Mark Sheehan

Mytown and the Universal Deal

The two accounts of Sheehan's first band do not match. The Guardian describes Mytown as a five-member boy band he joined in 1996, with O'Donoghue coming in to replace another singer, signed to Universal, with an album that was never issued in Ireland or Britain. In the 2009 Hot Press interview the band is a duo of Sheehan and O'Donoghue, managed through McGuinness's company, with a debut album on Universal in 2000 and a tour supporting Christina Aguilera. Both agree it ended with nothing to show for it. "What I've learned out of that whole experience was to take nothing for granted and to always keep your business head on," Sheehan told the Guardian.

The pair then went to the United States to write and produce. The Guardian names Pharrell Williams, the Neptunes and Teddy Riley among the people they worked with. Rolling Stone, drawing on its own 2009 profile, lists Rodney Jerkins and Teddy Riley between 1999 and 2003.

The Studio Behind the House

They came home when Sheehan's mother had a stroke. He still had the small studio behind the house he grew up in, and he used it to work on the songs that became The Script's first album. "It was right next to the hospital," he told the Guardian, adding that his mother "taught me not to gauge my success in money."

The Hollywood Reporter, the Independent and the Guardian all date The Script to Dublin in 2001, with Sheehan on guitar, O'Donoghue singing and Glen Power on drums. Rolling Stone gives a different timeline, saying the two met Power in 2005 and began the debut then. The Irish Independent says the trio moved to London to make it.

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

The Script came out in August 2008 and went to No. 1 in Britain and Ireland. Its singles included "We Cry", "Breakeven" and "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", which the Hollywood Reporter says reached No. 1 in five countries. O'Donoghue sang, but Rolling Stone noted that Sheehan's guitar was understated by design, and O'Donoghue called him "the engine of the Script."

The run held for a decade. According to the Guardian, the six studio albums released between 2008 and 2019, plus the 2021 compilation Tales from the Script, sold about 20 million copies together. Every one topped the Irish chart. Only #3 missed No. 1 in Britain, stopping at No. 2. Science and Faith reached No. 3 in the United States in 2010, and "Hall of Fame" was a No. 1 single in both Ireland and Britain in 2012.

The band played Croke Park and filmed the 2011 concert film Homecoming at the Aviva Stadium in front of 55,000 people, the Guardian records. Sheehan credited Irishness for the way they handled it. "The untouchable rock star has gone out of fashion," he said. "Now people want to connect to normal, humble people. And the one thing about being Irish is that it keeps you grounded. You're not allowed to get a big head."

Madnotes Entertainment and the 2018 Tour

The band's money ran through companies, and the accounts give a partial view of it. The Irish Times reported that Madnotes Entertainment Ltd, the band's British company, saw pre-tax profit rise by 772,651 pounds in the year to March 2019, on the back of 2018 touring that Pollstar put at 20 million dollars in box office across 49 dates. The year before, the company had paid a 408,000 pound dividend. Sheehan and O'Donoghue signed the accounts. The filings do not say how ownership is split, and no credible outlet has published an estimate of Sheehan's personal net worth, so this article gives no figure.

Rina, Three Children and the American Dates

Sheehan married Rina, a Texas-born former backing singer for Britney Spears, the Guardian reports. Rolling Stone says he married at 25. They had three children.

He stayed off The Script's American tour dates in 2021 and 2022 to be with his family; the Guardian dates his absence to the U.S. leg of the 2022 world tour. "It's his story to tell," O'Donoghue told Rolling Stone, "but yeah, I guess if I could paraphrase, his children needed a father and his wife needed a husband." He came back for shows in Ireland.

April 14, 2023

Sheehan died in hospital on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 46. The band's statement read: "Much loved husband, father, brother, band mate and friend Mark Sheehan passed away today in hospital after a brief illness. The family and group ask fans to respect their privacy at this tragic time." Rolling Stone, the Hollywood Reporter and the Independent all reported that no cause was given.

Irish President Michael D. Higgins praised the "originality and excellence" of his work, and Take That and will.i.am sent tributes, according to the Hollywood Reporter and the Independent. The singer Imelda May, who grew up in the same district, told the Guardian they often bonded "over stories about times in the Liberties."

Sources

• Mark Sheehan obituary | Music | The Guardian
• The Script Guitarist Mark Sheehan Dead at 46
• Mark Sheehan Dead: Guitarist for Irish Band The Script Was 46
• Mark Sheehan death latest: The Script lead tributes to guitarist who died as cause of death remains unknown | The Independent
• The Script guitarist Mark Sheehan has died in hospital - Independent.ie
• Mark Sheehan: Revisiting a Powerful 2009 Interview With The Script's Lead Guitarist | Hotpress
• The Script sees profits soar by €910,220 last year - The Irish Times