To his fans he was Avicii — the
superclub-filling megastar DJ.
To his parents he was shy Tim.
In 2018 he took his own life.
His father tells Emily Dixon
about the jet-set career that
overwhelmed his son
ushuaia
A
n Avicii concert was a
spectacle. In August 2016
a pulsing crowd at the Ibiza
superclub Ushuaïa chanted
the DJ’s name, erupting in
delight with every beat
drop. Roaring jets of flame
illuminated the stage, while
flares snaked through the sky overhead.
At the centre of it all stood Avicii, the stage name
of a young Swedish electronic dance music (EDM)
DJ and producer named Tim Bergling. One hand
on the decks, the other raised above his head, he
mouthed the lyrics as he played, seeming every bit as
euphoric as the thousands of fans gazing up at him.
But the show was a farewell: five months earlier he’d
announced his decision to stop playing live, depleted
by a gruelling touring schedule that left him little
time for a life off stage. He didn’t rule out a comeback
— “One part of me can never say never,” he wrote on
his website — but Avicii never performed live again.
Two years later, on April 20, 2018, he took his own
life while on holiday in Oman, at the age of just 28.
The outpouring of grief and love from the music
world was immediate. Chic’s Nile Rodgers, with
whom Bergling collaborated on numerous tracks,
was in tears at the news, tweeting “Dear Tim, your
family have my most heartfelt condolences. You
were my little bro. Love always.” Madonna, sharing
a picture of herself behind the decks with Tim,
tweeted “So Sad ... So Tragic. Good Bye Dear Sweet
Tim. Gone too Soon”.
There was a collective feeling of shock. Wasn’t he
doing better now he’d stopped touring? Hadn’t he
promised new music was on the way? His father,
Klas, still has the same questions when I speak to him
today. He had always worried about Tim, who became
reliant on alcohol during his years on the road and
later struggled with an opioid addiction. He’d long
feared he could lose his son to an overdose. ButIn his superstar DJ guise, Avicii,
Tim Bergling plays at the outdoor
Ibiza club Ushuaïa in 2014The Sunday Times Magazine • 33