Nick Cave gives emotional tribute to Mark Lanegan

Nick Cave has become the latest artist to pay tribute to the late Mark Lanegan, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 57.

The grunge icon died in Ireland on Tuesday, February 22nd. The cause of death is still unknown. The likes of Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and Tim Burgess were among the big music names to offer their condolences, and now Cave has added his own emotional tribute. Writing on his official Red Hand Files site, he recalled his personal memories of Lanegan.

“I encountered Mark many times over the years — we engaged in some extremely dubious escapades back in the ’90s; he sang ‘White Light/White Heat’ and ‘Fire and Brimstone’ with Warren [Ellis] and me on the Lawless soundtrack; he recorded my favourite ever Nick Cave cover — an astonishing version of ‘Brompton Oratory’; we did something together for the Jeffrey Lee Pierce record, I think; and he toured and hung out with us on The Bad Seeds’ 2013 Australian tour,” Cave wrote. “Go online and watch Mark sing Blixa’s ‘father’ part with me in ‘The Weeping Song’ on that tour.” (see below)

Cave continued by describing how much he admired Lanegan’s onstage demeanour: “As a frontman, I move around a lot on stage, I can’t help it, it is a habitual nervous thing, a kind of neurotic compensation for a voice I have never felt that comfortable with.

But watch Mark, watch how he walks onto the stage, plants himself at the mic stand, one tattooed fist halfway down the stand, the other resting on top of the mic, immobile, massive, male. When the time comes to sing, he simply opens his mouth and releases a blues, a blues lived deeply and utterly earned, and that voice tears right through you, his sheer force on stage absolutely humbling.”

“A greatness, Mark, a greatness — a true singer, a superb writer and beautiful soul, loved by all. Love Nick,” he concluded.

Warren Ellis had previously offered his own tribute on social media upon the announcement of Lanegan’s death. “Mark wherever you are I hope you hear the tears. True gentleman. One of the great voices. Love to your loved ones. Warren x,” he wrote on Twitter.