Mike Edwards, who was a founder member of the Electric Light Orchestra, died last Friday when a circular bale collided with his van in Devon.

Edwards performed with the ELO from its inception in 1972 until 1975, when he left the group to devote his life to Buddhism. As a member of the ELO, his signature piece was 'The Dying Swan', the pyrotechnic culmination of which involved the explosion of his cello.

In later years, Edwards returned to music, and was a founder member of the Devon Baroque Orchestra. The orchestra's chairman, Angus Gordon, said of Edwards: "He was simply the nicest guy and a brilliant musician...He was capable of turning his hand to any type of music at all."