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Los Angeles memorial of Chester Bennington is stopping traffic in the city

Source: News Corp Australia Network:
August 3, 2017 at 14:30
IT’S been two weeks since the suicide of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington and news of his death is still being felt around the world.
Los Angeles muralist Jonas Never, who “grew up listening to Linkin Park”, recently finished a memorial for the 41-year-old singer with the emotional painting having a huge impact on anyone driving past it.
 

 

The mural was painted on the wall of Rock n Pies Pizza Co, a pizzeria bordering the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles and has already garnered a huge amount of interest.

The owner of the pizzeria Jim Conners told Variety: “I was leaving the kitchen last night at 11:30, and I was greeted by flashing lights, people taking pictures”.

“When Jonas was working on it, everyone in their cars on the 101 were beeping their horns and cheering him on. It was pretty cool. Now there’s something to look at while you’re stuck in traffic,” he added.

Bennington was famous for his intense onstage performances but the mural is vastly different to the persona he presented on stage.

“I stumbled across this publicity still of him, smiling, very recognisable, with all his tattoos visible,” Never told Variety. “I thought it would be better than having him up there screaming.”

Chester Bennington performs with Linkin Park back in 2014. Picture: Paul Hebert
Chester Bennington performs with Linkin Park back in 2014. Picture: Paul HebertSource:AP

The 41-year-old singer committed suicide on July 21 with thousands of celebrities taking to Twitter and the stage to mourn his death.

Linkin Park also saw a number of their albums reappear in top music charts around the world as fans rushed to buy the band’s music after Bennington’s death.

Three of Linkin Park’s albums surfaced in the ARIA Top 5 last week, with their 2000 debut Hybrid Theory at No. 2, bumping Ed Sheeran to No. 3, with Lana Del Rey at No.1.

The US rock band’s latest album One More Light re-entered at No. 4 (it peaked at No. 3 earlier this year), while 2003’s Meteora is at No.5.

In all 11 Linkin Park albums returned to the Top 100, with fans buying up what stock was left in stores, as well as downloading and streaming the music.

Bennington reportedly struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and had previously talked about suicide as the result of childhood trauma and abuse. He leaves behind six children from two marriages.

If you or someone you love is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636. If it is an emergency please call 000.


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