Pete Tong on Avicii: "No one prepared him for this life. No one warned him. There wasn’t a manual."

BBC Radio 1 presenter Pete Tong took to the stage to open the annual 11th IMS to explain his grief towards losing fellow DJ Avicii, but to also focus on the importance on mental health.

Tim Bergling, aka Avicii, died suddenly in Oman at just 28 years of age. The emotional speech from the Radio 1 presenter revealed the fast paced world Avicii plunged into.

“Tim (Berling) @Avicii had no training, there was no introduction, he had never even had a proper job” Pete Tong (BBC Radio 1, Broadcaster, UK) #IMSIbiza @petetong pic.twitter.com/zh7GQsmP9z

— Int'l Music Summit (@IMSibiza) May 23, 2018

"After a couple of years the anxiety builds as the schedule and demands get more and more intense. The entourage grows and there are now vast numbers of people and companies relying on your business. The bar is constantly being raised. You now rely on the alcohol, the drugs and the pills, just to get you through each day. You're tired, constantly tired and sick but you can’t stop.
It’s particularly daunting to watch - just how many times - he asked those around him - if he could stop and cancel shows. Most of the time he was told he couldn’t as there was too much at stake."

The emotional speech went on to praise the direction and talent Avicii had.

"Tim’s story is unique - it's the perfect storm - in the sense that few will ever be that young and that talented, making the right music, at precisely the time when a world wide musical movement is about to explode, coinciding with - precisely the time - when social media was changing all the metrics on communication and having direct access to your fans."

"10 years ago when we started IMS all the talk was about how electronic dance music was going to break in America and conquer the world. To a large extent that all happened and is still happening… but people were not supposed to die chasing the dream"

IMS Ibiza 2018 opened with an emotional speech by IMS, Co-founder Pete Tong on the tragic passing of @Avicii and the issues on how the industry can better deal with the stresses and strains of life in the music business. #IMSIbiza @petetong pic.twitter.com/bVeJ3Dj4ou

— Int'l Music Summit (@IMSibiza) May 23, 2018

He also raised the bigger picture, honing in on the issue of mental health, sacrifices, and the cycle of making a living.

"In my 40 years of being around this world I can’t think of a single person who’s achieved success who hasn’t paid a personal price via health, relationships, divorce, broken homes, addiction, depression and anxiety. The statistics don’t lie this is a tough business."

"The more we can share our experiences and educate the more we can help those suffering in silence."