
duet
with
Jennifer
Warnes,
'Up
Where
We
Belong'
-
from
'An
Officer
And
A
Gentleman'
-
hit
number
one
and
went
on
to
win
both
a
Grammy
and
an
Academy
Award
in
1983.
Joe
Cocker
was
made
an
OBE
in
2011.
Last
year,
his
arena
tour
across
Europe
saw
him
achieve
a
number
one
album
in
Germany
and
give
what
was
to
be
his
final
concert
in
Hammersmith,
London,
in
June.
Cocker,
who
recorded
23
studio
albums
and
40
albums,
lived
in
Colorado,
in
the
US.