GRAEME Kelling, a founding member of one of Scotland's premier bands, Deacon Blue, has died after a long struggle against pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

Since being diagnosed in 2000, the guitarist fathered a second child with his wife Julie and appeared several times on tour with the band, despite failing health.

He died at the Marie Curie Hospice in Glasgow on Thursday morning, surrounded by his family.

Last night, Ricky Ross, the singer/songwriter who formed Deacon Blue in 1986, and saw it become one of Scotland's most successful pop exports of the 1980s, paid tribute to his colleague whom he said had lent style to the band.

He praised Kelling's humour, commitment to his family, and courageous fight against cancer. He said music had given him a route to recovery during the years of his illness.

Ross said: ''What people probably don't know about Graeme is he faced his illness incredibly good-naturedly. He was extremely funny. He got laughs for a fairly self-deprecating humour. He just had a very, very dry wit.

''Up until the last night before he died he was still making jokes and telling stories. He was very funny about it and faced his illness with incredible humour.''

Kelling was born in Paisley, and was working as a session musician in Glasgow when he was asked by Ross to form Deacon Blue along with James Prime, Dougie Vipond and Ewen Vernal.

''He was playing with so many bands, it was a matter of time before one of them was signed,'' Ross said. Lorraine McIntosh later joined the band on vocals and recorded hits Dignity and Real Gone Kid.

Kelling formed a relationship with Julie Smith, a television producer with STV and BBC, 10 years ago. The couple were married in 1998, and had two children, Alexander, five, and Grace, two.

Ross, who later married McIntosh, said that when the band formed he had a lot in common with Kelling.

''We were a similar age - much older than the rest of the band. We both got on really well. If it was Graeme's band, it would have been a much cooler band. Graeme had a sense of what was cool, what was right.''

After undergoing treatment in 2000, Kelling made a temporary recovery and went back on tour with the band. How-ever, his condition worsened two years ago.

Ross was on tour in England at the time. He said: ''Very typically of Graeme, he decided to phone everyone individually. I was on tour with a solo show when he phoned me. He wanted to talk about it and how things stood. That's the way he was. I was broken-hearted at that time. I just burst into tears.''

He also recalled playing at the opening of the Carling Academy in Glasgow last year, when Kelling made a guest appearance in spite of his condition. He went on ''Julie loved Graeme and loved his involvement with music, loved what it had given him. It gave him a route to recovery.'' Ross added: ''He said he wasn't going to give in with this. That's why it's amazing that Grace is here. After he was diagnosed, he went on tour and had another daughter. He was blessed with a beautiful, fantastic wife, who has made a huge difference to his life.''