Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan dies at 57

Mark Lanegan
(Image credit: Mark Davis/Getty Images)

Mark Lanegan, frontman for the rock band Screaming Trees, has died. He was 57.

Lanegan's publicist on Tuesday confirmed he died at his home in Ireland, according to Rolling Stone. Information about his cause of death wasn't immediately released. "The family asks everyone to respect their privacy at this time," his publicist said.

The singer performed with Screaming Trees, the group behind songs like "All I Know" and "Nearly Lost You," beginning in the 1980s until the band broke up in 2000. He also had success as a solo artist, releasing his first studio album The Winding Sheet featuring Kurt Cobain in 1990, and continuing to release solo albums through 2020, when he debuted Straight Songs of Sorrow. He was also known for collaborating with bands like Queens of the Stone Age.

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Lanegan had reportedly been suffering from kidney disease, according to Variety, and last year, he detailed a serious battle with COVID-19. In his memoir Devil in a Coma, he described how he "ended up in intensive care, unable to draw oxygen, and was diagnosed with some exotic new strain of the coronavirus for which there was no cure, of course." He also revealed that he was "put into a medically induced coma," writing that his "kidneys reportedly were blown out, and while I was in the coma I had been on dialysis, with the doctors daily predicting doom and gloom."

A statement on Lanegan's Twitter account mourned the "beloved singer, songwriter, author and musician," who is survived by his wife, Shelley. Tributes poured in for Lanegan, with Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook remembering him as a "lovely man" who "led a wild life that some of us could only dream of" and "leaves us with fantastic words and music."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.