Chester Bennington dead – Linkin Park singer ‘found hanged after suicide’ on the birthday of late pal Chris Cornell
CHESTER Bennington, lead singer of rock band Linkin Park, has died aged 41.
The Los Angeles County coroner has confirmed the death of the star - with TMZ reporting he was found dead in a private residence in Palo Verdes Estates, Los Angeles.
His body was discovered this morning just before 9am.
It is believed the singer hanged himself and was found by an employee.
The singer is survived by his wife of twelve years, Talinda Ann Bennington (nee Bentley), and six children - Jamie, 21, Isaiah, 19, Draven, 15, Tyler Lee, 11, and Lily and Lila, 7.
They were not at the house when the incident took place. It's thought that he was alone.
Chester Bennington was previously married to Samantha Marie Olit from 1996 to 2005.
His band Linkin Park produced rock songs including Numb and Breaking the Habit, with the lyrics often focused on personal struggle, depression and addiction.
Mike Shinoda, who also provides vocals for the band, confirmed the news on Twitter and wrote: "Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one."
One of the band's latest singles, Heavy, released four months ago, focused on the topic of depression.
It contained haunting lyrics including: "I don't like my mind right now // Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary // Wish that I could slow things down."
In the chorus, Chester talks about how he is dragging around issues that are bringing him down before chillingly adding: "If I just let go, I'd be set free."
However, Chester’s final messages to fans were an optimistic look into the future.
The dad-of-six re-tweeted an image of himself along with former bandmate Mike Shinoda and rappers Watsky and Chukwudi Hodge in the recording studio.
He also posted a separate tweet saying his new "life's purpose is one of love and understanding" in another he called for an end to hate.
The singer had also previously spoken about a previous battle with drug addiction, alcoholism and depression - admitting in December last year that he was even at one point on crack and crystal meth.
He told Metal Hammer magazine: "I was on 11 hits of acid a day. I dropped so much acid I'm surprised I can still speak! I'd smoke a bunch of crack, do a bit of meth and just sit there and freak out. Then I'd smoke opium to come down.
"I weighed 110 pounds. My mom said I looked like I stepped out of Auschwitz. So I used pot to get off drugs."
He had also previously revealed that he was molested at the age of seven by an unknown adult and said: "If I think back to when I was really young, to when I was being molested, to when all these horrible things were going on around me, I shudder."
However, just days before his death, he was seen in the recording studio with his bandmates and hip hop artist and poet Watsky, suggesting he was currently in the process of collaborating with him.
He was also reported to have made plans for a photoshoot in Hollywood the day he was found - and a bandmate arrived at the scene to collect him shortly after the police arrived.
The singer's death comes on the birthday of his close pal Chris Cornell, the Soundgarden frontman who was found hanged in his hotel room back in May.
At his memorial service Chester paid tribute to his friend by performing a heartbreaking version of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah.
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Linkin Park - which is currently completed by Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Rob Bourdon and Brad Delson - drew a devoted following with their debut album Hybrid Theory in 1999.
Their global success continued with hit album Meteora in 2003.
Throughout their 21-year career they released seven full-length albums and Chester acted as head lyricist for their songs.
The band later earned cross-genre success thanks to 2004 EP entitled Collision Course, a collaborative project with Jay-Z.
The musicians fused their rock and hip-hop styles together to create new versions, the most popular being Numb/Encore.
Their latest album, One More Light, was released earlier this year and they have only just returned from a UK tour which included performances at London's O2 Arena and Brixton Academy.
The UK leg of their tour ended in Birmingham on July 7 and became their last gig as a group.
They were due to start a US tour with pop-punk band Blink 182, who are performing at the O2 tonight, next week.
Just three hours before Chester's death was announced the band released the new music video for their latest offering Talking to Myself.
The now poignant video follows the band while on tour in a split screen montage as they travel the world together.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123 or 020 7734 2800.
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