Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell died of hanging by suicide, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office said on Thursday, amid reports that he was found dead an hour after wrapping up his latest concert.

The 52-year-old Audioslave musician, who created a Bond Theme, died shortly after leaving the stage in Detroit on Wednesday night and reportedly "appeared normal" as he greeted fans outside.

Brian Bumbery, his representative, called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement also said the family asked for privacy.

"The cause of death has been determined as hanging by suicide. A full autopsy report has not yet been completed," the Medical Examiner's Office said in a statement after conducting an initial autopsy.

Chris Cornell, Soundcloud and Audioslave frontman - in pictures

A full autopsy report has not yet been completed.

Police spokesman Michael Woody had earlier told The Associated Press that the police were investigating the death as a possible suicide. Without providing details, he noted there were "basic things observed at the scene."

Cornell's 'parting message to fans'

Woody said that Cornell died at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel, and that Cornell's wife called a family friend and asked him to check on Cornell. He stated that the friend forced open a hotel room door and found Cornell on the bathroom floor.

Chris Cornell, performing in Hyde Park in 2012 Credit: AP

Cornell was still going strong as a musician, and was reportedly found dead an hour after he and his band Soundgarden had played their final song of then night.

He told fans "I love you" as he greeted them warmly after leaving the Motor City's Fox Theatre and appeared "absolutely normal", the Daily Mail reported, quoting a member of his security team.

He posed for selfies with them, telling some that he would see them at the show the following night in Columbus, Ohio, the paper reported.

The band was in the middle of a sold-out US tour, that was due to run to 27 May, with six dates left remaining. He closed the show with Soundgarden song Slaves & Bulldozers, merged with a refrain of Led Zeppelin’s In My Time of Dying.

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Fans in attendance at the Fox Theatre gig captured what would become his last performance on video, and uploaded it to social media.

Chris Cornell needed to rest his war torn vocal cords, pretty powerful, they still have it, he's still got it. #soundgardenatthefox #soundgarden #chriscornell A post shared by Chris Carr (@chilidoggie) on May 17, 2017 at 10:44pm PDT

Soundgarden A post shared by Paul Maricic (@pmaricic) on May 17, 2017 at 10:39pm PDT

Fans lay flowers in Seattle

Soundgarden fans left flowers at memorials across Seattle for the musician whose forceful, sombre songs helped cement the city's place in rock history.

One of the locations where people gathered was the Sound Garden art sculpture at a Seattle park, for which Cornell's band Soundgarden was named.

Flowers are placed at a Seattle memorial of Soundgarden vocalist and guitarist Chris Cornell Credit: Getty

"It's really sad that he could never find peace in his life," said Chad White, who came to the art display with his young son Ignatius to honor Cornell.

A bench near the center of the sculpture was covered with flower arrangements, one of which included a note, "Say 'hello' to Heaven," a reference to a song written by Cornell for a musician friend who died decades ago.

He was last pictured by the press a little over a month ago, at a screening of The Promise in New York with his two daughters. Cornell's latest single, also called The Promise, had been written for the Christian Bale film.

Chris Cornell with his son, Christopher, and daughter Toni Credit: Steven Ferdman/REX/Shutterstock

Cornell's last UK show was just over a year ago, when the star played just the one date in the country, at London's Royal Albert Hall. The Telegraph's James Hall complimented Cornell's performance, saying: "If Jimmy Page should ever look to tour Zeppelin without the reluctant Robert Plant, then this served as a worthy audition".

Hours after news broke of Cornell's death, the venue changed its homepage in tribute.

Royal Albert Hall changes its homepage in tribute to Chris Cornell

The American singer was one of the founders of the grunge moment in Seattle in the Nineties.

Chris Cornell in Soundgarden in 1990

Cornell, who sang and played rhythm guitar, formed Soundgarden in 1984 with lead guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist HiroYamamoto. The band were one of the first to sign to record label Subpop, which also took on Nirvana and Mudhoney, and became known for their Grammy Award-winning singles Black Hole Sun and Spoonman. They were nominated for a further seven Grammy awards, and sold more than 10 million records in the US.

Cornell had a four-octave range and worked with a number of different artists as a singer and songwriter. Soundgarden broke up in 1997, but reformed in 2010.

In 2001,. Cornell also went on to form supergroup Audioslave, which he fronted alongside former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk.

But Cornell forged a successful career as a solo artist and songwriter – including writing the theme for James Bond film Casino Royale.

Corner's struck out alone with 1999 album, Euphoria Morning, which was the first of five solo albums spanning 16 years. His last, Higher Truth, reached the US top 20, following its release in 2015. He toured with Linkin Park and Aerosmith in the late Noughties, and played Hyde Park as recently as 2012.

Cornell also made a foray into film soundtrack composition, writing the theme for 2006's Casino Royale, You Know My Name, and The Keeper, which appeared in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher and earned him a Golden Globe nomination. A tribute from James Bond's Twitter account was posted on Wednesday morning.

He had struggled with drugs and alcohol, but had been clean for several years.

Cornell had been sober since 2003, when he went into rehab for an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He later told Spin Magazine that he enjoyed his lifestyle change and found it "interesting": "I’m learning that I can be teachable at age 38", he said. He said that he used to drink before shows, but when alcohol got in the way of other activities, such as mountain biking, it became problematic. When Soundgarden reformed in 2011, Cornell said that the "biggest difference" was the lack of alcohol: "There are no bottles of Jack Daniels around or beers".

Tributes have been coming in from fans and fellow musicians around the world who praised Cornell's voice in particular.

Adam Lambert, Julian Lennon, and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda were among them. From the rock music community, Jimmy Page, Mark Lanegan, Billy Idol and Dave Navarro, who played guitar with Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers, shared their tributes.

Chris Cornell. Damn. Was legit just playing "Outshined" yesterday. Such a loss. — St. Vincent (@st_vincent) May 18, 2017

Chris Cornell was a gentleman and a true artist. Barbara, Michael and the entire Bond family mourn this tragic loss. pic.twitter.com/lLhz87LPyG — James Bond (@007) May 18, 2017

Shocked and saddened by the sudden death of @chriscornell. A great singer, songwriter and the loveliest man. pic.twitter.com/Hwdgst8kmg — Elton John (@eltonofficial) May 18, 2017

Chris Cornell's lyrics + voice have loomed large for me since '94. "Fell on Black Days" now playing in tribute. Damn. May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/lVSDCJXX9O — Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 18, 2017

Sad to hear my friend @chriscornell passed away. A searcher of higher truth has entered the eternal hereafter. Prayers & Love to his family pic.twitter.com/FQDDavq7vc — Yusuf / Cat Stevens (@YusufCatStevens) May 18, 2017

Dear Chris Cornell used to come to my parties n Hollywood n play quietly in th corner until all th woman were literally at his feet listenin — Val Kilmer (@valkilmer) May 18, 2017

Cornell is survived by his wife and two daughters

The musician was married twice, first to Susan Silver, Soundgarden's manager, with whom he had a daughter Lilian Jean, in 2000. Silver and Cornell divorced in 2004, although the pair had a four-year court battle over his guitar collection. In 2004 he had a second daughter, Toni, with Vicky Karayiannis, a publicist whom he married. The pair had a son, Christopher Nicolas, in 2005.

Culture stars who have died in 2017

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