THE BEAST

Former MOTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee has paid tribute to Timi Hansen , saying that was "a pleasure to be playing with such a bass player" during KING DIAMOND 's early years.

Hansen died on Monday (November 4) after a long battle with cancer. His death was confirmed by his former bandmate, MERCYFUL FATE singer King Diamond .

Timi went public with his diagnosis in early August after it was announced that he wouldn't participate in MERCYFUL FATE 's 2020 reunion. Filling in for him will be ARMORED SAINT and FATES WARNING bassist Joey Vera .

Earlier today, Dee , who played with Hansen for the first three years of KING DIAMOND 's existence between 1985 and 1988, tweeted a mid-1980s photo of him with the bassist, along with the following caption: "Ooo Im so sad that my brother in arms past away. We had so much fun together and what a pleasure to be playing with such a bass player in our early years. My brother, my buddy I LOVE YOU MY FRIEND. RIP Timi Hansen !"

The 61-year-old Hansen played in MERCYFUL FATE from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1992 to 1993.

MERCYFUL FATE will reunite for an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, including next year's edition of the Copenhell festival, set to take place June 17-20, 2020 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ooo Im so sad that my brother in arms past away. We had so much fun together and what a pleasure to be playing with such a bass player in our early years. My brother, my buddy I LOVE YOU MY FRIEND. RIP Timi Hansen! pic.twitter.com/PDSQ1ieQxE

— Mikkey Dee (@themikkeydee) November 5, 2019