The cause of death for the late Mark E. Smith has been revealed to be terminal lung and kidney cancer. Smith was the frontman for post-punk innovators The Fall. He passed away last month at the age of 60.

His family has released a statement which was posted to The Fall’s website. His three sisters Barbara, Suzanne and Caroline  wrote, “Mark fought a long and hard battle after his diagnosis of terminal lung and kidney cancer. He took every treatment going, which could be brutal at times and left Mark with some horrible side effects. Mark was such a strong man and hated letting his fans down and tried to carry on regardless against all advice.”

The Fall formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester with Smith as the founder and only constant member. The band released 32 studio albums from 1979 to 2017 and is considered by many to be the most important band of the British post-punk movement.

Smith and The Fall have inspired such bands as Sonic Youth, Pavement, The Pixies and LCD Soundsystem. They released their final album New Facts Emerge on July 28 2017 through Cherry Red Records.

Smith remained in The Fall for 40 years and incorporated 66 different musicians into the band. The final line-up consisted of Smith, Pete Greenway, Dave Spurr, Keiron Melling and Michael Clapham. Melling, Spurr and Greenway joined the band in 2006.

Smith’s death has marked the end of the band but they leave behind a rich legacy and plenty of musical achievements. The band had 27 songs in the top 100 of the UK singles chart between 1984 and 2004.