'Sometimes it feels like life is testing you' - Linkin Park's Chester Bennington in last interview with Newsbeat

Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington spoke about suicide in an interview with Radio 1 Newsbeat just a few months ago.

He referred to a friend who had apparently tried to take his own life.

"It was really hard and really confusing and really sad," the 41-year-old revealed to music reporter Steve Holden.

"Sometimes it just feels like life is testing you."

There have been tributes from fans and stars, including Rihanna, Katy Perry and Stormzy, since his death was confirmed on Thursday.

The band tweeted this photo of Chester surrounded by fans following his death.

He and band co-founder Mike Shinoda visited Radio 1 in late March to promote the group's latest album, One More Light.

Shinoda explained how collaborating songwriters Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter drew inspiration from the band's own experiences.

"Some of the songs came from a place of 'oh you know, this thing's happening with my friend, or this thing is happening with my kids.

"We walked in to the studio and [Justin's] like 'how are you doing?

Julia Michaels posted this tribute to Chester Bennington, describing a man who was "always smiling".

"And Chester's like 'oh I'm fine', and just changed the subject.

"Then, like 30 minutes later he's like 'you know what? I'm not fine. I'm totally not fine, and let me tell you why'.

"I was like 'Someone really close to me just tried to commit suicide and survived. Their life's ****** up and I'm trying to deal with that," said Chester.

Linkin Park wrote the album's lead single, Heavy, with Julia and Justin.

The music video features singer Kiiara.

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"It was like 'this is what's going on, and I'm afraid. I don't know what to do'.

"Do I go out there or not? I've got my own **** I'm working on. Is this feeling I'm having part of my own ****?"

"It was really hard and really confusing and really sad. Sometimes it just feels like life is testing you."

Chester was close friends with Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, who took his own life in May.

"All that stuff can inspire a song," Bennington told Newsbeat.

"All the songs we write come from a personal place, but more like from a retrospective place [...] this time it's like 'I'm having this feeling right now.'"

You can find support and advice on issues around suicide on these BBC Advice pages.

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