Senseless Things' Mark Keds has died at 50

Mark Keds, vocalist/guitarist of London power pop vets Senseless Things, has died at age 50. Cause of death has not yet been revealed, but Mark’s former bandmate Ben Harding broke the news on a Senseless Things Facebook group, writing:

Dear Friends,

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. We understand that he passed away at his home during the early hours of this morning. As yet, the cause of death is unconfirmed.

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.

Mark was truly passionate about his musical calling and he used it with a fierce determination – from establishing a way of touring and playing gigs – one where nobody felt excluded – to including explicit, outspoken political content in our songs (and insisting on releasing them, even at the cost of commercial suicide and record company dismay).

His greatest talent, though, was in 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. That particular talent remained undimmed.

He was a remarkably prolific songwriter – and remained so through every incarnation – with an amazing ear for melody, churning out punk-pop hit-after-hit at his peak. Senseless Things would frequently work up three new songs per rehearsal and chuck them into the next gig, usually the following night. He carried that talent on through Jolt, the Lams, Trip Fontaine and, most recently, Deadcuts – all of whom will be feeling his loss at least as keenly as we do now.

Mark, particularly as a young man, had a virulent thirst and passion for culture and knowledge. He devoured books, film and other people’s music and passed them on to us and others, and referenced so much of it in his own work. It was Mark who took charge of our fan communications in the early years, spending days and days writing to people and organising gigs (and places to crash afterwards), making friends for life in the process.

He was beloved across the country, from Inverness to Plymouth, from Ipswich to Aberystwyth, and across the world, from Tokyo to California. It’s his passion and lust for life that will stick with us, and we’re truly thankful (we know Mark was, too) that we all got to do it properly one last time at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in 2017.

We love you, Mark. 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.

We’ll be in touch with any further information/details as and when we receive it.

Mark Keds / Myers / Hammerton – Rest In Peace. Burn Bright, Ponyboy.

Love Ben, Cass and Morgan x

Senseless Things were initially around between 1986 and 1995 and they released four albums during that time. They briefly reunited in 2007 and again in 2017, and they released the new song “Lost Honey” during the latter reunion. Mark Keds also played in The Wildhearts, Jolt, Trip Fontaine, The Lams, Like A Bitch, and Deadcuts, and he had a writing credit on The Libertines’ 2004 hit “Can’t Stand Me Now,” which used a line from Jolt’s 1998 song “Hey! Kitten.”

Rest in peace, Mark.

See tributes from fellow musicians, watch some videos, and stream Senseless Things’ classic 1989 debut album Postcard C.V. below…