While the exact cause of death has yet to be clarified, Quaife had been on kidney dialysis for over ten years.
Quaife played on The Kinks' earliest chart hits including 'You Really Got Me', 'All Day and All of the Night' and 'Dedicated Follower of Fashion' and spent five years with the best until he departed in 1969. He had admitted that his stint in the Kinks was not a happy one, partly due to the constant fraternal rowing between Ray and Dave Davies.
He seemed most proud of his work on the band's highly-acclaimed 1968 concept album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. "Making that album was the high point of my career. For me it represents the only real album made by the Kinks... in which we all contributed something." he claimed in 2006.
After leaving the band, Quaife almost immediately formed another band, Mapleoak, but they failed to make an impact. He reunited with his former colleagues for a one-off show in Canada in 1981, although a much-talked about official reunion never happened.