Pretoria fans linked in grief for Linkin Park’s Chester

A nightclub in Pretoria turned down the music on Saturday morning to reflect on the death of a rock star. About 40 fans gathered on the porch of Arcade Empire to remember Chester Bennington, singer from Linkin Park, who hanged himself on July 20 at his house in California. Fans had damp eyes as they raised a glass, lit candles, put up posters and laid down flowers. Some wrote messages in a book and on a South African flag and spoke on an open microphone. "This guy went to his grave with every one of my secrets," said Stephan Swanepoel, 17, from Hartbeespoortdam. "He was just there for me. Not that my mother was not there for me. Some things I cannot say." Mari Buitendag from Pretoria said Bennington's death felt similar to that of her brother two years ago: "Where do you get that strength back if you looked up to someone and they were that strong person for you? Even if it is only music?" Johan van der Westhuizen, 30, from Pretoria said he still remembers every lyri…
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