Gavin Webb: The Masters Apprentices bassist and founding member dies after cancer battle

The guitarist of a legendary Australian rock band has died following a lengthy cancer battle.

The Masters Apprentices’ bass player Gavin Webb died aged 77 on Tuesday afternoon after six years fighting cancer.

His bandmates Mick Bower, Brian Vaughton, and Rick Morrison took to social media to share the sad news, remembering him as a brother.

“Even though Gavin was softly spoken, what few words he did say, he would always make count,” they wrote.

“Gavin’s band dossier from 1966 says his personal ambition is to ‘be a good musician’, a humble dream he would go on to transcend.

“Gavin entered our lives 60 years ago. He joined our band as a bassist and, from that moment, became a member of our family, our brother.

“We will greatly miss our Gavin and treasure the lifelong bond we will share forever — from Mustangs to Masters. Our love eternally ‘Spider’.”

His bandmates said he left behind an incredible music legacy that would live forever in Australian music history.

Gavin was the founding member of the Masters Apprentices, which went onto be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

He was in the band from its early days in 1965, which soon took over the music industry with hits including (It’s) Because I Love You and Turn Up Your Radio.

The band first started out in 1964 as The Mustangs, which also had popular songs like Undecided and Living in a Child’s Dream.

In 1970, the group moved to London and hoped to expand their fanbase in the UK but they had disbanded by 1972, coming together again from the late 1980s onwards to play live again.

Webb is survived by his son Ben and partner Sharon.