A WIDELY known guitarist – Aslim Can Gunduz (otherwise known as Awesome John) – has died just days after performing at a Didim five-star hotel.

Awesome John, described as a unique international entertainer, had performed his set at Aurum Moon Hotel, at Yesilkent, on Saturday June 18.

However, it was reported that he was taken ill on Thursday June 23 at his home in Marmaris but, despite medical attention, passed away later in hospital. It is suspected he may have died of a heart attack.

He was described as a singer, guitarist showman who has been affectionately called a mix between Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Fred Flintstone.

Originally born in Istanbul, he was raised a native New Yorker after immigrating to the USA with his parents at age of four. Awesome John lived in New York City until the early 1980s.