Lead singer of the Psycho Surgeons and Monster Raving Loony Party's minister for Mental Health Wild Willi Beckett has died of cancer of the oesophagus at the age of 59.

Willi Beckett, a former teacher from Teeside, was an adopted Bradfordian and stood in the 1990 Bradford North by-election as a Monster Raving Loony party candidate.

He was a close friend of David Screaming Lord' Sutch and played with Sutch and his band the Savages on numerous occasions.

Beckett was known for his outlandish garb of white doctor's smock, ghoulish make up and Alice Cooper-like stage shows with his rock band the Psycho Surgeons.

But Dr' Willi was more than merely a flamboyant showman. He had a social conscience and was a mainstay of the Bradford Soup Run for many years.

John Tempest, director of the Bradford Soup Run, said: "Willi worked hard to help the poor in Bradford and was a loyal colleague at the Soup Run. People shouldn't confuse his stage persona with the person, there was a serious, gentle and caring side to Willi. If ever I wanted to go in a direction which wasn't wise Willi would gently pull me up and remind me, and he was usually right.

"He met the Queen once! In Centenary Square. Willi was standing for Bradford North at the time and managed to get himself close to where the Queen would be arriving. He presented her with a rose wearing full psycho surgeons gear and she asked him who he represented. He said after May the first, Bradford North.' He was a great character."

Stuart Estelle of the Monster Raving Loony Party said: "The last time I saw Willi was at the Psycho Surgeons' final gig in Bradford. I had never seen him perform before, and he was a phenomenal showman. By the end of the show he was obviously struggling and exhausted - but, by god, he did it. Sheer willpower got him through.

"But, the Loony stuff, and the showbiz stuff isn't what really matters. What matters most is that Willi had not only warmth and tremendous generosity of spirit, but also remarkable strength - he'd overcome some real low points in his life - and faced his imminent demise with unimaginable dignity and courage."

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