Jamaican reggae star Lloyd Charmers has died after suffering a heart attack while driving in London.

The singer was taken to the U.K. capital's Homerton Hospital on Thursday (27Dec12) but pronounced dead on arrival. He was 74.

Charmers launched his career in 1962 when he performed as The Charmers with Roy Willis and he went on to join Slim Smith and Martin Jimmy Riley in The Uniques.

The star released two solo albums in 1970, and subsequently courted controversy with his song Birth Control, which was banned from airplay, and his record Censored.

He went on to launch his own record label, Splash, and became a producer.