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Screaming Trees front man Mark Lanegan has died, aged 57

Updated / Wednesday, 23 Feb 2022 14:52
Mark Lanegan onstage at the Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands in August 2012 Photo: Getty Images
Mark Lanegan onstage at the Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands in August 2012 Photo: Getty Images

Mark Lanegan, former frontman of grunge act Screaming Trees and a one-time member of Queens of The Stone Age, has died at his home in Killarney at the age of 57.

Lanegan, who had been living in Kerry with his wife, Shelley Brien, died on Tuesday morning.

A tweet on Tuesday evening from his official Twitter account 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. No other information is available at this time. We ask Please respect the family privacy".

The singer was reported to have gone completely deaf after contracting coronavirus last year and later was to suffer from cracked ribs and breathing problems. After being rushed to hospital, he spent months in bed, "slipping in and out of a coma" over three weeks at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee..

Lanegan, who was born in Washington on the west coast of the US in November, 1964, was also known for his work in The Gutter Twins with Afghan Whigs front man Greg Dulli and for his many collaborations, including three albums with Scottish singer Isobel Campbell and more recently with the Manic Street Preachers on their last album, The Ultra Vivid Lament.

One of the most acclaimed rock singers of the past thirty years, he struggled with various addictions over his life and his songs often dwelt in the darker recesses of the soul and rock `n' roll.

Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment in 2001 about his well-documented struggles with addiction, he said, "You only have so much time. I've enjoyed music for many years now but I always had other things that took precedence over music. Now I'm a little older. I don't know if I'm any smarter, but I am a little calmer."

Lanegan released eleven solo studio albums, including 2001's Field Songs, 2004's Bubblegum, 2012's Blues Funeral and 2017's Gargoyles, and also collaborated with the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana on an unreleased album of Lead Belly covers.

He also performed with Layne Staley of Alice in Chains and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam in the band Mad Season.

Lanegan, who was among the acts who supported Guns N' Roses at Slane Castle in 2017, published his first memoir memoir Sing Backwards and Weep in 2020.

Tributes for Lanegan have flooded in on social media.

Co-founder of Joy Division and New Order Peter Hook also paid tribute, sharing a black and white photo on Twitter with the words: "Mark Lanegan was a lovely man. He led a wild life that some of us could only dream of.

"He leaves us with fantastic words and music! Thank god that through all of that he will live forever. RIP Mark. Sleep well. Love Hooky. X"

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