Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founder member of The Doors, died yesterday aged 74.

He passed away after a long battle with bile duct cancer at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family.

Manzarek and Jim Morrison formed The Doors in 1965, and rapidly became both a hugely successful and controversial band. The band released a number of best-selling albums, including Strange Days, Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman, before Morrison's death in 1971, after which the band continued as a trio before calling time in 1973.

Manzarek went on to form the super-group Nite City later in the decade and later reunited with the Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger to form Manzarek-Krieger in 2002, continuing to perform Doors material live right through until 2013.

In a statement issued yesterday, Krieger said: "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today. I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."

The family have asked that a donation to Stand Up To Cancer be made in Manzarek's name here.