Founding Pink Floyd member Richard Wright dies

Pianist and keyboardist Richard Wright, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, has died after a short battle with cancer. He was 65.

A family spokesman made the announcement on Monday. No other details were revealed.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time," the spokesman said.

The British musician and songwriter met his fellow band members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college, where they formed a pre-Pink Floyd group called Sigma 6.

Though he was not prominent as a songwriter in the iconic group, Wright did pen and sing on some of its earlier works and also two popular tracks from the hit 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon: The Great Gig In The Sky and Us And Them. He was better known for helping the band create its iconic sound through the many instruments he played, specifically his contributions on electric organ, keyboard and synthesizer.

Though he left the group to form his own band in the early 1980s after a feud with Waters, by the end of the decade, Wright had rejoined Pink Floyd (by then sans Waters) for its album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

At the Live 8 concert in London in July 2005, Waters reunited onstage with Wright, David Gilmour and Nick Mason for a short set. Fellow founding Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett died of pancreatic cancer in July 2006.