Mark Myers (28 October 1970 – 11 January 2021), better known as Mark Keds, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

singer, songwriter and guitarist, from

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, best known for leading the bands

Senseless Things Senseless Things were an English pop punk band, formed in 1986 in London. The band released four studio albums and achieved two UK Top 20 hit singles before splitting up in 1995. Senseless Things reformed in 2017 to play several gigs including S ...

and

Deadcuts Deadcuts is an English post punk group formed in 2012 by former Senseless Things front man, Mark Keds (vocals/guitar) and Jerome Alexandre (guitar/backing vocals). Keds was also known for his previous work with The Wildhearts and Jolt, as well a ...

. ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' hailed him as a "prolific musician" and "unvarnished talent".

Biography

Keds began playing music with future

members

Morgan Nicholls Morgan Daniel Nicholls (born 18 March 1971) is an English musician, member of English pop band Senseless Things and best known for performing with Muse, Gorillaz, The Streets and Lily Allen. He has released one solo album under the mononym Morg ...

and

Cass Browne Cass Browne (born 27 September 1971 in Wimbledon, Surrey) is an English musician and writer. He was a member of the band The Psychotics who became Senseless Things in 1986. Senseless Things made four studio albums, achieved two UK Top 20 hi ...

in the early 1980s, initially in the bands Wild Division and the Psychotics. They formed Senseless Things in 1986, completing the line-up with the addition of

Ben Harding Benjamin Scott Harding (born 6 September 1984) is an English professional footballer who plays for as a midfielder Truro City. Club career Wimbledon and Milton Keynes Dons Harding began his career at Wimbledon and signed terms with them in O ...

in 1987. The band released four studio albums and a

Peel Sessions John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

album between 1989 and 1995, had two

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

singles, and toured internationally. In 1995, Keds briefly joined

the Wildhearts The Wildhearts are an English rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatles and 1980s-e ...

, and recorded on the B-sides to the top 30 "Just in Lust" single. He also formed the new band Jolt with Lenie Mets from Senseless Things' touring partners

Mambo Taxi Mambo Taxi were an English, London-based British indie band, linked with riot grrrl, who formed in 1991 and split up in 1995.Mason, StewartMambo Taxi Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-01 History Mambo Taxi were inspired by the UK garage ...

, and drummer Spike T Smith; Jolt released a mini-album and a series of EPs and singles between 1996 and 1998. In 2004,

the Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

released the single "

Can't Stand Me Now "Can't Stand Me Now" is the first single from English rock band the Libertines' self-titled second album. The song was their biggest hit, and peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number 28 on the Irish Singles Chart. In the Unite ...

", written by

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie b ...

with Mark Keds which reused lyrics from Jolt's "Hey Kitten" single. After Jolt, Keds formed the Lams (originally called Trip Fontaine), while curating the "Bring Your Own Poison" night at

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

's Rhythm Factory venue, and an accompanying compilation of bands that had played the club. By the late 2000s Keds was playing in the band Like a Bitch, although the Lams later released an album, ''Anarchy Or Death'', in 2011. In 2012, Keds and Jerome Alexandre formed

, initially with members of

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in the ...

and

Miranda Sex Garden Miranda Sex Garden are an English music group from London. They were originally active from 1990 to 2000, reforming in 2022. Biography Formed in 1990, Katharine Blake (singer), Katharine Blake, Kelly McCusker and Jocelyn West were originally ...

, releasing two albums: ''Dark is the Night'' (2014) and ''Hit on All Sixxes'' (2018); and a series of singles between 2013 and 2019. In 2018, Keds recorded a track with

The Herbaliser The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one o ...

which appeared on their album ''Bring Out The Sound''.

Death

Keds died on 11 January 2021, at the age of 50. He had been suffering from

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

Selected discography

with Senseless Things

*1989: ''Postcard C.V.'' (album) *1991: ''The First of Too Many'' (album) *1993: ''

Empire of the Senseless ''Empire of the Senseless'' is an album by the English rock band Senseless Things. It was released in 1993, and was produced by Senseless Things and Ralph Jezzard. It was not released in the United States. The album peaked at #37 on the Official ...

'' (album) *1994: ''Peel Sessions'' (compilation) *1995: ''Taking Care of Business'' (album) *1998: ''The Singles'' (compilation)

with the Wildhearts

*1995: "Just in Lust" EP (tracks rereleased on P.H.U.Q. - 2010 reissue)

with Jolt

*1997: ''Punk Jungle Rules'' (mini-album)

with the Libertines

*2004: "

" (single; credited as co-writer)

with the Lams

*2011:''Anarchy or Death'' (album)

with Deadcuts

*2014: ''Dark is the Night'' (album) *2018: ''Hit on all Sixess'' (album)

as Mark Keds

*2016: "Candle for Nietsche" (EP)

with the Herbaliser

*2018: "Twenty Years to the Day" on ''Bring Out the Sound'' album (featured vocalist)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keds, Mark English male guitarists Singers from London Musicians from London English songwriters 1970 births 2021 deaths 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians British male songwriters