Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan dies at 57
- Published
Screaming Trees frontman and former Queens of the Stone Age member Mark Lanegan has died at the age of 57.
Known for his deep, melancholy vocals, the American singer-songwriter died at his home in Killarney, Ireland, a statement on his Twitter account, external said.
During his career he collaborated with musicians including Kurt Cobain, PJ Harvey, Isobel Campbell and Moby.
Last year, he was in hospital for months after contracting Covid, and was put into a medically-induced coma.
No cause of death has been given.
A statement said: "Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland.
"A beloved singer, songwriter, author, and musician he was 57 and is survived by his wife Shelley [Brien]."
Grunge pioneer
Born in Washington state in 1964, Lanegan joined Screaming Trees in the 1980s and went on to produce eight studio albums until the group's split in 2000.
The band pioneered a sound that combined 1960s garage rock with 1970s punk - which later became known as grunge. Although they never achieved the mainstream success of contemporaries like Soundgarden and Nirvana, they scored hits in the US with Nearly Lost You in 1992 and All I Know in 1996.
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Lanegan had a parallel solo career, and his debut album, The Winding Sheet, included appearances from Cobain and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic.
After the Screaming Trees went on hiatus in 1996, he joined the ever-changing line-up of Josh Homme's Queens of the Stone Age.
He first appeared on the rock band's Rated R album in 2000, lending his voice and songwriting talent to several songs, and also performed on their breakout album Songs for the Deaf - earning a Grammy nomination for both.
He later formed The Gutter Twins with Afghan Whigs vocalist Greg Dulli; and recorded three collaborative albums with Scottish singer-songwriter Isobel Campbell - the first of which, Ballad of the Broken Seas, was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize.
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In 2020, he published a memoir called Sing Backwards And Weep, which covered everything from "addiction to touring, petty crime, homelessness and the tragic deaths of his closest friends" - among them Cobain and Alice in Chains' Layne Staley.
He followed that up with last year's Devil In A Coma, which detailed his near-death experience with Covid, which included cracked ribs after a fall and recurring hallucinations.
"I'd taken my share of well-deserved ass-kickings over the years but this thing was trying to dismantle me, body and mind, and I could see no end to it in sight," he wrote, external in an extract published in the Guardian newspaper.
Mark Lanegan (centre back) with Queens of the Stone Age in 2005
Alongside Scottish singer Isobel Campbell at Latitude Festival in Suffolk
Performing with Screaming Trees in 1993
Figures from the world of music and entertainment paid tribute to Lanegan.
Addressing his late bandmate, Screaming Trees drummer Mark Pickerel said he hoped "the angels are taking good care of you today".
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Founding member of the Velvet Underground John Cale said "I can't process this", external at the news, adding: "Mark Lanegan will always be etched in my heart - as he surely touched so many with his genuine self, no matter the cost, true to the end."
Iggy Pop, one of Lanegan's key influences, described himself as a "fan" and expressed his "deepest respect", external.
On BBC 6 Music, Marc Riley dedicated the last half-hour of his Tuesday night programme to Lanegan's music. "Hearing the news has kind of floored me," he told listeners.
Moby, who collaborated with the Lanegan on the 2013 track The Lonely Night, paid tribute to his "old friend", external, adding: "More and more the best are no longer with us."
The Manic Street Preachers, who worked with Lanegan on their latest album The Ultra Vivid Lament, tweeted that they were devastated by the news, describing him as a "huge talent on so many levels", external, with an amazing voice, "all those beautiful words" and a "unique artistic vision".
Singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy also paid tribute, calling the late rocker "one of the great singers of the last 30 years".
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Locals in Killarney also expressed their sense of loss. Councillor and pub landlord Niall O'Callaghan said it was a tight-knit community and everyone was sad to hear of the singer's death.
"For a man of the stature of Mark Lanegan, it was a real honour that he chose to live in Killarney," he said.