Rock Star Adamson dies in hotel.

The singer’s manager Ian Grant said today the body of the 43-year-old had been discovered in a hotel yesterday.

Mr Grant said: "He was a great guy and I know there will be a lot of people will feel the same way."

Adamson, who had been living in Nashville, Tennessee, went missing several weeks ago.

The former guitarist with Scots punk band The Skids had fought a long battle with alcohol and also went missing in November 1999. Adamson, 43, was born in Manchester but brought up in Crossgates, Fife.

He enjoyed massive success in the 80s as the lead vocalist and guitarist of Big Country.

A statement on the website of Mr Grant’s record label, Track Records, said: "I cannot believe I am sitting at my desk typing this.

"Stuart Adamson was found dead in a hotel room in Hawaii yesterday.

"I have no more news other than that at present. I ask the media to leave his family alone in their grief.

"My heart goes out to his family, Bruce, Mark and Tony [the other three members of Big Country]." The statement ended: "I have just lost one of the finest people I have ever worked with or been lucky enough to know."

Big Country was formed in 1982 by Adamson and fellow guitarist Bruce Watson.

It had a string of hits including Fields of Fire and In a Big Country.

After his success with Big Country, Adamson continued to be involved in the music scene, but was troubled by alcoholism.

He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, five years ago and formed The Raphaels with American singer-songwriter Marcus Hummon. He married his second wife, Melanie, two years

ago. Mr Grant first met Adamson in 1977 and managed him throughout his career, from his beginnings in The Skids to critical acclaim with Big Country.

He said: "He was a man that I had a lot of respect for. You don’t stay with someone in this business for that length of time unless that is the case. At the moment someone close to me has died and I feel like I am in some kind of void."

Mr Grant added: "He was a great guy and I know there will be a lot of people will feel the same way. Everybody who met Stuart liked him."

Mr Grant appealed last week for Adamson to get in touch, saying he had not spoken to him for five weeks. He even hired a private detective to find the singer.

He had been charged with drink-driving, although Mr Grant denied he had skipped bail and gone on the run.

He left a note for his son, Calum, on November 7. It said: "Back by noon Sunday", but he had not been seen since.

He had not answered any messages left on his voicemail since and his mobile phone had stopped working.

When he went missing for the second time in two years earlier this month, his ex-wife Sandra, from Dunfermline, confirmed Adamson was due to appear in court in the US charged with drink driving. She said the case had been deferred until March.

In May this year, he admitted he is once again battling alcohol addiction. He had previously managed to stay dry for ten years.

He withdrew from a concert in Edinburgh just hours before he was due on stage.

On his website, he admitted he was drinking again, but he promised his fans he would recover from the setback and planned to keep a commitment to go on a national radio show.

Mark Mackie, from Adamson’s long-term promoters, Edinburgh-based Regular Music, said: "We have just heard the news and obviously it is very sad news.

"Regular Music were Stuart’s promoters going back to the days of the Skids and he knew the guys well."

Regular colleague Brian Wright said: "Stuart was one of the most important figures in the Scottish music scene.

"He was a great songwriter and guitarist with both the Skids and Big Country. He will be sadly missed."

Author Ian Rankin was a big Skids fan and went to the same school as Adamson.

He said: "I went to the same school as Stuart, he was only two years older than me. It was a real tragedy.

"I used to go and see the Skids all the time in the early days.

"I was in the second best punk band in Fife, the Skids were the first.

"It’s a real shame. I hope that they pay proper tributes to Stuart on TV and in his home town."