Australian rocker Chris Bailey has died at the age of 62.

The Angels bassist lost his battle with throat cancer this week (begs01Apr13), according to a post on the band's official Twitter.com page.

Bailey was diagnosed with the disease last year (12) and stepped down from the band to concentrate on his chemotherapy treatment. Sam Brewster, son of guitarist John Brewster, stepped in to fill his place.

Bailey joined The Angels in 1976 and played on their debut self-titled album in 1977 and other records including their iconic 1978 release Face To Face. Bailey left The Angels in 1982 to form GANGgajang but rejoined in 2001, three years after the band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (Aria) Hall of Fame.

In the last months of his life, he had been recording the group's future unnamed release, and bandmate Brewster is adamant his long-term pal will feature heavily on the record.

He said in a statement, "It is a very sad day for us. We have lost a great friend in Chris Bailey and a great friend to a lot of people... He had been battling this damn thing (cancer) for the last nine months or so and it's been a hard road for him."

Discussing the new album, Brewster adds, "We only had a few loose ideas for songs and ended up recording 16 songs. Chris came and joined us for three of those days and I think he played on eight of the new songs. My gut feeling is that he will probably be on about 50% of the next album. I'd like to recommend to the band that we dedicate the next album to Chris' memory. He is a wonderful guy and an amazing musician and will be sorely missed."

The planned benefit concert to raise money for Bailey's family will go ahead next month (17Apr13) in Adelaide, Australia featuring performances by The Angels, Diesel and GANGgajang.