David Bowie has paid tribute to ''great man'' Trevor Bolder, who has died of cancer.

The 62-year-old bassist - who was a member of the singer's legendary Spiders From Mars band and performed on his albums 'Hunky Dory', 'Ziggy Stardust', 'Aladdin Sane' and 'Pin Ups' - lost a four-year battle with cancer yesterday (21.05.13) and the 'Where Are We Now?' hitmaker is saddened by the news.

He said in a statement: ''Trevor was a wonderful musician and a major inspiration for whichever band he was working with. But he was foremostly a tremendous guy, a great man.''

Trevor was also known for his work with Uriah Heep, who he joined in 1976 and still appeared on their most recent album, 2011's 'Into The Wild', in 2011, and the band have also paid tribute to his talent.

They said: ''Trevor was an all-time great - one of the outstanding musicians of his generation, and one of the finest and most influential bass players Britain ever produced. His long time membership of Uriah Heep brought the band's music, and Trevor's virtuosity and enthusiasm, to hundreds of thousands of fans across the world.''

The musician had undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer earlier this year and had hoped to be well enough to perform at next month's Download Festival with Uriah Heep.