Elton John mourns deaths of Bennington, Cornell

Singer Elton John has expressed his emotions on the loss of musicians Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, saying they were "two lovely guys".

He says it was awful to see "someone to be so depressed that they commit suicide, especially when they have families".

The Linkin Park star Bennington hanged himself this month on the birthday of star Chris Cornell, who committed suicide two months earlier. Bennington was godfather to Cornell's son.

In his Beats 1 Radio show, John, whose bass player Bob Birch also committed suicide in 2012, said they were "incredibly talented, nice men", reports mirror.co.uk.

"To their families and their children, my love. Remember music is a joyous thing and these guys left us a whole legacy of music to enjoy. They have just gone too soon," he added.

John said: "It has been a sad few weeks. We lost Chris and then we lost Chester. I met them both briefly and they were two lovely guys. You know artists are prone to being a little destructive, whether you are an actor or singer or visual artist."

The star explained: "Sometimes, as Jim Carrey said when Philip Seymour Hoffman committed suicide, 'the noise just gets too much'. It is so awful for someone to be so depressed that they commit suicide, especially when they have families. I just wanted to pay tribute to them...

"Just remember them fondly and the music they left. It is totally different music to the one I create but still wonderful music that has entertained millions, including me."

--IANS

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