TRIBUTES have been paid following the death of a Dunfermline rock star.

Manuel 'Manny' Charlton, who made his name with Nazareth, passed away at the age of 80 on Tuesday at his home in Texas.

He was one of the first members of the band and took the stage as their lead guitarist for an incredible 22 years.

Lead bassist of Nazareth, Pete Agnew, shared the sad news with their fans over social media and paid tribute to his old friend.

He wrote: "Manny was there from the very beginning of Nazareth so we all came up together through the tough times and through the wonderfully successful years as the band became an internationally acclaimed outfit.

"His contribution as a musician was immeasurable.

"Not only was he a team player, he loved jamming for hours at a time with the band and then sifting through the tapes for even more hours, just looking to find the tiniest usable idea.

"He was never happier than when he was sitting in the producer's chair, making records and searching for that special 'racket' (noise), as he called it, that he was always trying to create.

"He produced several other bands and found his 'racket' a few times along the way, but the one he was most proud of was 'Love Hurts', one of the best sounding records of all time and one of the songs on his first album as a producer.

"We had our ups and downs over the years but we never once disagreed about the music.

"I would like to offer our condolences on behalf of the Nazareth family to Manny's own family. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time."

And Pete told the Press: "He did something that he loved for his whole life. That was it, the answer, the secret."

While the music industry has lost a true icon, Pete knows that Manny had a full life doing what he did best.

Born in Andalusia in Spain, he moved to Dunfermline when he was very young.

Pete said: "I've known Manny since I was just a boy. He was one of the first guys I saw play an electric guitar, he was with Mike Satan and the Hellcats, way back when I was 12 in the Carnegie Hall.

"My sister was in a dance group and they had a guest band on. It was Mike Satan in the Hellcats and I thought that it was absolutely wonderful.

"That was the first time I saw Manny."

While Nazareth wasn't the first band that Manny was a part of, and definitely not the last, it certainly skyrocketed him to fame.

Pete said: "He always fancied for us to write our own songs, because nobody in Scotland was really writing songs at that time. We were all cover bands. Manny was always keen for us to write songs.

"He always wanted to play in a band with Dan and me. When our guitar player at the time left to go full time at college and the job came up, Manny jumped at it.

"That was it, he joined us in 1968 and we never looked back."

Manny left Nazareth after two decades in the band, in 1990. The next year he moved to Texas, he also spent time in Spain, and it became difficult for Pete to keep in touch.

He continued: "As soon as someone says 'Have you heard about...' you know what they're going to say next but you never expect it, especially when it's sudden like that.

"You hear when someone is ill, the message gets around, but when someone dies suddenly it's a shock for everybody.

"He's lived up to what we always say, musicians don't retire, you die. He never really retired, even when he was in Spain, he went out there to kick back but I used to see things.

"He was playing, had a band out there as well. He used to attract musicians wherever he went.

"He definitely made a difference.

"He was very influential to what we did, the guy's contribution to the band was great. He was a real team player when he was with us."

After sharing the post about Manny's passing on social media, Pete was blown away by the reaction.

On the Nazareth Facebook page alone, 19,000 fans reacted to the announcement and over 2,000 people passed on their condolences.

Pete reflected: "He was a very popular man, it's been quite an astounding reaction to what has happened."