Klas Bergling, father of Tim Bergling a.k.a. Avicii decided he wasn’t going to sit quietly in the light of the loss of his son to suicide on April 20th,2018.
While his struggles with the pressures laid on him by the industry were apparent since 2016, his suicide still took the entire industry by shock, including those who were closest to him.
His father described his death as a traffic accident saying, “Our theory is not that he planned this suicide — more that it was like a traffic accident. Many things happened and came into the same station, so to say, and brought him out of his control.”
If there is anything the father of the legendary DJ has learned, it is that there is a need to address Mental Health issues and suicide prevention measures with more of a vengeance. In an interview with CNN two days ago, he urged policymakers to address mental health problems earlier in a person’s life, before it becomes too late.
He urged politicians in Sweden and across the world to tackle mental health issues early in life saying, “School should be the best place for the children, so let’s make it the best place for the children. The problem is what are they doing in society to handle problems like this? The most important thing (is) trying to catch the problem earlier. It’s really a political question that has to be solved, not talked about for 10 more years.”
Speaking about his close relationship with his son and how he turned to him in his trying times he said his son had shown no warning signs of planning his suicide and was in fact in a happy state of mind, though they often had deep conversations addressing his issues.
“When he was in a bad situation he always used to call me. We talked a lot (about) his thoughts about life, his thoughts about meditation, love … we had long talks, often one hour or so, over the ocean.”
Avicii’s parents and collaborators took the call to finish and release his posthumous album – Tim, which he has nearly wrapped up at the time of his death. His parents also set up the Tim Bergling Foundation in his memory that focuses on mental illness and suicide prevention. All the net proceeds from all album sales go to the foundation. His father also spoke up and discussed the ethics and philosophy of the newly created Tim Bergling Foundation during the International Music Summit in Ibiza earlier this year. (Link – https://themusicessentials.com/news/aviciis-father-klas-bergling-bravely-outlines-reasons-that-led-to-his-sons-suicide/ )
While it’s been over a year since his passing, Avicii will live on in our hearts and ears forever with his music.
To get help, call the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Header image courtesy: CNN
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