Stage and set designer, Mark Fisher has died aged 66 following a “long and difficult illness”.

Fisher was well known for his ground-breaking work, designing stage set-ups for the likes of Pink Floyd, U2 and The Rolling Stones – who were one of the many acts to pay tribute yesterday.

The Stones sent a statement of respect to Fisher’s loved ones, writing: “We are all extremely saddened to hear of the death of our dear friend Mark Fisher. The remarkable sets he designed for us over the last two decades played a major part in the success of all those tours”.

They added: “His passion, dedication and professionalism was infectious. We all loved his dry sense of humour and unflappable demeanour, a quietly soft spoken genius. Mark will be sorely missed – not only by us – but by every single member of ours and any crew he worked with. Our sincere condolences go to his wife and family”.

Fisher’s company, Stufish, were also responsible for stand out stage designs in both music and musical theatre designing sets for shows like We Will Rock You and Cirque du Soleil. He was also Senior Designer on the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympic and advised as an Excutive Producer for the big London 2012 ceremonies.

Our thoughts are with Fisher’s friends and family at this time.