AVICII ‘FULL OF LIFE’ IN HIS LAST DAYS
▶ Hotel staff describe Swedish DJ as a ‘gentleman’ who wanted to see more of the Arabian Peninsula
Swedish DJ superstar and dance music producer Avicii was cheerful and happy to greet fans at his three-star Muscat hotel on Thursday, the night before he was found dead, according to those who met him in the Omani capital.
Samiha Al Aboodi, 24, was among the last to talk to the 28-year-old, whose real name was Tim Bergling, at the Muscat Hills Resort hotel.
“He was in good spirits and very polite.
“He stood up from the reception area when I stopped to ask if it was really him,” Ms Aboodi told The National.
Another fan who worked in the resort on the bay of Al Jissah described the Swede as “full of life” when he met him a day before his death.
“First, I did not recognise him. He looked different until my colleague told me who he was. He was cool, a gentleman and full of life. I still don’t believe that he is gone,” says Preetam Ghoshi, a food and drink retailer at the hotel.
“He asked me which is the best place to visit in Oman outside Muscat and I gave him all the information he needed. It’s a pity he could not make it.”
A spokesman confirmed Avicii’s death but gave no details. Yesterday, a Royal Oman Police official told AFP that “two autopsies were carried out, one yesterday and one today and we absolutely confirmed that there is no criminal suspicion in the death”.
Muscat Hills Resort said it would not release details of his death, but said he was an “extremely kind” guest.
Avicii found fame with his 2011 hit Levels and regularly performed to huge audiences at a mixture of festival appearances, club shows and exclusive residencies. But he was burdened by ill-health from 2012, when at 22 he was found to have acute pancreatitis, a side-effect of heavy drinking.
He retired from touring in 2016 citing health issues, saying he had “too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist”. The Grammy-nominated DJ continued to record and release new music.
In 2016, Avicii’s estimated fortune of US$75 million (Dh275m) made him the third-richest DJ in the world at the time. He had amassed more than a billion streams on Spotify and became a DJ whose popularity was on par with that of a pop star.
His illness resurfaced in March 2014 in Florida – the scene of many of his career highs – when he was rushed to the emergency room in a Miami hospital where his gall bladder and appendix were removed.
His death caused an outpouring of grief from the music community and his fans worldwide, from Stockholm where he was born, to the Arabian Gulf, where he had spent his last days.
“His music will live on with us. He may be not with us but his legacy will continue to live in our hearts for ever,” said Felix Granada, a 26-year-old Spanish Muscat resident and music shop worker.
“He did not die in vain,” Mr Granada said. “He made a lot of people happy. We all thank you, Avicii, for entertaining all of us in the short life you had.”
Fans who met the star in his last hours said he was in good spirits and polite company