The music world was rocked (or at least gently swayed) over the weekend with the news of the suicide of Charles Haddon – lead singer of UK synthpop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool.

Apparently he jumped off a 60 foot satellite mast at a Belgian Music Festival after playing his set.

For some reason it feels like suicide and untimely death are disproportionately common occurrences in the music industry. There are arguments suggesting that the amount of suicides within creative communities is a reflection on the link between creativity and mental illness, leading to subsequent drug abuse in an attempt to self-medicate. As horrific as these tragedies can be, these deaths can serve a reluctant creative purpose in that the ensuing publicity can introduce a plethora of people to new styles of music. In the cases of suicide these deaths can also serve as a sombre reminder to the general public of the frequency and severity of mental illness within our society.

So here is a small snapshot of some notable artists whose lives were tragically cut short either accidentally or at their own hand, and whose stars have risen posthumously as a result.

Elliott Smith Memory Lane
Died October 21, 2003 aged 34

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