Rock legends Dragon mourn death of guitarist Robert Taylor

Former lead guitarist of legendary New Zealand rock band Dragon, Robert Taylor, has died at the age of 74.

Dragon’s drummer, Kerry Jacobson, announced the death of his former bandmate on Tuesday in a tragic social media post to share the “unexpected and devastating news”.

WATCH ABOVE: Tributes flow for Robert Taylor from Dragon bandmates

“My mentor, my partner in crime for some of the best times, my musical comrade through the hardest of times and my dear friend of decades, the irreplaceable Robert Taylor,” Jacobson wrote.

Born in Waipukarau, on New Zealand’s North Island, Taylor joined Dragon in 1974 as the band honed in on a gritty prog-rock style before moving to Sydney in 1975.

The band shot to success in 1977 with singles April Sun in Cuba, Are You Old Enough?, and Still In Love With You sending them up the charts.

Their dynamic live performances also drove a wave of tours and appearances on Australian music TV show Countdown.

After a brief hiatus between 1979 and 1982, the band returned with Rain, which peaked at No.2 on the singles charts, before releasing their smash hit album Body And The Beat in 1984, a year before Taylor left the band.

“I admired his loyalty, I treasured his mateship, I valued his consistency and I absolutely loved it when often the phone would ring and he was up for a chat,” Jacobson said.

“He had a dry wit, was a keen observer and had a memory like a razor but mostly he was just one of the good ones.

“That’s what has stuck in my head today ‘he was one of the good ones’ and I think that sums it up. I will miss him terribly. “

Dragon’s enduring success and influence on the Australian and New Zealand music scenes led to them being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2008.

“Many admired his songwriting and his musical talent and, after all these years people would still speak to me with great reverence of his talent and contribution to Australian music,” Jacobson added.