Singer Brendan Maclean reveals suicide attempt
The Australian artist has spoken candidly about his mental health struggles.
By Will Stroude
Singer Brendan Maclean has revealed that he once attempted to take his own life.
The Australian artist, who appeared in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby in 2013 and released his most recent EP solo earlier this year, opened up about his struggles with mental health as he encouraged fans to ask for help.
Taking to Twitter as he celebrated his 30th birthday this week, Maclean revealed he had attempted to end his own life last year.
“At thirty it’s worth saying: When I was 28 I did my very best effort to end my life. A pack of oxycontin and balcony 10 stories up,” he wrote.
“I woke up the next day covered in vomit under a piano – I didn’t tell anyone because it seemed stupid…
“When I woke up the next day I mistook a boy on Grindr for a friend. I told him I’d confused him for someone else and he took me for a walk through Central Park.
“We had a joint and I told him what had happened. He told me just to go to work and the next day I wrote Tectonic.”
Maclean, whose music video for ‘House of Air’ sparked controversy earlier this year for its explicit depections of gay sex, continued: “I write pop music not because it’s easy but because it made me happy. It kept me walking.
“I could hit play on it and I’d smile and I thought: If I can make a song that makes someone smile once it’s worth it. And that’s why I keep writing. No other reason.
“So whether this works out, if a single radio station plays my songs, if there is one bloody stream per day, that’s enough. Because I didn’t stop and you shouldn’t stop because who knows what you’ll make tomorrow. Be there with me for tomorrow. That’s so much more than enough. x
Maclean, who’s set to appear in ABC’s upcoming series F*cking Adelaide in 2018, later added: “If you ever find yourself in that place contact me. All I’ll ask is that you wait one more day.”
If you’re struggling with mental health call the Samaritans on any phone on 116 123.