RIP Mark Linkous

Leslie Cheung about 15 years ago

According to a report from the Rolling Stone, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous has committed suicide. The Sparklehorse frontman's family has issued a statement,

"It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There's a heaven and there’s a star for you."

Virginia-born singer-songwriter Mark Linkous is thought to be in his 40s. He formed Sparlehorse and released the debut album Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot in 1995. While supporting Radiohead on tour in the UK the next year, he "died" for two minutes after ingesting a dangerous mix of Valium and antidepressants. After recovery and surgeries to save his legs, he went on to record 1999's Good Morning Spider, 2001's It's A Wonderful Life and 2006's Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain. He was working on a new album which was due to be released via Anti-.

Last year, he worked with producer Danger Mouse and director David Lynch on the multimedia project entitled Dark Night Of The Soul.