Mark Linkous

Mark Linkous was a come and go sort of a man whose talent, a rich and potent force, too often was hidden from view. He didn’t trail the pop world seeking for fame but blazed the heavens as a random, passing star of his own making. He liked to walk his own path. It was one that led him to achieve some spectacular results. If the phrase underground still held weight then that is where Mark existed.
Mark had been making music for some time when I first heard him. The album that got my attention was 1995’s Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. It was an album credited to Sparklehorse but even if a band played it the only constant musician in the band was Linkous – it was effectively a solo release. It contained music that was driven, sonic and melodic with some interesting lyrics. It was a perfect antidote to both grunge and Brit Pop.

Sparklehorse was not Mark’s first musical outing that honor belongs to eighties band Dancing Hoods, a four piece that produced two albums neither of which sold well. The band broke up in 1988.

Frederick Mark Linkous[5] was born on September 9, 1962 in Arlington, Virginia. He came from a mining community. His father was a miner therefore he was expected to follow the same path. He chose music as a way to avoid going down the pit. After graduating in the early 80’s he moved to New York where he met the other three members of Dancing Hoods: Bob Bortnick on vocals and guitar, Don Short on drums, and Eric Williams on bass. Their lack of success did not deter him. It was after the bands demise that Linkous moved back to Virginia. It was then that Sparklehorse began to make music.

In 1996 whilst on tour supporting Radiohead Mark overdosed on valium, anti-depressants and a cocktail of other drugs. He collapsed back on his legs where he remained unconscious for fourteen hours. When he came to he was unable to feel his legs and was taken to St.Mary’s Hospital, London where emergency surgery was performed. He spent six months recovering in a wheel chair and although he regained the ability to walk his legs never fully recovered their strength.

Sparklehorse’s output was fractured. The four albums produced covered an eleven year period. Their quality though was never in dispute, they were all top notch even if some listeners found the sound at times somber. There was a melancholic feel to a lot of what was produced but also a delicate, fragile beauty. I found then and still do a haunted humanity buried in the both lyrics and tunes; a frightened boy looking out on a world of delight spoilt by others; car tyres left on the side of a road surrounded by a forest; a dead elk left on the freeway having been hit by a truck; a single tree outside a tenement block. He saw these things then sang what he saw. Mark Linkous was remarkable.

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