The Masters Apprentices’ Jim Keays Dies Aged 67

Australian rock legend Jim Keays has passed away this morning, at the age of 67.

The frontman of iconic rock band The Masters Apprentices was admitted to a Melbourne hospital late May after performing for a fundraising event and was later transferred to intensive care.

Keays had battled Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood's plasma cells, for seven years.

A statement confirmed that he had been on life support since Monday and was surrounded by family members today.

Masters Apprentices bandmate Glenn Wheatley said today, “I had the pleasure of sharing some of the best years of my life with Jim Keays. I will always remember him as a consummate showman.

"Jim had an aura about him, you always knew he was in the room. Always the Master, never the Apprentice. His presence will remain with me always. Do what you wanna do, be what you wanna be Jim. Vale my friends, you will be greatly missed.”

Prior to entering hospital Keays was finishing his latest album, due for release in August.

The Masters Apprentices formed in 1965 and went on to have hits lie Turn Up Your Radio, Undecided, and 5:10 Man before disbanding in 1972. They have reformed on a number of subsequent occasions, the latest being 2001 for a year. The Masters Apprentices were inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 1988.

From 2000 Keays had been performing regularly with Russell Morris and Darryl Cotton as Cotton Keays & Morris before Cotton succumbed to cancer in 2012.