Avicii’s secret battle with pain and illness revealed in documentary on the first anniversary of the DJ’s death

Avicii’s secret battle with pain and illness is revealed in a documentary on the first anniversary of his tragic death aged 28.

The Swedish DJ left fans around the world devastated when he passed away in Muscat, Oman on April 20 last year.

On the first anniversary of his death, BBC Three is airing a documentary — Avicii: True Stories — which explores footage of his life backstage as he toured all over the world, The Sun reported.
 

The film — which previously aired on Netflix — addresses his devastating battle with pain and illness as he became one of the top names in music.

Avicii — real name Tim Bergling — first found fame with his track Levels when he was just 21.
 

He was quickly catapulted from small Swedish clubs to the world stage, with Avicii telling the camera in the documentary: "For the first time I could afford a tour manager and didn't have to fly coach everywhere by myself.

"I was a young, single guy and everything was one big party.

"We realised we could tour the whole year round so that's what we did."

But the constant touring soon caught up with the star, as well as the life that comes with being a world-class DJ.

He said: "In the beginning I was too afraid to drink before shows because I was afraid I'd screw it up but I realised I was too stiff so I started having a couple of drinks before going on.

"I saw other DJs drinking, who had been doing that for 10 years for every show."

But during an Australian tour, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis after suffering agonising stomach pains on a flight.

Despite doctors telling him he was not well enough to perform, footage shows Avicii asking if he could be discharged so he could continue his tour.
 

He told the camera afterwards: "The hospital visit was a terrible experience but what was much worse was the pain afterwards.

"I would wake up every day and was in pain. It was constant and everything was in a haze and I didn't know how long I could keep going like that."

However his career continued to go from strength to strength thanks to tracks including Wake Me Up and Hey Brother.

He continued: "I was in so much pain but all I was given was medicine and told 'take this and you'll feel better'.

"It was like heroin but it also wasn't helping the pain but I just assumed the doctors knew what they were doing.

"Having the pancreatitis wasn't the problem, it was the pain that stays with you afterwards.

"At first it was for a month and then it was for four months.

"I was taking 20 pills a day but they kept telling me it wasn't addictive. I was still anxious and then I started touring again."

Having played 813 shows in seven years, he admitted: "I started to feel crazy. I had everything on the checklist so I should be happy.

"I didn't give myself time to stop and recover, not just from the pain and the medication but also the illness and all the years of touring and stress. I just kept going."
 

Despite taking eight months off to work on his second album, Stories, he immediately felt the pressure upon returning to touring.

He explained: "I've been away for six months and I've done everything I can and straight away I'm stressed and I still don't like performing.

"I don't know how to explain to people that my

ife is all about stress."

Soon after, Avicii penned a letter to fans saying he was no longer able to perform.

Tragically, two years later, he took his own life.

This article was originally published in The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.