Close family and band members make their way to the service
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About 3,000 fans of Gotthard rocker Steve Lee, who died earlier this month in a motorcycle accident in Nevada, paid tribute to him on Sunday at the St Gotthard Pass.
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Braving the cold, fog and freezing rain, Lee’s fans had travelled from not only many parts of Switzerland but also Italy, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Two Capuchin monks led a service in memory of Lee near the Gotthard hospice at 2,106 metres above sea level.
In the presence of Lee’s partner, Brigitte Voss-Balzarini, and band members, they both paid their last respects.
“Steve’s voice fell silent from one moment to the next but it will always be linked with Gotthard, the name which the band made known around the world,” they said.
At the top of the pass a commemorative plaque will be set up next year as a tribute.
Lee’s ashes have been buried in the cemetery of Porza, a village which lies above Lugano in canton Ticino.
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Lee’s longtime partner, Brigitte Voss-Balzerini, said she had been standing next to the singer just five seconds before a tractor-trailer truck lost control on a Nevada motorway and crashed into a group of parked motorcycles, one of which then hit Lee. Lee and a group of 20 friends had been on a motorcycle tour of…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.