R.I.P. Mark Sheehan, lead guitarist from The Script

Mark Sheehan has died. A former member of short-lived boyband group Mytown, Sheehan is best known for his work as a founding member of, and lead guitarist for, Irish pop-rock band The Script. A long-time songwriter and producer—whose collaborators included the likes of Boyz II Men and Britney Spears—Sheehan had his fullest success with The Script, ultimately releasing six albums with the group. Per The Independent, Sheehan died this week after a brief illness. He was 46.

Originally a dancer, Sheehan was teaching hip-hop dancing when he was recruited into Mytown in the late ’90s. The group had a brief rush of success, launching a single album (Mytown) to modest but promising chart performance. But infighting at Universal Records apparently scuttled future plans for a U.S. push, and so Sheehan and childhood friend Danny O’Donoghue—who’d joined the group late—set out on their own, embarking on shared careers as songwriters and producers. A few years later, they brought that experience (and the talents of drummer Glen Power) to bear on their own efforts, launching The Script in 2001.

The band saw early success in the U.K. and the group’s native Ireland, with their debut album, 2008's The Script, reaching the top of the local charts, propelled by singles like “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.” With O’Donoghue on vocals, and Sheehan on guitar, the band’s musical origins were in clear evidence from the start, blending the heavy pop production values of their boyband era with more modern rock arrangements and heavier lyrical subject matter. The combination would propel the band through the next 20 years of musical life, eventually leading to five more albums, and a greatest hits compilation released in 2021. (Including “Hall Of Fame” off of 2012's #3, the biggest single in the band’s career.)

Sheehan is survived by his wife, Reena, and their three children. His death was announced earlier today by The Script’s official social media accounts.