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Senseless Things’ Mark Keds has died, aged 50

Senseless Things’ Mark Keds has died, former bandmate Ben Harding has confirmed.

The singer and guitarist was 50 years old and died during the early hours of this morning (January 10). A cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we have to tell you that, sadly, Mark – our singer, friend and main songwriter – is no longer with us,” Harding wrote in a Facebook group dedicated to the band.

“It’s no secret that he had struggled on and off with drug abuse and a pretty chaotic lifestyle for a long while, and his health suffered substantially over the years due to this. While this had sometimes created friction within the on-off workings of Senseless Things and his other projects, we choose to remember the friend, the brother and the talent we’ve lost today.”

Harding went on to say that Keds (real name Mark Myers) was “truly passionate about his musical calling” and cited his greatest talent as “exploring the everyday fucked-upness and absolute, unbounded joy of one-to-one relationships; of love, lust, loss, anger, grief and the ecstasy of the ordinary”.

Mark Keds, Deadcuts
Mark Keds performing with Deadcuts in 2016 CREDIT: Lorne Thomson/Redferns

“We love you, Mark,” he wrote. “It seems cliched to say ‘gone too soon’, but damn, it’s true. He was only 50. It’s no fucking age to die. Our love and thoughts go out to his friends, his family, his loved ones and the ones who loved him.” You can read Harding’s tribute in full here.

Senseless Things formed in London in 1986 and released five albums before they split in 1995. They reunited in 2007 for a one-off show in London – their first in over 12 years – and held two further shows in 2017. Around the latter gigs, they also released ‘Lost Honey’, their first new material in 22 years.

Recently, Keds was performing with his band Deadcuts, which he formed in 2012, and was previously a member of The Wildhearts. He also had a credit on The Libertines’ single ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, which used a line from the single ‘Hey! Kitten’, which was released by Jolt, one of his many other projects.

Tributes have begun to be paid to Keds online. “Wow. Very sad to hear about Mark Keds’ passing,” Frank Turner wrote. “We chatted a few times about Deadcuts stuff, and ST were awesome. Real sadness.”

“Absolutely gutted to hear Mark Keds has died, only 50 and the Senseless Things were a huge part of the soundtrack of my youth,” wrote @thesaltiestcow. “Sleep well fella, thanks for the tunes.”

See more tributes below.