Vernon Kay became visibly emotional on his Radio 2 show as The Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue shared reflections on the death of bandmate Mark Sheehan. Sheehan died in April 2023 at the age of 46 following a brief illness.
O'Donoghue appeared on Kay's program to discuss ten songs significant to his life. During the conversation, he spoke about the poignant nature of singing "If You Could See Me Now," a song that resonates with his personal experience of loss.
"Mark, God rest his soul," O'Donoghue said. "His father passed when he was 13 and he's from a very rough area in Dublin as well. He had a quite a tough upbringing but to see somebody like that in the studio being able to articulate what that meant to him for his father to to leave was insane."
He described the experience as one of the best he's had in the studio, praising Sheehan's lyrical talent. "I was in the band with one of the best lyricists of all time," O'Donoghue stated. "They teach his lyrics in Berkeley but both of us never graduated from school. I've got dyslexia. Do you know what I mean? It's like what's going on? It's like he wrote that about his dad and now I'm singing that about him on stage. It's like there's generations of pain and truth and hurt."
Kay, visibly moved, was seen wiping tears from his eyes, stating, "It’s got me that… Give me a minute."
O'Donoghue continued, finding the subject difficult to discuss but compelled to honor his friend's memory. "But the outpouring of what other people get out it as well means that I I find it I find his talent so unique and so beautiful that how dare I not honour his memory and and like I could retire the song and never sing it again. But how dare I not do that?"
Mark Sheehan and Danny O'Donoghue had been friends since childhood and were members of the band Mytown before forming The Script in Dublin in 2001, alongside Glen Power. The band achieved global success, selling 20 million records worldwide with hits including "The Man Who Can't be Moved," "For The First Time," "We Cry," and "Hall of Fame."
Following Sheehan's death, it was reported he left a fortune of £9.4 million to his family. O'Donoghue also previously shared that he turned to "drinking, smoking... everything" in the aftermath of Sheehan's passing, describing a period of going "off the rails." He eventually decided to stop drinking in January 2024 to confront his grief more directly.
"I went off the rails after Mark passed away like everybody does," O'Donoghue recalled. "I was out drinking, smoking, everything and I went through a mental block. I got back from a big drinking session over Christmas in Ireland and I just said 'Enough is enough.' I want to face the grief stone cold sober because if you don't, you're only kicking it down the street."
He added that abstaining from alcohol, smoking, and caffeine since January has led him to feel "better than ever" and starting to emerge from a difficult period, which has also inspired new music.