Musician Mark Stewart, best known as a founding member and frontman of the post-punk band The Pop Group, has died at the age of 62.
On Friday, Mute Records released a statement confirming that Mark had died earlier that morning.
In their statement, the label hailed Mark as a “dear friend, fellow agitator and creative force of nature”.
“Knowing Mark, working with him, laughing with him and thinking with him was like nothing else,” Mute’s statement read.
“His hugely confident and dominating presence was coupled with a sensitive, warm, creative, curious, intelligent and hilarious nature – traits that were often hidden upon first meeting this towering tour de force.
“He was always, vocally, on the side of the oppressed, and did all he could to ensure people were treated correctly.
“He questioned every single thing that was said and, in his political beliefs and in support of others, Mark was not just looking out for the underdog, he was intent that everyone got a voice, everyone got a chance. Oppression is the enemy.”
Mark co-founded The Pop Group in the late 1970s as a teenager in Bristol, alongside John Waddington, Simon Underwood, Gareth Sager and Bruce Smith.
The group released two albums in 1979 and 1980, before disbanding after a performance at a rally for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
After the group went their separate ways, Mark worked closely with CND, as well as launching his own solo career, releasing eight studio albums between 1983 and 2012.
He also reunited with his The Pop Group bandmates in 2010, going on to release an additional two albums with the post-punk group and performing together as recently as 2021.