Joe Cocker: Sir Paul McCartney leads tributes to singer

    Tributes have been paid to singer Joe Cocker, best known for his cover of The Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends, who has died aged 70.

Sir Paul McCartney said he was a lovely guy who "brought so much to the world".
Rick Wakeman, keyboard player with rock band Yes, said: "He had a voice that was just unique."
The Sheffield-born singer had a career lasting more than 40 years, with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong.
Sir Paul added that he would be "forever grateful" to Cocker for turning With A Little Help From My Friends into a "soul anthem".
The former Beatle said: "I knew him through the years as a good mate and I was so sad to hear that he had been ill and really sad to hear today that he had passed away.
His agent Barrie Marshall said Cocker, who died after battling lung cancer, was "simply unique".
 The Sheffield-born singer performed at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969

Cocker, pictured here at Los Angeles airport in 1972, had shot to fame in the 1960s

Last year, his arena tour across Europe saw him achieve a number one album in Germany and give what was to be his final concert in Hammersmith, London, in June.
Cocker, who recorded 23 studio albums and 40 albums, lived in Colorado, in the US.
Mr Marshall said it was with "the heaviest hearts we heard that our beloved Joe Cocker passed away last night".
Cocker's friend Wakeman called his rendition of With a Little Help From My Friends "sensational".

Cocker's duet with Jennifer Warnes Up Where We Belong won a Grammy and an Oscar

Cocker was recognised with an OBE for services to music in 2007

Aerosmith singer Steve Tyler tweeted: "We loved you forever, we will miss you always. RIP Joe Cocker."
Another to pay tribute on Twitter was singer-songwriter Frank Turner, who wrote: "Wow. Sad to hear of Joe Cocker's passing. Incredible singer."
Bryan Adams tweeted: "Joe Cocker has died. RIP my good friend, you were one of the best rock singers ever."
Meanwhile, Edgar Berger, chairman and chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment International, who signed Cocker, said he was "one of the most humble men I've ever met.
He said his voice "will forever be etched in our memories".