A statement on Smokie's website said: "It is with very heavy hearts and tear-filled eyes that we share the news that our beloved friend and bandmate, Terry, has passed away after a short illness. Steve, Martin, Mick and Pete are devastated and deeply saddened by his sudden and unexpected passing. Terry was a dear friend, a loving father, and was an incredible person and musician. We all feel extremely lucky to have shared such a long lifetime and the stage with him."

Smokie was founded more than 50 years ago when Terry was at St Bede's School in Heaton with Alan Silson and Chris Norman.

They played local clubs under various names, including The Elizabethans, and got their break signing with Mickey Most's RAK label as Smokey (later Smokie). In the 1970s they had Top 10 hits such as If You Think You Know How To Love Me and Oh Carol. 

"The first couple of times Alan and Chris asked me to join the band I said no, I had a job as an apprentice at Fields Printers in Lidget Green," Terry told the T&A in 2006. "But the third time they asked me I said yes."

Smokie split in 1981 but reformed in 1986 for a fundraising concert for relatives of people who died in the Bradford City fire.

Alan Barton replaced singer Chris Norman, who had left to go solo. In 1995 Alan died when a tour bus carrying Smokie crashed in Germany. The band later continued with Mike Craft as frontman and were back in the charts with Roy 'Chubby' Brown's version of their hit Living Next Door To Alice.

Smokie toured extensively over the years, selling over 30 million records worldwide.

A huge live act in Europe and the Far East, they were made honorary citizens of Seoul after becoming the first Western band to sell a million singles there. They toured countries such as Mongolia, Uruguay and China and were the first international band to play in Greenland. In 2005 they played at the Kremlin for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

For many years Smokie hosted a gala dinner dance at Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Annette Fox Leukaemia Fund. 

Terry died on Friday, aged 70, just weeks after the death of his wife, Shirley. 

Fans from around the world have been leaving tributes on social media. Leanne Standen in Australia wrote: "Woke to devastating news that Terry Uttley has passed away...he was such a kind man and took time out for all his fans. He made you feel special and truly believed that his fans were most important. You are a great loss to the fans all over the world."