Tributes have poured in for New Romantic "leading edge" Steve Strange after he died of a heart attack on holiday in Egypt.

The 55-year-old Welsh pop singer found fame in the early 1980s as frontman for Visage, whose best known hit was Fade To Grey.

He was also the impresario behind the Blitz Club in Soho, central London, a focal point for the New Romantic movement.

Strange died in his sleep at 11.15 local time in Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital, Egypt, his record label said.

After the sad news broke, stars took to Twitter to pay homage to a man described as " funny, great company and completely bonkers in the most adorable way".

Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon tweeted: "I'm very sad to announce that our friend Steve Strange has died in Egypt today. He was the leading edge of New Romantic. God Bless him."

Billy Idol ?wrote: "Very sad to hear of my friend Steve Strange passing, RIP mate."

Former glamour model Samantha Fox tweeted: "So sorry to hear that my friend Steve Strange - Visage has passed away peacefully in his sleep of a heart attack, so missed love Sam XX."

In a statement released to the press, pop singer Kim Wilde reminisced about befriending Strange at the beginning of her career following a date in Mayfair in 1981.

The pair stayed in touch, toured together in 2002 and met recently at the premiere of Spandau Ballet documentary Soul Boys Of The Western World.

Wilde said: "I'm so grateful that life brought Steve and I together, he was funny, great company and completely bonkers in the most adorable way.

"He would often call up for a long chat, and always asked after my husband Hal, and our children Harry and Rose.

"Steve was a family man first and often spoke of his beloved family in Wales.

"Steve will be remembered as the most elegant and beautiful of the New Romantics at the beginning of the 80s, and Fade To Grey one of the very best and most influential records of the decade.

"I shall remember him for his humour and generous spirit; he really was a very lovely man."

Former EastEnders and Coronation Street actress Michelle Collins tweeted: "Sad to hear of the passing of 80s icon and my friend Steve Strange. Hope you've found some peace Steve."

Marc Green, label manager at August Day Recordings, said: "Steve's family, band members and friends are all distraught at this sudden news of his untimely death. Steve's family request privacy at this extremely difficult time."

Strange's agent, Pete Bassett, told the Press Association: "He will be remembered as a hard-working, very amusing and lovable individual who always was at the forefront of fashion trends.

"Up until last year he was putting together a book of fashion styles based on the New Romantic movement and it comes as a great shock.

"We understood that he had certain health problems but nothing we knew was life threatening.

"His friends and family are totally shocked, we had no idea anything like this was likely to happen."

Born Steven John Harrington in Newbridge, Monmouthshire, Strange got involved in music after seeing the Sex Pistols in concert at the Castle Cinema in Caerphilly in 1976.

At the age of 15 he went to London to work for Pistols' manager Malcolm McClaren before setting up Blitz, which employed a yet undiscovered Boy George in the cloakroom.

The likes of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Boy George's Culture Club all got their start there before going on to super-stardom.

The club also counted David Bowie among its fans, who according to Strange went there "because he had heard how bizarre it was".

Dubbed the Peacock Prince, Strange said of the New Romantic style he helped create: "It was about showing your creative side, and about showing that you'd taken time and effort in what you had created.

"It was about classic style and being outrageous, but done with an element of taste.''

Formed in 1979, Visage's breakthrough record, Fade To Grey, peaked at number eight in the UK Singles Chart the following year and reached number one in both Germany and Switzerland.

But following the band's successful first two albums, Visage and The Anvil, Strange became addicted to heroin after first trying the drug while modelling at a Jean Paul Gaultier show in Paris in 1985.

''It was the worst mistake that I ever made in my life,'' he told The Independent newspaper in 2000.

There later followed legal problems such as an arrest and suspended sentence for stealing a Teletubbies doll and cosmetics set from a shop in Bridgend, south Wales.

In more recent times, Strange finished recording a classical interpretation of Fade To Grey at the end of last year.