ROCKER Jon Lord, who founded Deep Purple and co-wrote their most famous song, Smoke On The Water, has died aged 71.

The Leicester-born keyboard player, who had pancreatic cancer, died in London yesterday. A statement on his website said he had passed "from Darkness to Light" and was "surrounded by his loving family" when he died.

Last year, Lord told fans he was "fighting cancer and will therefore be taking a break from performing while getting the treatment and cure". In a message dated August 9, 2011, he said: "I shall of course be continuing to write music – in my world it just has to be part of the therapy – and I fully expect to be back in good shape next year."

Lord started playing the piano in his family home and took classical music lessons before turning to jazz and rock 'n' roll.

He moved to London at 19 to go to drama school, but was soon playing piano in pubs and bars, and in 1964 joined blues band the Artwoods – formed by Ronnie Wood's brother Art. The band were critical favourites but never translated that into commercial success and split up.

Lord then went on tour with manufactured psychedelic pop combo The Flowerpot Men, who had scored a hit with Let's Go To San Francisco, before joining Deep Purple in 1968. The rockers sold more than 100 million albums – many featuring Lord's classically inspired keyboards.

But their most famous song was the simple Smoke On The Water with its trademark riff.

The band split in 1976 and Lord joined bandmate Ian Paice in Paice Ashton Lord before playing with Whitesnake and a reformed Deep Purple.

Lord's solo work was universally acclaimed when he eventually retired from Deep Purple in 2002. He became an honorary fellow of Stevenson College in Edinburgh and in 2009 he spent six months working with music students at the institution.

He performed with young musicians in a revival of Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, 40 years after the band had enlisted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the hour-long work in 1969 at the Usher Hall.

Friend and fellow keyboard player Rick Wakeman led the tributes, describing his contribution to music as "immeasur-able". He said: "I was a great fan. I will miss him terribly."

Musician Jamie Cullum described him as "a hero of the keys". Iron Maiden said they were very sad to learn of his death and Stereophonics simply wrote on Twitter: "RIP Jon Lord. Legend".