The father of Swedish DJ Avicii, found dead in 2018 at the age of 28, has spoken openly about his son’s suicide and accused him of a “dangerous combination” between “fame and fortune.”
Avicii, stage name for Tim Bergling, committed suicide in April 2018 while on vacation with friends in Oman. At the time of his death, he had been absent from the big stage for two years, deciding to fight his drug and alcohol addiction.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Claes Bergling revealed that his son has always been a “serious child” who has suffered several panic attacks, especially as a teenager.
“He was a shy person. It was not like walking into a room and starting to speak or make speeches, “said her father, adding that Avicii’s quick promotion” has become a problem. “
Avici’s alcoholism – which he himself admitted in an interview with the “only way” to “let go” – developed so suddenly that he even had to be hospitalized with episodes of pancreatitis. The addiction came later when he began to take opioids to cope with the pain.
“At that moment I started to worry,” said Claes Bergling. “He’s easy to upset, easy to annoy. It was difficult to talk to him. “
In 2015, the artist’s friends and family joined the intervention to force him to rehab.
“I saw in his eyes that he knew something was wrong. It was one of the worst moments in my life because you feel like you betrayed your son. But it had to be done. It was naive. I have heard thousands of times that a fight starts when you are sober, ”he recalled.
After being hospitalized, alcohol and drug problems were resolved, but mental health problems came to the fore again. In 2016, the young man announced that he would retire and leave the stage to recover.
Almost four years after Avici’s suicide, the father admits that he still does not fully know the reasons that led to this decision of his son. “This is how we are as people. We want an explanation, ”he thought, stressing that“ fame and fortune ”is a“ dangerous combination ”.
“Tim was very proud of the name Avicii, but he didn’t want to be Avicii. He wanted to be Tim, ”he concluded.
Claes Bergling and his wife, Anki Lyden, launched the Tim Bergling Foundation in 2019 to recognize suicide as a global health emergency.
