AKIPRESS.COM - Ric Ocasek, lead singer of 1980s US band The Cars, has died aged 75, BBCreported.

He was pronounced dead at home in Manhattan after family called to report he was unresponsive, New York Police Department said. The cause of death remains unconfirmed.

The Cars helped kick-start the new wave movement.

The band was formed in Boston in the mid-1970s by Ocasek and band-mate Benjamin Orr after they met at high school.

Merging guitar rock with synthesizer-based pop, their early hits included Just What I Needed, My Best Friend's Girl and Good Times Roll.