CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The family of Brad Delp, the lead singer for the band Boston, said his death was a suicide.
“He was a man who gave all he had to give to everyone around him, whether family, friends, fans or strangers,” the family said in a statement relayed by police Wednesday. “He gave as long as he could, as best he could, and he was very tired. We take comfort in knowing that he is now, at last, at peace.”
Delp, 55, died Friday at his Atkinson home.
Toxicology tests by the state medical examiner’s office showed that Delp committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, said Lt. William Baldwin. Police said Delp had sealed himself inside a bathroom with two charcoal grills sometime between 11:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday afternoon, when he was found by fiancee Pamela Sullivan.
Delp also left two notes taped to a door and letters to his family and Sullivan. Baldwin said police do not know the contents of the letters.
The family’s statement said Sullivan, Delp’s children and their mother, Delp’s ex-wife Micki Delp, were grateful for the sympathy they had received.
Delp joined Boston in the mid-1970s and sang two of its biggest hits, “More than a Feeling” and “Long Time.”
He had planned to marry Sullivan this summer during a break in a tour with Boston.
Agent Troy Blakely said Wednesday he had not been in touch with Delp recently, but believed Delp had been looking forward to getting married and touring again.
“There was no indication of anything amiss,” he said.
In his 34 years of representing artists, Blakely said he never met a kinder man than Delp.
“Brad Delp was one of the nicest, most wonderful individuals I ever worked with,” he said.
A lifelong Beatles fan, Delp also played with the tribute band Beatle Juice.
Beatle Juice performed a benefit last year to help build a new public library in Atkinson, a small town of about 6,000 residents on the Massachusetts border.
The family said last week it planned a private funeral followed by a public memorial to be scheduled later.
AP-ES-03-14-07 1852EDT
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