Soundgarden and Audioslave rocker Chris Cornell has died at the age of 52, it was announced today.

His rep Brian Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked.

A statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.

Bumbery said: "His wife Vicky and family were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing.

"They would like to thank his fans for their continuous love and loyalty and ask that their privacy be respected at this time."

The statement also said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause.

Hours before his death, Cornell performed with Soundgarden, two-thirds of the way through the band's North American tour.

(Image: Uncle Sam - Alive in Detroit/YouTube) (Image: Uncle Sam - Alive in Detroit/YouTube) (Image: Uncle Sam - Alive in Detroit/YouTube)

His final tweet was posted just before the Detroit gig, saying: "Finally back to Rock City!!!! @soundgarden #nomorebullshit"

As the lead singer for Seattle-based Soundgarden, Cornell helped inspire the 90s grunge rock movement.

He was also a Grammy award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer and lyricist.

He later became involved in philanthropy and started the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support children facing challenges, including homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.

How did Chris Cornell die?

Chris Cornell's cause of death at the age of 52 has not yet been made public, but his rep said his whole family were shocked by its "sudden and unexpected" nature.

But reports claim Detroit Police suspect suicide after the rocker was found dead in his hotel bathroom.

According to local channel 4 WDIV Detroit, the singer returned to the MGM Grand hotel where the band were staying after the gig.

The news outlet claims Chris' wife Vicky Cornell called a family friend and asked him to check on the singer.

(Image: WENN)

The friend went to the hotel and forced open Chris' door, and found him lifeless in the en suite bathroom.

It's believed Chris was pronounced dead at the scene.

WXYZ Detroit reported police are saying Chris' cause of death was apparent suicide.

"Police now say the death ChrisCornell appears to have been a suicide. Investigation still ongoing," tweeted one reporter from the site.

The Detroit Police Department's Downtown Precinct did not deny reports it has said Cornell's death is an apparent suicide when contacted by Mirror.co.uk today.

Chris Cornell's last Soundgarden tour and final Detroit gig

(Image: Rex Features)

(Image: Getty) (Image: Twitter)

Chris' last time on stage was on May 17 when he performed a sold-out Soundgarden gig in Detroit 's Fox Theatre, which was part of the band's North American headline tour.

The band were being supported by The Pretty Reckless, whose lead singer is Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl fame.

She had posted a message before the concert telling fans it was her band's last ever gig with Soundgarden.

"Tonight is our final show with @soundgarden at the Fox Theater in Detroit, great band, great people, wonderful crew, new family, thanks to all #tprtour2017 ," she wrote.

Soundgarden were due to travel to Columbus, Ohio for a concert on May 19 and were scheduled to appear in Maryland Heights, Denver, Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma where their tour would end on May 27.

(Image: NBCUniversal)

(Image: Reuters)

Soundgarden's heartbreaking last song with Chris Cornell

According to a set list posted online by a fan, the last song Chris ever performed was In My Time Of Dying, which contains the lyrics: "In my time of dying, I want nobody to mourn / All I want for you to do is take my body home."

It continues with the verse: "Jesus, going to make up my dying bed / Meet me, Jesus, meet me /

Meet me in the middle of the air.

"If my wings should fail me, Lord / Please meet me with another pair."

The song has been covered by the likes of Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin and is thought to have originated with Louisiana street performers in the 1920s.

It is inspired by a Bible passage from the Book of Psalms and closes each verse with a line about the singer's deathbed.

The original Bible passage is: "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."

Chris' poignant message to "perfect wife" Vicky - days before his death

(Image: WENN)

The shocking loss to the world of music came just days after Chris paid tribute to his wife, Vicky Cornell, with a poignant tweet on America's Mother's Day.

Describing her as "an angel", "a lioness" and "the perfect mother and the perfect wife," Chris shared a picture of some pink roses and told her he loved her.

He also thanked Vicky's mum Toni Karayiannis for giving him "the love of my life".

"Happy Mother's Day to my mom ToniKaras you thank for giving me the love of my life...," he wrote in the sweet message.

Chris' last tweet from his official account came just after 7pm local time, hours before he was due to take the stage in Detroit's Fox Theatre.

He captioned a picture of the venue: " Detroit finally back to Rock City!!!! soundgardennomorebulls**t ."

Chris' tragic death comes after a 2012 interview with the Daily Mirror in which Chris talked about his time in rehab.

Read the full interview below

One of the most popular bands to emerge from the 90s Seattle grunge revolution, Soundgarden sold 22 million albums and won two Grammy awards.

Having disbanded in 1997, the band reunited in 2010 and, after subsequent live shows and the success of their Telephantasm compilation, are releasing King Animal, their first studio album in 16 years.

But the intervening period saw frontman Chris Cornell, now 48, going through some dark days during the band’s time apart, including a spell in rehab.

(Image: Getty)

“It’s something that would have happened even if Soundgarden had stayed together,” he admits.

“It was a long slow slide and then a long slow recovery, but there was self-discovery too.

“For me it was mostly alcohol – from my late teens until my late thirties.”

Chris adds that “near the end of Soundgarden I started to unravel a lot more than I had previously”, but he then went on to even greater success fronting the supergroup Audioslave with members of Rage Against The Machine.

As a solo artist he’s also made four albums, recorded the theme for the James Bond movie Casino Royale and worked with R&B producer Timbaland.

(Image: WireImage)

“I came out of rehab,” Chris recalls, “and immediately went on tour with Audioslave, sold millions of records and was playing in front of crowds of 10,000 or 20,000.

"It’s not what most people go through. Most of the time, coming out of rehab people have a destroyed life, struggle to just work again and get a job.

“I sort of had an identity sitting there waiting to be embraced.

"I was very lucky I was able to see that and not take it for granted. It helped me climb out of the mire. I saw how hard it could be.”

He may have been on a tough personal journey, but Chris says reuniting with his old bandmates was easy because, despite the long years apart, there had never been any animosity.

(Image: Getty)

“We remained good friends,” he explains. “That’s significant. After sitting in a room for three minutes it was obvious we all still got along.”

The band have all grown up in their time apart – Cornell has had three children, two marriages and one acrimonious divorce – but he insists that financial inducements didn’t play a part in Soundgarden’s comeback.

“In fact, once we got back together,” he says, “we had offers to play numerous festivals for millions of dollars but we turned them down.”

With its imposing genre-crossing authority, King Animal is set to propel them back into the limelight.

The signature Soundgarden style – heavy doom rock laced with bludgeoning Black Sabbath riffs – remains, but it’s now enriched by Cornell’s new life experience as a parent in typically blunt fashion on Bones Of Birds.

“It’s more of a paranoid version,” Chris smiles, “based on the haunting mystical images children have and adults remember.

“As a parent, you feel responsibility to protect children from things that will be difficult for them, but you can’t.

"To me, that brings out a desperate paranoid vision of the world as it’s rediscovered by another generation.”

In a major 2011 poll of Rolling Stone readers, Cornell was voted the ninth Best Lead Singer of All Time, beating his grunge-era contemporary Kurt Cobain into 10th. The top 10 is below.

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1 Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

2 Freddie Mercury (Queen)

3 Bono (U2)

4 Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones)

5 Jim Morrison (The Doors)

(Image: Getty)

6 Roger Daltrey (The Who)

7 Eddie vedder (Pearl Jam)

8 John Lennon (The Beatles)

9 Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave)

10 Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)