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GREAT LOSS: Reggae veteran John Holt

REGGAE VETERAN John Holt died, aged 69.

The Stick By Me star is believed to have passed away in London early Monday morning (Oct 20).

Holt had been battling ill health for some time now and seems to have worsened since August when he collapsed on stage at the One Love Concert in in Springfield on August 16.

Following the collapse, he underwent a surgical operation and remained in London for recovery.

Though it is not known what caused the Jamaican singer to collapse, there are fears he returned to the stage too soon after an operation last month.

"I just think he went back to performing too early,” Frankie Campbell, chairman of the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA), said. “We don't want to lose anybody else at this point in Jamaican music - certainly, not Holt."

"John has been extensively touring and we want him to continue spreading the music," he said.

The singer, full name John Kenneth Holt, came to prominence as lead singer of the group The Paragons before leaving to focus on his solo career in the 1970s.

His song Stick by Me, was perhaps Holt's biggest success, and in 1972, it went on to become the biggest selling Jamaican record for that year.