Planes Mistaken for Stars singer Gared O’Donnell dies aged 44

Gared O’Donnell, the singer for post-hardcore band Planes Mistaken For Stars, has died aged 44 after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.

Posting on Instagram, the band revealed that O’Donnell died yesterday (November 24), surrounded by friends and family.

“It is impossible to express the depth of sorrow in which we must announce that Gared O’Donnell, our brother, our leader, our captain, who has done more to cultivate love and light in this world than any of us can understand, has moved on from his physical form here with us and crossed the rainbow bridge into the eternal ether,” they wrote.

“In his final days/hours, he was surrounded by the love of his family, his friends, his bandmates, and many others from afar.”

O’Donnell announced his cancer diagnosis in August of last year, with a GoFundMe campaign launched to help with his treatment.

The band’s statement added that they hoped to release new music O’Donnell was working on in secret in the last year of his life.

They said: “Gared spent the last year of his life doing exactly what he loved, writing and recording music. We are currently working hard to bring these multiple final projects to completion.

“It is heartbreaking to do this without him, but we know that he would want for us to complete what we had started together. We will do our absolute best to honour his legacy and spread word of the legend that he embodied.”

Since the news of O’Donnell’s death was shared, tributes have been pouring in on social media.

Planes Mistaken For Stars formed in Illinois in 1997, releasing debut album ‘Fuck With Fire’ in 2001.

The band went on hiatus between 2006-2010, before O’Donnell made his final album with the band, ‘Prey’, in 2016.

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