The heartbreak behind the hits
WILL YOUNG was just about to go on live TV on singing contest Pop Idol, when his twin brother’s stitches on his cut wrists burst open.
Rupert, who had recently attempted suicide, was bleeding heavily but refused to go to the ambulance until he had heard his brother sing on stage.
It’s a visceral image and a reminder that not everything is always perfect behind the gloss of fame and fortune.
Will, now 43, says: “Rupert struggled with alcohol from about the age of 18 through to July 2020 when he killed himself.” Will has never spoken about it until now, but in this raw and moving film, he and his family speak about the pain of coping with a loved one’s addiction and death. Will describes how he would have to clear up after Rupert, who lived on and off with him for some time – there may be sick or urine – then Will would have to go and get him some beer and codeine, because he was addicted to painkillers.
Will meets people who have been impacted by alcoholism, as well as an expert working on the front line of addiction treatment and a woman campaigning to break down stigma.
But the scenes as Will and his parents Robin and Annabel look through old family photos of Rupert are the most powerful.
Robin says: “It seems to me such a waste, there was so much potential. He gave us a lot of joy and it’s just such a waste that he’s gone now.”