Music

Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan (57) dies at Co Kerry home

Musician (57), who worked with Queens of the Stone Age, had been living in Killarney

US musician Mark Lanegan has died at his home in Killarney, Co Kerry aged 57

Tue Feb 22 2022 - 21:11

Musician Mark Lanegan has died at the age of 57.

The singer and songwriter was known as the lead vocalist for Screaming Trees as well as being part of Queens of the Stone Age.

“Our beloved friend Mark Lanegan passed away this morning at his home in Killarney, Ireland,” read a statement posted to his Twitter account.

“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. The family asks everyone to respect their privacy at this time.”

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Born in Ellensburg, Washington, Lanegan was regarded as one of the most distinctive singers of his generation.

After the break-up of his first band Screaming Trees, his gravelly baritone graced albums by Queens of the Stone Age, Soulsavers, UNKLE and Manic Street Preachers.

Lanegan, who introduced his friend Kurt Cobain to Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night? when they worked together on 1990’s The Winding Sheet, has over the span of 30 years released a series of solo albums drawing on everything from spooky blues to scuzz-rock to electronica.

Memoir

Shortly after the publication of his 2020 memoir Sing Backwards and Weep, a raw, harrowing saga of addiction, destitution and grief, Lanegan and his wife Shelley Brien moved from California to Killarney, a place they’d first visited when they appeared on Other Voices in 2004.

“A friend of mine had a house here,” Lanegan said late last year. “When I became reacquainted with the physical beauty of the place and made some really good friends right off the bat, the warmth of those people made it an easy place to stay. Sometimes I have trouble with the high voice accent, but I’m learning...”

Lanegan said he thrived in lockdown, entering a prolific period of writing lyrics, poetry and music, until the morning he awoke completely deaf and unable to stand or draw oxygen.

He lost his balance, suffered a bad fall and was admitted to intensive care, where he was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of Covid-19.

What followed was a bedridden three-month ordeal of insomnia, hallucinations, intubations, a four-week medically induced coma and the constant struggle for breath.

If he’d had to contend with the American healthcare system, Lanegan said, “I’d be dead, or in debt for 10 lifetimes. It was incredibly lucky that I was here.”

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