Joe Moss, who served as manager to The Smiths and Johnny Marr, has passed away after a long battle with bone cancer. He was 72.

Marr first met Moss in the 80s and stayed with him through the rise of The Smiths and beyond before returning to work with Marr in 1999 as his manager, a position he maintained until the present.

“Joe was a one off, an amazing person and totally unique,” says Johnny Marr in a statement posted to his website. “He started looking after me when I was seventeen; it was Joe who put the idea in my head to go and knock on Morrissey’s door. He invested his time and money in us when no one else wanted to know, and his belief in us kept us going. Without him there wouldn’t have been any Smiths. He was an original beatnik and a true bohemian, respected by all. Everyone who met him loved him; he can never be replaced.”