"It happens, but I’ve had a fantastic life," said hard rock guitarist Mel Galley when he learnt he had cancer five months before his death on 1 July, 2008.

During a 25-year career Mr Galley played with some of the UK’s best rock bands, most famously a two-year period with Whitesnake.

With his first major band Trapeze he made six well-received albums and he also recorded with Phenomena, MGM and on ex-Trapeze, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath frontman Glenn Hughes’ solo records.

Mel Galley was born on 8 March, 1948 in Cannock, Staffordshire. His first band, Finders Keepers, were formed during the 1960s by Galley, bassist/vocalist Hughes and drummer Dave Holland. They released one single, a cover of John Farnham’s Sadie (The Cleaning Lady).

Influenced by Led Zepplin, they became Trapeze in 1969 after joining forces with the Montanas’ John Jones on vocals and Terry Rowley on guitar and keyboard. They signed to the Moody Blues’ own label, Threshold, and released their self-titled debut album in 1970.

The following year Jones and Rowley went back to the Montanas, but the new ‘power trio’ line-up returned to the studio to make Medusa, an album that proved a hit among rock fans in America and saw the band hailed as the new Led Zep by the music press.

They continued to record and perform as a three-piece over the next three years until Deep Purple, the biggest commercial rock band of 1973, made Glenn Hughes an irresistible offer.

With Hughes now fronting Purple, Mr Galley reluctantly took over lead vocal duties of Trapeze. After a ‘best of’ album reached top 20, they signed with Warner Brothers to record the albums Hot Wire (1974) and Trapeze (1976), their second self-titled release.

In 1978, after a short-lived attempt to bring Hughes back to the band, Pete Goalby joined to take over lead vocals for Galley’s final album with Trapeze. Hold On (1978) was released in Germany as Running, the cover of which featured five nude women.

After Dave Holland left to join Judas Priest, Mr Galley was the only original member of Trapeze. He toured with them for a further three years before recording a successful album with Phenomena then joining Whitesnake, a group formed seven years earlier by another former Deep Purple member, David Coverdale.

With Whitesnake he co-wrote and recorded the albums Saint & Sinners (1982) and Slide It In (1984), was able to demonstrate his superb guitar skills in front of arena audiences with extended solos on tracks like Crying in the Rain and Love Ain't No Stranger. Galley’s on-stage style was gloriously casual, usually wearing a Whitesnake t-shirt, sporting modestly-sized hair and barely glancing at his Gibson guitar.

In 1986 he, Bernie Marsden and Neil Murray left to form a band called MGM and Galley also recorded a second Phenomena album. In 1993 the original Trapeze line-up reformed to tour and recorded a new live album. Galley then retired from playing but continued to associate with his former colleagues.

In 2007 he planned a return to performing, putting together a new band and scheduling two UK shows for the following March. However, the following January he was diagnosed with cancer and told he only had a short time to live.

In a message on his official official blog, he thanked his fans for their "love and support" and said: "I have enjoyed a great life, travelled the world having some amazing experiences, met all sorts of people and played with some of the best musicians there are."

His death was announced on 2 July, 2008. He was married and had two sons.