Posted on 03/16/2007 12:24:19 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Boston lead singer Brad Delp was driven to despair after his longtime friend Fran Cosmo was dropped from a summer tour, the last straw in a dysfunctional professional life that ultimately led to the sensitive frontman’s suicide, Delp’s ex-wife said.
“No one can possibly understand the pressures he was under,” said Micki Delp, the mother of Delp’s two kids, in an exclusive interview with the Track.
“Brad lived his life to please everyone else. He would go out of his way and hurt himself before he would hurt somebody else, and he was in such a predicament professionally that no matter what he did, a friend of his would be hurt. Rather than hurt anyone else, he would hurt himself. That’s just the kind of guy he was.”
Cosmo, who had been with Boston since the early ’90s, had been “disinvited” from the planned summer tour, Micki Delp said, “which upset Brad.”
But according to Tom Scholz, the MIT-educated engineer who founded the band back in 1976, the decision to drop Cosmo was not final and Delp was not upset about the matter. (Cosmo’s son Anthony, however, was scratched from the tour.)
“The decision to rehearse without the Cosmos was a group decision,” Scholz said in a statement through his publicist. “Brad never expressed unhappiness with that decision . . . and took an active part in arranging the vocals for five people, not seven.”
Nonetheless, according to the singer’s suicide notes released yesterday, Delp said he had “lost my desire to live.”
Police say Delp sealed himself inside his bathroom last Friday, lit two charcoal grills and committed suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Mr. Brad Delp. J’ai une ame solitaire. I am a lonely soul,” said one of the notes. “I take complete and sole responsibility for my present situation.” The note also included instructions on how to contact his fiancee, Pamela Sullivan, who found Delp’s body.
“Unfortunately she is totally unaware of what I have done,” the note said.
Yesterday Sullivan, who was planning to marry Delp this summer, said the situation was “extremely painful” for her, Delp’s children and his family.
“To the rest of the world, this is a big story,” she said. “But to Brad and Micki’s children and me, it’s very different.”
According to police reports released yesterday, Delp was found on the floor of his bathroom Friday, his head on a pillow and a note paper-clipped to the neck of his shirt. He died sometime between 11:30 p.m. March 8 and the next afternoon.
Sullivan told police that Delp “had been depressed for some time, feeling emotional (and) bad about himself,” according to the reports.
According to Micki Delp, Brad was upset over the lingering bad feelings from the ugly breakup of the band Boston over 20 years ago. Delp continued to work with Scholz and Boston but also gigged with Barry Goudreau, Fran Sheehan and Sib Hashian, former members of the band who had a fierce falling out with Scholz in the early ’80s.
As a result, he was constantly caught in the middle of the warring factions. The situation was complicated by the fact that Delp’s ex-wife, Micki, is the sister of Goudreau’s wife, Connie.
“Barry and Sib are family and the things that were said against them hurt,” Micki said. “Boston to Brad was a job, and he did what he was told to do. But it got to the point where he just couldn’t do it anymore.”
Considerate to the end, Delp left a note on the top of the stairs at his home warning rescuers that there was carbon monoxide in the house. Another note said the couple’s cat, Floppy, should be in a room that was safe from the deadly gas and asked that someone find her and make sure she was all right.
Police said Delp was so intent on ending it all that he had a backup plan if the charcoal fumes didn’t kill him. A dryer vent tube was connected to the exhaust pipe of Delp’s car. In the garage, police found a note taped to the door leading into the house.
“To whoever finds this I have hopefully committed suicide. Plan B was to asphyxiate myself in my car.”
Outside the bathroom, police found a carbon monoxide detector with the battery removed.
Delp joined Boston in the mid-1970s and sang two of its biggest hits, “More than a Feeling” and “Long Time.” A lifelong Beatles fan, Delp also played with the tribute band Beatlejuice.
Delp was cremated Wednesday, police said. A private funeral was held earlier this week.
Man. I cannot imagine being at that point where checking out is the only option.
Perhaps telling Tom Scholz where to cram his summer tour would have been more cathartic.
Brad Delp singing in his Beatles tribute band, BeatleJuice:
Penny Lane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMKspv27CR8
Rock 'n' Roll Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cYrOjR1Jsc
Doesn't sound a bit like on his early Boston work. But sounds like a ringer for McCartney at times. A great talent that couldn't handle life.
He sure wasn't worried about hurting his kids.
This is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo painful to read. I am a huge Boston fan and each story that comes out about this hurts to read even more. I am listening to the song " I Had A Good Time ", it is from their last disc Corporate America and it is almost like a really chilling good bye in his own way.
With each story that comes out about this tragedy...it hurts a little bit more. I can't believe the pain this man put himself through and yet is seen just days before his death on YouTube playing music with Beatle Juice and laughing and singing like life was great for him.
I can't help but think now that some of this lies at the feet of Tom Scholz. It sounds as if Brad was a battered friend and partner who took it for the sake of the music and for the fans. Tom now comes across as someone who is exactly as everyone in the music industry has said he is.
An eclectic left wing whack job neurotic paranoid controling abusive power hungry genius bastard.
My heart goes out to Brad's family and to Brad's soul...it is terrible for any person to feel the need to leave Earth on their own terms and leave behind so much sadness. If he only knew how much good he brought to the world.
R.I.P. Brad
I never even heard about "Corporate America."
How's the album?
Underrated...signature Boston sound...some of the lyrics are too lefty for this forum's taste...but it's rock and roll.
"I can't help but think now that some of this lies at the feet of Tom Scholz..."
I would suggest before you post something like that, you should know a few facts:
Scholz has taken alot of unfair shots over the years for protecting the company called "Boston" and its brand name to ensure royalties get paid so he can cut checks to present & former bandmates.
Even Brad himself was protective of the brand name of "Boston"...even fact, Beatle Juice bandmate David Stefenelli commented on gonnahitcharide.com the other day that when Brad was forming Beatle Juice, he requested his new band mates to not use his Boston roots for any promos.
Barry Goudreau (owning a recording studio and produces records) also understands what Tom had been trying to do as well. On his webpage, Barry writes: "...In recent months Tom Scholz and I have been in touch again after more than 20 years. I think the most difficult part for me has been realizing that if I had taken the time to cool off and gotten back in touch, things might have turned out differently...Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I probably would have handled things differently..."
Brad Delp was his own man and flipped in and out of Boston on his own volition. He and Tom were close friends and Tom certainly never pressure Brad into doing anything. Brad did his side projects with Sammy Hagar, RTZ, Beatle Juice and many humanitarian functions without any interference from Tom Scholz.
The only two people Tom really had a bone to pick was with Sib Hashian and Fran Sheehan - who during the 7 year lawsuit, testified for Epic and tried to wrestle the Boston corporation away from Tom & Brad (who were the two and only members originally signed by Epic on the record contract).
Tom was the manager, song writer, engineer, producer and brains of the corporation but Brad was the singer and soul of it.
Brad was a grown man with low self esteem and at an emotional low point, took himself out. This had nothing to do with Boston, Tom Scholz, or any of his band mates. This had to do with Brad Delp, the "lonely soul".
"Corporate America" has way too much information on it. The 1st cut is a true Boston song and it's vintage Brad Delp brilliantly arranging his vocals for both singing and as an additional instrument. The rest of the songs (if viewed as individual singles), are really, really good but they don't fit the Boston format. They really belong on a separate Dahme or Cosmo album. Even the techno hit Corporate America (which I think kicks major ass) should probably go on a Tom Scholz solo album as it too, doesn't fit the Boston format.
What was the project Brad Delp did with Sammy Hagar?
I figured you found this thread through google considering you just signed up. Nice defense for Tom...but of course there are sides to all stories. I am not saying I don't believe yours...I believe there is much much more to the story that will wind up in a movie or Behind The Music one day.
Sammy Hagar is well known in the music industry, especially for his part in the group Van Halen. A lot of Boston fans don't know this, but Boston's guitarist Gary Pihl was Sammy's guitar player before Hagar joined Van Halen (and before Gary joined Boston).
Not only was a future Boston member involved with Hagar, but Sammy toured with Boston for two years (1977-1979) and he opened for many of their shows.
Gary was involved with most of Sammy's solo work between 1977 to 1985. He first appeared on Sammy's 1977 release Musical Chairs. This is also the same album that Sammy's cover of Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay, with backing vocals by Brad Delp, Barry Goudreau and Sib Hashian (credited as Bos-Tones). Although Gary did not perform on this track.
It's interesting to note that Gary is also did some keyboard playing for Sammy (as well as guitar) on some of the solo albums (like Standing Hampton and Three Lock Box).
The last Sammy Hagar album Gary was on was the 1984 release VOA.
I remember Gary from the Standing Hampton and VOA days.
I didn't know he joined Boston.
I thought Sammy and Delp had collaborated on a Delp album or something, from what you had written before.
I remember Gary from the Standing Hampton and VOA days.
I didn't know he joined Boston.
I thought Sammy and Delp had collaborated on a Delp album or something, from what you had written before.
Funny thing you seem to ignore in your post, is that Brad, Barry, Sib and Fran have Remained very good friends since the original band dissolved. They were together at Brad’s funeral. Apparently, Brad understood what the other bandmembers felt, and as Micki said, it tore him apart.
Barry’s comment about handling things differently does not mean he would have given in to Tom’s controlling ways...don’t confuse the issue. As you can see, this last recent collaboration with Tom, Barry (and Brad)is over. As Barry put it “old demons resurfaced”.
The emotional and professional career of Brad was laid to the wayside by all the litigations and problems Tom has with people...have you forgotten the lawsuit he also filed against the Cosmo’s? What other successful band do you know of that takes 6, 7 years between albums while the rest of the band can’t represent themselves as bandmembers from Boston? Or cannot use their instruments in photo ops
because they used that certain ‘guitar’in the band Boston.
Please, do your research, listen to people who were living it at the time (Micki, Sib, Fran, Barry) among others.
This is why Brad did not want any mention of Boston with promos for Beatlejuice. He did not want a problem with Tom.
Low self esteem was not Brad’s problem.... Instead of trying to make someone else happy, he should have made himself happy first. His incomparable voice and his career would never have suffered then. And that, my friend, has everything to do with Tom Scholz.
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