There are many factors to consider that lead musicians to take their own lives and this article is not intended to offend or give you all the answers as to why. The intention of this article is to raise awareness and to inspire people to look out for each other more.
In the wake of Prodigy star Keith Flint’s suicide, it has been on my mind to write about the issue of suicide as it is becoming more common among musicians and there are complex issues for every individual.
In Keith’s case, it may have been caused due to putting his beloved home on the market and following a devastating split from wife, Mayumi Kai. There are many other musicians that have tragically died from suicide such as Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Avicii, and Joy Division’s Ian Curtis (just to name a few). These artists appeared to have the lifestyle that many musicians would envy: they were successful in their career and adored by many.
One of my first big arena concerts was seeing Feeder back in 2001. Feeder had just released their hugely successful album, ‘Echo Park’, but in 2002 tragically their drummer John Lee committed suicide. He called frontman Grant Nicholas 20 minutes before hanging himself. Grant was at a restaurant with friends and John called with a withheld number, so Grant didn’t answer the call. Grant has lived with this question haunting him: ‘What if I answered the call?’ This is an unfortunate event and I do not believe that in any way he can be held responsible for preventing his drummer from committing suicide, but this story shows that we need to be ready to answer that call.
Research has shown that in the UK artists are at a higher risk of suicide than that of the general public, especially among males aged 45-49. Although there has been a decline in suicide rates over the past few years, it still remains an issue that is affecting individuals, their families and friends. Research paper ‘Suicide Among Artists’ shows that these risks are for all artists, not just the successful ones, so as a music community I believe it is something that we can do to help others.
Studies by Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) show that on average 16 people per day commit suicide and there needs to be changes to the way we think about the people who are at risk. They may look happy on the outside, but in the case with Chester Bennington, for example, a few days before his death he looked happy too as he spent time with his family by a sunlit beach.
There is no such thing as ‘the suicidal type’ as often it is the people we may not expect. We all have trials and difficulties in our lives, yet depending on how we think it may not be one big thing that pushes a person over, it can be lots of smaller things because everyone deals with things differently. Sometimes there are no warning signs because the person wants to keep their personal crisis private so they will work hard at hiding their thoughts and feelings.
We need to not be afraid of using the ‘S’ word as by speaking about these issues we can help others to feel wanted and not alone.
If you are worried about someone, the most important thing you can do is listen to them. Don’t try to solve their problems instantly: if someone is feeling suicidal, they need reassurance, to feel valued and know that help is available.
If you’re feeling low, or in need of help, there are a number of people out there willing to listen to you. Head to thecalmzone.net, call The Samaritans on 116 123, or head to mind.org.uk.
