Tributes to 'genius' Wilson

THE surviving original members of the Beach Boys have paid tribute to the “genius” of Brian Wilson after his death aged 82.

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His cousin Mike Love, 84, said Wilson's “musical gifts were unmatched”, while Al Jardine described his bandmate as “my brother in spirit”. Wilson was the eldest and last surviving of the three brothers who formed the American rock band with Love and schoolfriend Jardine in 1961.

“The melodies he dreamed up, the emotions he poured into every note - Brian changed the course of music forever,” Love wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook.

“Like all families, we had our ups and downs. But through it all, we never stopped loving each other, and I never stopped being in awe of what he could do when he sat at a piano or his spontaneity in the studio.”