EDELWEISS singer Vince Hill has died aged 89.
In a statement, his family said he “passed peacefully” at home.
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Sharing the news on Vince’s Twitter account, they said: “Sadly we have to share news none of us want to hear.
“We’re very sorry to have to tell you Vince has left us.
“He passed peacefully at home. Vince created a musical legacy…his tunes will remain forever in our hearts.
“Here’s to you V…you bloody legend”.
Vince rose to fame with his debut single The Rivers Run Dry before he was signed to EMI’s Columbia label in 1965.
He went on to produce a number of hits including Take Me To Your Heart Again and Look Around (And You’ll Find Me There).
But it was his cover of Edelweiss, from the 1959 musical The Sound of Music, that Hill was best known for.
The tune, about a medicinal flower, reached number two in the charts in 1967 and remained there for 17 weeks.
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Vince also hosted hit TV shows throughout the seventies and eighties, including the BBC’s They Sold a Million and Musical Time Machine.
He even hosted his own ITV chat show called Gas Street.
TV presenter Les Dennis paid tribute to the crooner, tweeting: “Heard the news driving home tonight and cried. Did two summer seasons with Vince.
“He was brilliant on stage and more importantly he was a lovely man. Remember visiting him and Annie at their beautiful home in Henley.
“They welcomed Dustin and me and we had a lovely evening. RIP X”.
Born in Coventry on April 16, 1934, he first started singing in pubs before becoming a baker, truck driver and later, a coal miner.
His singing break came when he responded to an advert to be a vocalist in The Band of the Royal Corps Of Signals.
Hill’s only son was found dead aged 42, in January 2014, and wife Annie tragically died in September 2016.
In August 2021, it was announced on Twitter that Vince suffered a stroke.
He spent his final years living in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
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