At the moment when Chester decided to take his own life, he was at home alone. The soloist has just returned from vacation, which he spent with his wife Talinda ( former model Playboy).

On this day, he had a photo shoot scheduled, and the plans were scheduled for a week in advance. Every day a concert. After all, the Linkin Park tour with the latest album “One More Light” was in full swing ... Benington's vacation fell on a short break between the European and American parts of the tour.

And although there has not yet been an official statement from the group, the fans have no doubt: without Chester, the guys will not go anywhere.

Didn't get a high school diploma

Chester is the only member of the group who did not have a diploma in higher education. At the university with a guy from poor family there was no money, no time. Chester married for the first time at age 20. The guy was still working at Burger King at the time. His salary was so small that instead of wedding rings, the young had to get tattoos on their fingers. At some point, Chester and his wife Samantha went into real estate. And the guy, in order to get at least some knowledge, went to special courses at the University of Arizona. However, he never finished his degree. Later in an interview, Chester will say that "I would not mind getting an education, but there is no time for that."

Did not become a friend to the eldest son

Chester has six children. With his first wife, Samantha, Bennington broke up after eight years of marriage. The couple's son Draven Sebastian stayed with his mother. Nevertheless, Samantha was not opposed to father-son meetings. But the busy tour schedule, Chester's new marriage made their own adjustments. As a result, the artist rarely saw his son from his first marriage.

Now the guy is 15 years old. By the way, it was Bennington who came up with the name Draven, naming his son after the character in the movie The Raven.

Didn't finish the tattoo

The artist had more than 14 tattoos, but Chester believed that this was not enough. And, being the owner of a network of tattoo parlors, he constantly showed the masters the drawings that he would like to see on his body. And he laughed that he would not calm down until he painted the whole body entirely.

It is curious that the name of the Linkin Park group is embossed on the lower back of the artist. And the artist got this tattoo for free. He once argued with his friend that if the album "Hybrid Theor" goes platinum, then there will quickly be those who want to get a tattoo without taking a penny for work. And so it happened.

Brief history and description:

The University of Chester is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1839 as the country's first teacher training college by a small group of prominent citizens, among whom was the most famous British Prime Minister of the 19th century, William Gladstone. Thus, the university draws on a longer academic tradition than most other universities in the country. At the same time, the University of Chester is a modern, innovative educational institution that rightfully enjoys an excellent reputation for excellent quality education and a high level of student support. Currently, the number of undergraduate and graduate students is about 11 thousand people. The university has two main campuses - in Chester and Warrington.

The university is located in the north-west of England, not far from major cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. Education for undergraduate and graduate programs is conducted at both sites of the university - both in Chester and in Warrington.

Chester is a small, surprisingly beautiful and very calm city, whose history goes back to the time of Roman rule. It has everything you need for study, recreation, communication, cultural activities and sports. Warrington is a dynamically developing city with rich history and cultural traditions. Chester and Warrington are surrounded by the scenic landscapes of Cheshire and North Wales. Nearby is Snowdonia National Park, famous for its mountain scenery, and the famous Lake District. In the vicinity of Chester and Warrington, there are also several cozy coastal towns.

Studying at the university: strengths
Like other universities in the country, the University of Chester is funded State Council Funding for Higher Education Institutions in England (HEFCE). The work of the university is systematically controlled by state bodies. University work receives positive reviews during external audits. For example, the University of Chester received a number of "excellent" ratings from the results of an examination of the level of teaching conducted by the Educational Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

The university has seven faculties: the Faculty of Arts and Media Technologies, the Faculty humanities, faculty applied sciences and medicine, faculty social sciences, Faculty of Health and social service, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Business, Entrepreneurship and Lifelong Learning. All faculties offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs, including research. The university is renowned throughout the country for its pioneering work-based learning, which is now an integral part of our undergraduate programs.

For foreign students entering university in 2009-10 academic year for undergraduate and graduate programs (with the exception of research), the following tuition rates for the year are set:

Including:
Bachelor's Courses: Business, Management, Tourism, International Development, Law, Theology and Religious Studies
Master's Courses: Management, Theology and Religious Studies

Including:
Undergraduate: Media Production, Computer Science, Journalism, Social work
Master's degree: Information Systems, Mathematics, Social work, Television production

Master in physical education and Dietetics (MSc), Master in Rehabilitation of cardio-vascular system(MSc), Master in Body Weight Management (MSc) - £9,540 per course
MBA - £9,000 per course

Information about the cost of studying for students from other universities who come to short-term programs and students of master's and doctoral research programs can be obtained from the university.
One-year study abroad: English language + academic program - 2,304-6,003 pounds, depending on the date of commencement of studies

Program basic training for international students:
Full year - £6,450
January-July (24 weeks) - £4,200-4,400 (2008/09)

Tuition fees are set annually and may vary slightly.

Entry requirements
Foundation Program for International Students: a certificate of education corresponding to a level ranging from the British Certificate of General Secondary Education (GCSE) to the Certificate of Secondary Education (GCE Advanced level), or equivalent. More information can be obtained from the university. English proficiency level: IELTS 4.5 for September applicants and IELTS 5.0 for January applicants.

Undergraduate programs: Admission requirements depend on the specific program of study. Education certificates submitted by students from non-EU countries must comply with these requirements.

Classroom-Based Master's Programs: Admission to a Master's degree program requires a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution of higher education or an equivalent educational qualification. Selection committee may also take into account experience in the relevant field.

A bachelor's degree (with grades of 'Upper Second Class' or higher) is required for admission to graduate and postdoctoral research programs. Some programs require a master's degree.

English proficiency requirements for all international students:

Score by English language in the certificate of general secondary education (GCSE) or the international certificate of general secondary education (IGCSE) - at least “C”.
Overall IELTS score of 6.0 (undergraduate) or 6.5 (classroom-based master); minimum 5.5 for each section. Delivery certificate IELTS exam valid for two years.
TOEFL (undergraduate) - 550 or higher (written test), 79 or higher (internet test).
TOEFL (master's and doctoral) - 575 or higher (written test), 90 or higher (online test).

A year ago, Chester memorial evenings were held in almost every city in every country in the world. Thousands of fans came to them: whether they were children, teenagers or very adults. They all spent their lives side by side with the music of Linkin Park, with the voice of Chester. For many, the group has become a guide in the world of music, some of them are literally brought up.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be myself” is one of the most popular phrases walking around the fan groups on the net.

World-class artists have paid and continue to pay tribute to the musician in social networks and at their concerts, remembering him as a kind, sincere person.

However, the Internet was full of sharp statements about the singer: “Chester Bennington acted like an egoist!”. Is it true? Why did a person who seemed to have everything take such a step?

Childhood

Chester has always been open about his life. He did not have that love for embellishment, which suffers from a good half of the musicians. His life path was not easy enough to lie. In an early interview, Bennington talked about a terrible childhood: “They started corrupting me when I was about seven or eight years old. It was my friend, a few years older than me. Everything turned into full-fledged insane violence: I was beaten and forced to do things that I had no desire to do. I closed up."

The musician admitted that he was too scared to talk about it, like any victim of violence. He was afraid of misunderstanding and bullying. All this continued until the age of 13. His parents divorced, older brothers and sisters moved out. Under the tutelage of his father, a multi-shift police detective, Chester was essentially on his own, with no one to confide in.

• “It was a terrible time. I hated my whole family. I felt abandoned and there was no one to turn to for help. My only desire was to kill everyone and run away."

He poured out all his pain, anger and hatred in his work, trying to get rid of feelings and suffering tearing from the inside, while the music came from the speakers - Depeche Mode and Stone Temple Pilots.

Gray Daze

First musical group, Gray Daze, for Bennington was the light at the end of the tunnel. Then he regained confidence in himself and his abilities. For the first time, he did not feel lonely and finally found close friends from whom he could find support. Chester decided to completely immerse himself in music, scoring education. The only problem was that he had found another means to mitigate the pain and hide from a cruel past: drugs, alcohol and a riotous lifestyle. What at first was a great opportunity to relax, join the company and overshadow childhood memories, very soon turned into an addiction.

• “I tried everything. By the age of 16, I had used a ton of LSD and drank an abyss of booze. I got on the system very, very quickly. On a typical day, my friends and I each took eighths of "speed" (about 3 grams of amphetamine). I used to make myself twists with meth. Then it seemed funny. We smoked opium to get away, swallowed wheels, and I drank myself unconscious. Then there was little pleasure.”

But at one point, Chester realized that he was at the bottom, and decided to rethink his actions. Closer to adulthood, he appeared on the threshold of his mother's house. She accepted him in tears and was in absolute shock, seeing that her son had turned into an exhausted finished drug addict. She put Chester on house arrest, during which Bennington began to break down. Heavy drugs were replaced by weed and alcohol, and soon, as the musician admits, he became "a completely degraded chronic alcoholic."

At the age of 20, Bennington became a father for the first time, which at that time had little effect on his perception of reality. Despite everything, Gray Daze did not stop its activities. The group released two albums, but they never hit the world market. The lack of demand was accompanied by eternal swearing between the participants, which eventually led to the collapse of the team.

At 22, Chester Bennington has become an ordinary follower of the American Dream. Married, worked in an office for the repair of equipment. He tried to recover at the university and seemed to show promise for career growth. He could not even imagine that one day would radically change his entire subsequent life. Hundreds of miles from Arizona, in Los Angeles, there lived a group of musicians interfering with rock and hip-hop, which was just looking for a new vocalist.

The band was formed through the efforts of two old friends: Mark Wakenfield and Mike Shinoda. They invited old friends, college friends, and dorm roommates to join the group. In the process of forming the team, members left and came, as a result, five people remained from the original line-up: Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Rob Bourdon and Dave Phoenix Farrell. The group was called Xero.

The group composed music at an amateur level, since the education of each of the guys had nothing to do with their hobby.

After the departure of Wakenfield, the band needed a new vocalist. Shinoda said that he never flattered himself about his vocal abilities. There were many ideas, but their worthy embodiment was necessary. He was looking for a person who would be able to present the material at the highest possible level.

On Chester's 23rd birthday, the bell rang. It was Xero's first producer, Jeff Blue: “I'm going to send you something, this is your great chance. There's a cool group for you."

Bennington admitted that he was never particularly drawn to hip-hop, but he found Xero's sound very talented. Thinking it's a great opportunity, Bennington went all out, setting his vocals to music, and sent the demo to the band. The next day, he was already standing at the label building and waiting for the doors to open to a completely new life.

Although Blue thought Chester was the perfect fit, the guys in the group were rather skeptical at first and continued to select candidates for a while while Chester waited patiently on the sidelines.

• “I never expected him to be so small. He was skinny, wore glasses, and wore a terrible seventies-style shirt that dangled from him like a hanger. He looked like an overdressed fraer from an Arizona nightclub!
  But his voice on the demo was incomparable. He sang like a fucking beast, the way he still sings." - Mike Shinoda

Linkin Park

From that moment on, they began to compose music together.

• “Some of his lyrics were about things that you can't fucking say out loud, but during the song discussion, he told me everything. It was a very strange way to get to know each other better, but that's the way it happened." - Mike Shinoda

Meanwhile, Chester was homeless in Los Angeles, now and then staying to sleep with his bandmates or in the car. “I was a pitiful sight. The only thing that kept me going was knowing we were doing something special. I knew that it was so, ”said Bennington.

Due to a relatively recent acquaintance, the guys from the group communicated with Chester a little distantly. He talked about how it was quite difficult for him to join the team, especially with his habits, which other guys did not have. At one point, drugs again made themselves felt. Chester had to travel in a separate trailer, because regular drinking and going into nirvana kept the whole group in suspense.

Reflection, including this story, can be felt on the band's debut album hybrid theory. The album made a splash in the world of the music industry and had a huge impact on teenagers in the 2000s. Hits In The End and Crawling sounded everywhere. It seemed that Chester's voice carries everything that everyone has felt at least once. Success was repeated by their second album, Meteora. The songs soared on the charts, and the group stood on a par with the monsters of the industry.

Chester has another son, and, it would seem, life got better: he had everything one could dream of, but his wife filed for divorce, Bennington again began to drown his feelings in alcohol. In an attempt to get out of this state, he, along with the group, decided to completely change course in music.

Led by Rick Rubin, the band recorded minutes to midnight. The album caused dissatisfaction with the listeners, and the group was accused of unjustifiably softening the sound. However, Linkin Park vehemently defended their interests. New tours, new fan meetings, not the worst reviews from critics. Everything went on as usual until a certain point.

The media was agitated by reports that Chester Bennington, while intoxicated, almost died in an accident.

2006 was a turning point for him. Bennington met Talinda Bentley, a school teacher and former model.

Thanks to her love, thanks to the support of friends from Linkin Park and fans, Chester Bennington found the strength to quit and change his life. Another son is born, and Chester, having completely changed his mind, takes all his children into custody and decides to drastically change his life. Since that moment, there has not been a single case in the media of mentioning Chester's connection with addictions.

In September 2010, Linkin Park presented the world with a completely new, different from all the past concept album - A Thousand Suns, which caused heated discussions about the ambiguity of such a step in the band's work. However, it was a sign. A sign of the beginning of a completely new life for the group.

The band continued to release releases. Living Things, The Hunting Party, it was getting harder and harder to pin the band into a single genre, and they were getting more and more disapproval in return. The group held on under a flurry of criticism and, despite it, continued to develop, earning the title of "the most multi-genre group of the last decade." In general, it was more a fact than a criticism.
In the life of Chester for that long period, it seemed that harmony had come. Except for the fact that half a year could not do without regular physical injuries. He got up and continued to sing, whether it was a fracture or a bruise, continued to convince people with piercing screams and vital lyrics that they were not alone.

fans

There are many stories about the attitude of Chester and the group towards the fans, and all, as one, convince that the more sensitive and good man they didn't meet. In 2000, the band opened its LPU (Linkin Park Underground) fan club, where any fan, for just $5, got a chance to meet the musicians, keep in touch with them and be aware of the latest information about the band's activities.

Unlike other bands, the band has always accepted fans as equals. In the winter of 2016, with the support of Sweat For A Cause in Los Angeles, Bennington took part in a workout marathon, where anyone could come and work out physical activity under Chester as coach. He encouraged, and then communicated with everyone who wanted to.

At all fan meetings, Chester tried to pay attention to everyone as much as possible: he listened to stories, gave advice, shook hands, hugged and tried to help in any way he could. At the last summer concerts, he often went down into the crowd, at one of the festival concerts he went down to his mother, who came to the concert with her daughter, and holding her hand, sang Crawling:

Asking fans personally

• Maria Yu.

  “... And then he drew attention to my hand, took a step back, silently looked at the scar for a few seconds - a reminder of childish stupidity - and, finally, said: “Don’t ever think about giving up again. That's never an option."

  “Then I realized that no matter how far away he is, and no matter how he doesn’t know every fan personally, this man still cares about each of us. Chester Bennington taught me the main things - to fight at all costs and always strive only forward.

• Maria Sh.

  “In principle, I never asked permission to hug any of the musicians. But then I asked permission to hug him, knowing on a subconscious level that I would not receive a refusal - such powerful kindness was coming.

• Kate Roof

  “I know that it was one of the brightest meetings in my life. I will never forget his look and surprise at the sight of my drawing, his handshake and sincere childish delight.

• Diana T.

  “... I only had a portrait of Mike in my hands, he took it, smiled broadly, looking at the drawing, and told me not to stop doing it, because I was talented. I believed and remembered these words and the look in the eyes forever. It is insanely bright, native and warm.

• Tatyana V.

  “Chaz ran out to a group photo and how he jumped to the floor - he was not afraid to be funny, ridiculous, he is who he is. To mine, "I'm so happy to see you," he thanked me and said he was glad to see me too. He gave his love to everyone - he could laugh with everyone, hug. He gave dreams, he gave unforgettable memories and many good friends.”

• Yura D.

  “... I remember how he saw and thanked us in Birmingham for the fact that we go for a group. There was a very memorable moment at the concert itself when he went down to a fan in a wheelchair who was in a photo pit and sang with her In The End».

• Polina R.

  “... and Chester comes up to me and my girlfriend. I had a regular disc for a signature, and my friend had her drawing. She held out the drawing and he remembered. Smiling at all 32, he showed the others, already laughing, that he looks better on him than in life. I know that for each of us he was a support, an older brother and just a ray of light. You immediately forget about the boundaries between your worlds, and you understand that this is a simple person with a big soul.”

• Mary Mary

  “... I showed him his portrait, I began to quietly talk about how much he and the group meant to me, but he no longer listened, he jumped in some incredible sincere delight. He started yelling for everyone to come and look. Proudly showed everyone all the drawings that I brought, shouting: “Look, this is all for me!”. It seemed to me then that I would fall into the ground from embarrassment and overwhelming feelings.

As the author of the article, I would like to note that I have always had little faith in the sincerity of communication between musicians. Playing in public is an important part of their job, and with a decent amount of practice with them, I can confirm that. In this case, my skepticism shattered into dust. When I met Chester, I simply did not see any deceit or pretense. A person who sparkles like this strong desire give yourself to others, I, perhaps, have never met. After each “thank you”, he answered that he did not quite understand why, because he should be grateful to us. After talking with him, there was a feeling inside that this person was truly great. He took other people's problems, other people's pain onto himself, and both through communication and through music he provided tremendous moral support to many. He saved and pulled other people's souls out of life's adversities, putting his own in last place.

Relationships with colleagues

Chester Bennington and Linkin Park, in addition to music, have always been known for their ability to get along with all the figures in the music business and were known as a conflict-free group. They have attracted a wide variety of musicians to the joint recordings: System Of A Down, Jay-Z, Stormzy, Aaron Lewis, Pusha T, Basta Rhymes, Orgy, Steve Aoki and many others.

Bennington has always said that he himself simply does not have unloved artists and genres. He appreciated and was drawn to all his colleagues. Chester was eagerly invited to play joint concerts (AC / DC, Motley Crue, Soundgarden). Kings Of Chaos welcomed Bennington in 2017, playing a few shows. Linkin Park were also major inspirations for the tours Project Revolution, in which the monsters of contemporary alternative music culture (Placebo, HIM, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Korn and others) appeared on the same festival stage. During joint interviews representatives of each of the groups spoke very warmly about the very idea of ​​uniting so many bands under the wing of Linkin Park. One can go on and on about the musicians who said that working with Chester and Linkin Park was very positive and important for everyone. Jared Leto, lead singer of 30 Seconds To Mars, even asked Bennington to appear in the band's documentary. Artifact, in which Chester talked about the other side of show business. There were no musicians who spoke negatively about the group, even with abrupt changes in their sound, however, at the end of 2015, the incident did occur.

Beginning of the End

In 2013, the Stone Temple Pilots, after a long silence, decided to reunite, calling Chester Bennington on vocals to replace Scott Weiland, whose differences are based on drug addiction led to the breakup back in 2003. The group officially announced that Chester Bennington was becoming the group's lead vocalist. The musician assured that he would try to combine the two teams. In addition, Chester Bennington has always admitted that he has been a fan of the group since his youth. And for him it was a dream come true.

It all started with the fact that Scott Weiland repeatedly spoke negatively about the arrival of Chester in the Stone Temple Pilots, blaming him for taking his place, and the group dared to exchange him for Bennington. Instead of reciprocal aggression, Chester felt guilty, which he admitted in an interview with Kerrang magazine:

• "The Stone Temple Pilots were my childhood band, it's a great honor for me to play with them, and now I don't even dare to think about ever replacing Scott."

At the end of 2015, Scott Weiland passed away. The cause of death was an overdose of cocaine, amphetamines and alcohol. Bennington took the tragedy and death of his idol very hard, partly blaming himself for it. Perhaps this was the first with a strong blow for him.

Throughout 2016, Linkin Park were in the process of recording an album, which was the first year in the band's entire career that Linkin Park didn't play a single show.

After long months of waiting, on February 16, 2017, the world heard the first single from the band's new album - Heavy. The song came out completely ambiguous. Female vocals, pop beats, lack of guitars and Chester's lyrical voice left even the most loyal fans in great confusion. No other band of their level has demonstrated such a bold change of sound.

Fans began to write that the group sold out to the label and is now trying to make money from fans without a single share of real creativity. Yes, this situation happened after every album of the group released after Meteora, but the problem was that 90% of their audience was in shock. Angry comments on the networks rained down under all the posts of Linkin Park.

Later, a video for the song was released, where Chester struggles hard with himself. In the first frames, he sits in a dejected state at a table on which there was a half-empty bottle of alcohol, and now the clip seems absolutely prophetic, only at that time it was simply not perceived due to the weak connection between picture and sound. As a result, the group chose the path of silence until the release of the album. Even then it was difficult to understand why and why they chose this path and what to expect from the new album.

Later, the group gave an interview on the radio, in which Bennington, choosing his words very carefully, said that he was depressed, that he should not be left alone in any case, because he was starting to slowly go crazy. When asked if he was winding himself up, Chester only replied that he understood that on a global scale his problems were petty, but he needed help. It's one of the things that the band tried to convey through the album.

Post-release One More Light, as expected, the group was blown to smithereens. Only a few editions through reviews have tried to analyze the fact that if you try to ignore the sound and look into the texts, you can still see the same Linkin Park with their experiences that are so close to ordinary people.

Fans began to blame the group: all previous albums tell about the suffering, but this time it is as insincere as possible and seems like a way to get promoted and sell more copies of the album. It was far from the first time for the group to cope with the influx of various kinds of criticism, and it seemed that after a month the hype had subsided. Promo for the album, the beginning of the tour with sold-outs in a number of major European countries. There seemed to be no signs of trouble.

However, on May 18, the music world was shocked by an equally terrible tragedy. Chris Cornell, vocalist of Soundgarden, committed suicide. Chris was a close friend of Chester: in addition to common performances and stage activities, they were united by the fact that Bennington was the godfather of Cornell's children. For Chester, this was a very strong blow. They performed the song at Jimmy Kimmel Live Linkin Park One More Light dedicating it to Chris Cornell. It was impossible not to notice how Chester's voice trembled.

A few weeks later, Linkin Park continued the tour, on which Bennington looked quite cheerful and happy, until one of the interviews for Kerrang! he did not explode from another wave of negativity towards the album: “If you are taking your dissatisfaction with music to a personal level and are already starting to pour shit on us as people, then, buddy, you better shut up. I can have feelings about this, and most of the time those feelings tell me to fuck you."

The interview was filled with anger and obscene language, for which Mike Shinoda later apologized, and asked his colleague to understand.

The band has been on tour since the beginning of May. Despite the fact that the fans began to get used to the album, at the Hellfest festival, disgruntled festival-goers gave the musician middle fingers and then threw a bottle at Benninton during the performance of the song Heavy, and later wrote angry messages that a group with such a message had nothing to do at a rock festival. To which Chester wrote a series of posts on his Twitter, in which an attempt to defend himself is immediately evident:

• I greeted the huge crowd at Hellfest with my metallic voice as we played Invisible. Noticed the shock on people's faces.
• After I sent kisses to the guys who gave me the middle finger, they smiled and showed hearts from their fingers.
• Hellfest was fun. Was delighted to see how people mooched under In The End and then gave me the middle finger when we played Heavy. I sent them kisses.

The European part of the tour has come to an end, the band has allocated a couple of weeks to prepare for the continuation of the tour in America. Nothing foreshadowed trouble, at the same time, the instability of Chester's condition was frightening.

One More Light

On July 19, 2017, Chester Bennington left his family at home in Arizona and moved to a new home in Los Angeles: in the morning he had to go to the next photo shoot. On the eve of Chris Cornell's birthday, he was left alone with his thoughts and a bottle of whiskey, although nothing in the past few months indicated that he had succumbed to addictions. Obviously a spontaneous, fatal mistake, seasoned with alcohol and problems accumulated over the years. Most likely there are many more reasons and factors that can only be guessed at.

You can dislike Linkin Park's music and consider it too light, you can dislike Chester Bennington and consider his voice weak. But, after analyzing the life of this person, is it possible to call him an insignificant weakling and an egoist? It is impossible and unnecessary to justify his act. However, you can try to understand.

Chester Bennington was a very strong musician and a person who took away the pain of others and did not burden others with his experiences. But it is important to understand that even the strongest and greatest people have a limit.

And before you start to resent, try to think about whether there are such people among you.

Who cares if one more light goes out?
In the sky of a million stars
It flickers, flickers
Who cares when someone's time runs out?
If a moment is all we are
Or quicker, quicker
Who cares if one more light goes out?
Well I do

Biography

Chester Charles Bennington is an American rock musician, vocalist for Linkin Park and Dead by Sunrise. Formerly a member of Gray Daze and Stone Temple Pilots.

Childhood and youth

Born March 20, 1976 and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Chester's father was a local police detective, his mother was a nurse. In 1987, Bennington's parents divorced. The mother took her older brother Brian and one of the sisters with her, leaving Chester and the second sister to her father. Chester's first musical instrument was the piano. In his youth, he participated in many musical groups and played various instruments, but in most cases he was a vocalist. Thanks to his brother, Chester was influenced by bands such as Loverboy, Foreigner and Rush. He did not participate in major projects until 1992, in which he joined Gray Daze. The band disbanded in 1997 and Chester moved to Linkin Park.

Before her parents divorced, Chester and her family often traveled around Arizona. They visited cities such as Scottsdale, Tolleson, Tempe, and many others.

Until the age of 16, he tried everything possible types alcohol and drugs. At the age of 17, he moved in with his mother, who was so shocked by his appearance of an emaciated drug addict that she forbade him to leave the house. He continued to "withdraw", he continued to drink. Soon, as he himself admits, he turned into "an absolutely chronic alcoholic." In subsequent years, alcoholism will still remind of itself.

Carier start

From 1993 to 1997, Chester was the vocalist of the group Gray Daze, which was popular in the United States. Due to mutual disagreements with the band members, Chester decided to leave. With Gray Daze he recorded 2 albums: "Wake me" in 1994 and "...no sun today" in 1997, and one demo "Sean Dowdell and his Friends?" in 1993, when the band had that name. After Chester's departure, Sean Dowdell brought in a new vocalist, Jodi Wendt, the band changed their name to Waterface, and they recorded one album, Seven Days.

While working at Burger King, Chester met his future wife, Samantha. Chester worked part-time and was therefore able to work with Gray Daze in the evenings. At this time, he was so poor that he could not afford not only a car, but even a bicycle, and therefore, as a means of transportation, he used a skateboard. Chester and Samantha got married on October 31, 1996, but since Chester had no money at that time to pay for the wedding and wedding ring They tattooed rings on their ring fingers. They worked in the real estate market, and in order to somehow understand their business, Chester went to special courses at the University of Arizona (unlike the rest of the Linkin Park group, Chester does not have a higher education diploma). The family has a child, a boy named Draven Sebastian Bennington, born April 19, 2002. But on May 2, 2005, the couple divorced after eight years of marriage. Samantha received the right to raise a child. On December 31, 2005, Chester married 29-year-old girlfriend Talinda Bentley, who posed for Playboy while studying at the California Institute of Technology. Talinda gave birth in Los Angeles on March 16, 2006 to a boy named Tyler Lee.

In 1995 Bennington and former member Gray Daze, Sean Dowdell founded Club Tattoo in Phoenix. Now they cooperate and have 3 salons in Arizona and one in Las Vegas. Many celebrities, including Hoobastank, David Boston of the Arizona Cardinals, and Chester himself, have gotten tattoos here.

Linkin Park

In 1997, Xero was looking for a new vocalist. A firm that knew Chester suggested to Xero that it could be Chester Bennington. They sent him a demo and asked him to sing it. During three days, one of which was his birthday, he recorded a demo and played it to Xero over the phone; they were amazed and asked Chester to fly from Phoenix to Los Angeles for an audition. At the audition, some members left immediately after hearing Bennington's vocals. One auditioner told the group that they would make a big mistake if they didn't take Chester. After Xero changed their name to Hybrid Theory and recorded the Hybrid Theory EP, which included the songs "Carousel", "Technique (Short)", "Step up", "And One", "High Voltage" and "Part of Me". They attracted the attention of several record labels and eventually signed with Warner Brothers Records.

Since the copyright for the name Hybrid theory belonged to the British group Hybrid, they had to change the name of the group. Chester suggested Lincoln Park because his home was close to Lincoln Park in Santa Monica, and he often went to the studio through this park. Everyone liked the name, but due to the fact that the Internet domain www.linkolnpark.com was already taken, the group adopted the name Linkin Park. They recorded their debut album Hybrid Theory during 1999-2000 which was released on October 24, 2000. It included such hits as "In the End" and "Crawling". More than 30 million copies of Hybrid Theory have been sold worldwide. In 2002, Linkin Park released the Reanimation remix album, which included remixes from the Hybrid Theory album. Chester and Linkin Park's next album was Meteora with hits "Somewhere I Belong" and "Numb". This was followed by the release of the live album Live In Texas and an album with Jay-Z Collision Course. His collaborator and band member Mike Shinoda wrote a song that, until recently, could not be written. The song "Breaking the Habit" brings back memories of the past, many of whose circumstances brought Bennington to tears. There is a lot of speculation about the meaning of the song, including Chester's drug addiction and his childhood problems. It took Mike 6 years to write this song. It was completed in June 2003 and was included in the Meteora album. In 2007, the album Minutes To Midnight was released, produced by Rick Rubin, and in September 2010, Linkin Park's fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, also produced by Rick Rubin, was released. In 2012, the band recorded their fifth album, Living Things, which was also co-produced by Rick Rubin.

solo project

On October 13, 2009 the album Out of Ashes was released. solo project Bennington Dead By Sunrise, work on which began back in 2006. The musicians from the bands Orgy and Julien-K helped him to work on it.

Personal life

Early in his career with Linkin Park, Chester often suffered from health problems, being hospitalized several times. He also suffered from vision problems and was forced to wear glasses without which he could not see anything. In 2004, he underwent an operation to correct the lens. For some time, due to problems with alcohol addiction Chester traveled in a separate bus from the whole group.

Chester first married on October 31, 1996 to Samantha. On April 19, 2002, their first child was born, who was named Draven Sebastian. On April 29, 2005, Samantha filed for divorce. She took her son with her, but allowed Chester to see him. His second marriage - with Playboy model Talinda Bentley - took place on December 31, 2005, from which her second son, Tyler Lee, was born on March 16, 2006. They also adopted two more children: Jamie (English Jaime) (May 12, 1996) and Isaiah (English Isaiah) (November 1997). On November 11, 2011, Talinda gave birth to two girls, who were named Lily and Lila.

Death

On July 20, 2017, Chester Bennington was found dead at his home in Los Angeles. The cause of death was suicide by hanging. A half-empty bottle of alcohol was found in Chester's room. Bennington left no suicide note.

Chester Bennington committed suicide on the birthday of his close friend Chris Cornell, frontman of the band Soundgarden, who had also committed suicide two months earlier in the same way - by hanging. Chester's death came as a complete surprise to the members of the band, as the band planned to have a photo shoot that day and then go on tour a week later. Just a few hours after the death of the vocalist, the music video for the single "Talking to Myself" was posted on Linkin Park's official Youtube channel. In its first 24 hours, the video has garnered over 12 million views, and as of July 25, 30 million.

The day after Bennington's death, the band canceled the North American leg of their One More Light Tour. Numerous musicians, friends and colleagues of Chester came out with words of support for the band and family. Also on the official website of the group was published a message to Chester from the group:

Dear Chester,
Our hearts are broken. Waves of grief and denial wash over our family as we try to make sense of what happened.

You have changed so many lives, perhaps more than you could ever imagine. AT the last days we receive so much love and support from all over the world, publicly and personally. Talinda and the whole family are grateful for this and we want the whole world to know that you were best husband, son and father; the family will never be complete without you.

All these years, when we communicated with you, your passion was infectious. Your absence leaves a void that will never be filled again - your cheerful, ambitious, creative, kind and generous voice no longer resounds in the room. We try to remind ourselves that those "demons" that took you away have always been a part of your life. After all, the way you sang about those demons immediately made everyone fall in love with you. You fearlessly flaunted them, and did it in a way that brought us all together and made us more human. You had a huge heart and you didn't have to hide it.

Our love for music will never fade. While we do not know what will happen in the near future, but we are sure that thanks to you, the life of each of us has become better. Thank you for this gift. We love you and miss you very much.

Until we see each other again
Linkin Park.

Additional facts

Chester was a fan of tattoos and co-owner of the Club Tattoo chain of tattoo parlors. Tattooed on his body: a Hybrid Theory soldier on his right calf, a green dragon on his left, red-blue flames on both forearms, a Japanese carp on his right shoulder, FISH (his zodiac sign) on his left shoulder, a black creature on his back, green yellow dragon on right collarbone, wedding tattoo on the right little finger, a dragon on the back, a pirate skull on the left elbow, a fancy flower on the right elbow, the inscription "CB * TB" (Chester Bennington * Talinda Bentley) on the chest, just below - the initials of all his children, all united by one pattern, Linkin Park lettering on the lower back.

On occasion, Chester Bennington has been erroneously identified as a vegetarian, likely due to his participation in Peta's "Ink, not mink" promotion. In fact, he never was, as he himself wrote on his Twitter in December 2015.

Chester starred in Saw 3D and made cameo appearances in Adrenaline (2006) and Adrenaline: High Voltage (2009).
Chester is the only member of the group who did not have a higher education.
Chester was left-handed, but played the guitar with his right hand.

In January 2015, during the North American tour of The Hunting Party, Chester Bennington broke his ankle. The incident happened during a basketball game. The tour was not initially canceled, but at the insistence of the doctors, an urgent surgical intervention was necessary. As a result, the tour had to be cancelled.