The Zombies bassist Jim Rodford has died aged 76, his cousin and the band's frontman Rod Argent has confirmed.

The musician, whose career spanned six decades and included 18 years with The Kinks, died on Saturday after a fall on the stairs.

He had just returned home to England after completing a short tour in Florida with The Zombies.

In a statement Argent paid tribute to his "dear cousin and lifelong friend".

He wrote on the band's Facebook page: "It is with deep sadness that I learned this morning that my dear cousin and lifelong friend, Jim Rodford, died this morning after a fall on the stairs.

"More details are not yet known about the exact cause of death.

"Jim was not only a magnificent bass player, but also from the first inextricably bound to the story of The Zombies."

Rodford joined Argent and Colin Blunstone in the reunited group in 1999, three years after The Kinks - with whom he had played since 1978 - had disbanded.

Argent said Rodford was dedicated to music "to the end" and added he "was unfailingly committed to local music".

"Often, Colin and I would compare notes a couple of days immediately after a US tour and discuss how long it would take us to recover from an intense, fantastic but exhausting couple of months - only to find out and marvel that Jim had already been out playing with local bands," he wrote.