Mark Lanegan, troubled Screaming Trees singer and influential solo artist, dies aged 57

Singer had been comatosed by Covid recently

Mark Lanegan, the former singer with Screaming Trees and a prolific solo artist and collaborator across genre divides, has died aged 57.

Lanegan was born in Ellensburg, Washington and released 12 solo albums after his grunge era band Screaming Trees folded. After a lengthy spell living in Los Angeles and battles with hard drugs and drink, he moved to Killarney in Ireland with his second wife Shelley Brien in 2020.

A statement on Lanegan’s Twitter account: “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. The family asks everyone to respect their privacy at this time.”

Lanegan’s talent stretched across musical divides – he recorded an album of Leadbelly covers with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and joined Queens of the Stone Age for several albums but also recorded with Massive Attack, UNKLE, Bomb The Bass and many other electronic artists, bringing in Andrew Weatherall to remix his ‘Beehive’ from his 2017 album ‘Gargoyle’ (included on Weatherall’s recent retrospective Heavenly remix collection).

In March 2021, Lanegan was struck by a severe case of Covid which left him slipping in and out of a coma for months.