Brad Delp Suicide: New Details Emerge Regarding Boston Singer's Final Days

Posted on May 29th 2012 1:15PM by Kenneth Partridge Comments

Jeffrey Mayer, WireImage

After Brad Delp, singer for the '70s rock band Boston, committed suicide on March 9, 2007, the Boston Herald focused its coverage on the singer's strained relationship with guitarist and musical mastermind Tom Scholz. The implication, Scholz felt, was that he was to blame for the incident, and he filed a defamation lawsuit that has been pending for two years.

Now, the Boston Globe reports, new information has come to light regarding Delp's final days. Based on court testimony, it seems Delp's decision to take his own life might have stemmed more from his embarrassment over planting a hidden camera in the bedroom of his roommate -- and fiancee's sister -- than from his troubles with Scholz and the other members of Boston.

In court papers obtained by the Globe, Todd Winmill -- the boyfriend of Meg Sullivan, the woman whose room Delp placed under surveillance -- recalls Delp's demeanor after his camera had been found.

"He essentially apologized for about a half-hour," said Winmill. "And then I told him he had to tell Pamela. He didn't like the thought of having to do that."

As it turns out, Pamela Sullivan, his bride-to-be, had an affair the previous summer -- an event that deeply affected Delp. In an email to Meg, he compared Pamela's deception to his own, though he continued to apologize for the stunt.

"I want to try and make you understand that I consider myself a decent person who made a dreadful error in judgment," Delp wrote to Meg, the Globe reports. "I acted out of some impulse that is still not completely fathomable to me."

The Boston Herald has stood behind its coverage, calling it "both accurate and excellent." The paper had reported that Delp felt trapped between Scholz and the other members of Boston, and that his role as middleman contributed to his deteriorating mental state. Meg Sullivan's testimony seems to lend credence to this idea.

"I believe that Tom Scholz and Boston caused the depression which caused Brad to put a camera in my bedroom," Meg Sullivan said, according to the Globe.

As is often the case, the truth may be more complicated. Before killing himself by asphyxiating on carbon monoxide from the two charcoal grills he'd lit in his sealed bathroom, Delp left four suicide notes. In the one he penned for Meg and Tom, he copped to a history of mental illness.

"I have had bouts of depression and thoughts of suicide since I was a teenager," he wrote.

Watch Boston's "More Than a Feeling" Video

Follow @Noisecreep on Twitter | Like Us on Facebook | Sign Up for Our Newsletter
Filed under: News

All the Boston info you want to know

Country Stars Share Their Reactions to…

The Boot

Lady Antebellum. Photo: AP NEW YORK (AP) - Even though a cowboy hat sighting on…

Dropkick Murphys Raise $65,000 for…

Spinner

Gino DePinto, AOL Dropkick Murphys are Boston boys from head to toe. So when…

Kenny Chesney Boston Concert Has Singer…

The Boot

Mark Davis, WireImage Kenny Chesney's love affair for Boston runs deep. The…

See all Boston »

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

5 Comments

Filter by:
Jim

HEY NOW WAIT A MINUTE SURE BRAD HAD THAT GREAT VOICE AND THAT KOOL 70S STILE, BUT BOSTON IS TOM SHOLTZ. HE NEEDS SOME CREDIT HERE ALL THAT GREAT BOSTON MUSIC AND SOUND IS BECAUSE OF MR. SHOLTZ, I LOVE AND MISS BRADLEY JUST LIKE ALL YOU OTHER HARD CORE BOSTON FANS. BUT , TOM IS NOT THE REASON WHY BRAD IS GONE. BRAD IS GONE BECAUSE OF BRAD HIMSELF. WE CAN ALL DO WHAT HE DID ITS WAY TO EASY TO LEAVE THIS WORLD . AND HE TOOK THAT ROUTE, WE NEED TO LET IT REST IN PEACE, ITS ALLREADY DONE NOW.!!! GOOD BYE BRADLEY!

March 21 2013 at 3:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
joel

My last comment, any new BOSTON, is not worth the time to listien to. The original Boston lineup was the best and, the greatest! No Brad, no Boston. I heard the repacements, A JOKE I heard and laughed LAME. just go away Scholz, you killed Boston yourself. *******

January 30 2013 at 6:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
joel

There is no Boston without Brad Delp. Scholz, you're an *******, I used to admire you , your talents, Just go away, your Boston is no more.

January 10 2013 at 4:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
joel

I was hooked on Boston after I heard, ( More than a feeling ). The guitars, the beat, most of all, the Voice of Brad. WOW!! The range of his voice was none that I have never heard before. I still listen to Boston but, now there is some sadness when I do. So many other ways you could have delt with what you were going through. If I had your voice, ( I wish ), I would have moved on in any way i could.

December 21 2012 at 4:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dannyleebrehm

Brad said: "I am the lonelist person in the world." He pulled his 2 grills inside of the bathroom and turned the gas on. Brad Delp, Why? The most pure. I will always love you.

Brad You are a fool. You were the purest voice in rock, and now you deny me.
I am the fool for trusting your weak ass.

Now you are dead. Am I to follow?
Why did you do this to my head?
Many questions.
CYA. Later.
I will Try to carry on.
Lov you bro.

October 02 2012 at 2:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

Your Settings

{email}

Subscriptions

Weekly Newsletter

Noisecreep news in your mailbox. Top Articles, reviews, photos & more.

Realtime alerts

Daily alerts


Update
Cancel