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Artist News
The Pop Group’s Mark Stewart dies
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 24 April 2023
Mark Stewart, frontman of post-punk band The Pop Group, has died, aged 62. The news was shared by his record label Mute on Friday.
In a statement, Mute boss Daniel Miller said: “I’ve known Mark as a friend and a fellow traveller for over 40 years, since he was the lead singer of The Pop Group. I have so many wonderful memories of him – some bizarre, some outrageous, but always inspiring and somehow for a reason”.
“His musical influence has been much greater than is often acknowledged”, he continued. “He was always encouraging young artists, especially those local to him in Bristol – many have gone on to become global stars”.
“His warmth and kindness as a friend has always been something very important to me. We had so many laughs together, and he had so much creative energy”.
“The last time I saw Mark was a few months ago in Bristol, performing an improvised set with Lee Ranaldo. He was nothing but hilarious, his piece was basically a stand-up routine, and after the show we spent many hours putting the world to rights, it’s a wonderful memory, I will miss him greatly”.
He concluded: “Mark, I can’t imagine you being anything other than restless but I hope you find your very special peace”.
Born in 1960, Stewart founded The Pop Group in 1977 with guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager and drummer Bruce Smith.
They released their debut album ‘Y’ two years later, and the follow-up ‘For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?’ in 1980 before disbanding in 1981.
The band’s final performance was at a rally for the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament in 1980, and Stewart continued to work with the campaign after the band’s split. He then collaborated with dub producer Adrian Sherwood on his debut solo album ‘Learning To Cope With Cowardice’ in 1983.
Stewart went on to release numerous solo projects and work with other artists including Trent Reznor, Massive Attack, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tricky and Primal Scream. He also reformed The Pop Group with Sager and Smith in 2010, releasing two new albums ‘Citizen Zombie’ and ‘Honeymoon On Mars’ in 2015 and 2016.
Commenting on Stewart’s death, Gareth Sager said: “Mark was the most amazing mind of my generation, RIP”.
Adrian Sherwood added: “Thank you my brother. You were the biggest musical influence in my life and our extended family will miss you so so much. Love forever”.
