TRIBUTES have been paid to glam rock star Alvin Stardust after he died aged 72.

The rocker, most famous for his quiffed hairstyle and the leather outfits he would wear on stage, died earlier today after a short illness.

Stardust, real name Bernard William Jewry, was best known for the 1973 hit “My Coo Ca Choo” and is fondly remembered in Weymouth after he headlined the Weymouth Carnival in 2010.

He performed to thousands of people on the seafront during the carnival and Dennis Corbett, a member of the Weymouth Rotary Club who organised the carnival, paid tribute to the “really fun bloke”.

Mr Corbett said: “As a character he was great fun.

“He turned up with his band, and all he asked for was a bottle of Jack Daniels for him and his band before they went on stage.

“He was like two different people really, he was charming and very nice to everyone he met off the stage and then he went on stage he turned into this head-banging rocker.

“It's really sad news, he was absolutely brilliant and I am sure he will be missed.”

The Visit Weymouth Twitter account also paid their own tribute by posting pictures of the rocker's with the caption: “Sad news about Alvin Stardust here he is at Weymouth 'rockin a huge crowd on the beach at Weymouth Carnival 2010.”