Hall of fame honour for bassist Paul Raven

A Wolverhampton-born guitarist whose band inspired iconic 1990s grunge rockers Nirvana has been inducted into the Black Country Hall of Fame.

The family of Killing Joke bassist Paul Raven say the tribute at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall has helped give them closure following his death three years ago.

His name was added to the growing wall of tributes at the North Street venue in a presentation yesterday attended by his mother Katie, 67, and brother Daniel, 37.

"He would be very proud, it's really nice for him to get this recognition in his home town" said Daniel, a stage crew worker at the Grand Theatre.

"Paul moved away from Wolverhampton at 17 and lived all over the world but he was always going backwards and forwards and was always very much a part of all our lives."

Mother Katie, a part-time insurance worker from Tettenhall, added: "I'm very proud — it's a fitting tribute and I'm really pleased with it. The hall has worked so quickly to sort it all out.

"Paul was very well respected and never short of a gig. The family have had a horrible time since his death and it will help give us some closure." The Tettenhall rock star was best known for his work with post-punk band Killing Joke, who were credited with influencing bands like Nirvana and later Franz Ferdinand.

The band infamously sued Nirvana for stealing a guitar riff, but the action was dropped following the death of Kurt Cobain.

Paul was born in Wolverhampton in 1961 and attended Woodthorne Infants and Junior schools and Regis Comprehensive, now The King's School.

In the early 2000s, Paul joined industrial-metal band Ministry. He remained a member of both Ministry and Killing Joke until his death aged 46 from a heart attack in the South of France in October 2007.

Civic Halls officials and city mayor Councillor Malcolm Gwinnett attended to offer their congratulations.