Nazareth founding guitarist Manny Charlton has died at the age of 80

Nazareth founding guitarist Manny Charlton has died at the age of 80. The news was confirmed in a message to Classic Rock from Nazareth bassist Pete Agnew.

Charlton would go on to play on every Nazareth album from the band's self-titled debut in 1971 until 1989's Snakes 'N' Ladders, adding production duties for 1974's Hair Of The Dog after Deep Purple's Roger Glover had worked on the previous three albums.

Last year Charlton returned to the studio for the final time, recording a new version of Nazareth's 1976 hit Telegram to celebrate his 80th birthday, alongside Norwegian rockers The Halloween Project, London's The Fluffy Jackets (whose 2014 debut album Fighting Demons featured Charlton), plus former WHITESNAKE bassist Neil Murray and TNT's Ronni Le Tekrø.