David Roberto Hellman (28 May 1980 – 13 January 2006), known by his stage name Dave Lepard, was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

band

Crashdïet Crashdïet (often stylised as CRASHDÏET) are a Swedish glam metal band formed in Stockholm in 2000. The group consists of Martin Sweet, Peter London, Eric Young and Gabriel Keyes. They have released six albums: 2005's '' Rest in Sleaze'', 2007 ...

Career

He formed the band Crashdïet in 2000 but in 2002, the band split up, and he continued with a new lineup. Their music was based on 1980s sleaze bands, such as

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

and

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...

, and the band gained a cult following, especially in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Crashdïet released four singles from their debut album ''Rest in Sleaze'' which were hits in Sweden; "Riot in Everyone", "Breakin' the Chainz", "Knokk 'Em Down" and "It's A Miracle".

Death

On 13 January 2006, 25-year-old Dave Lepard committed suicide by hanging himself in his apartment in Uppsala. His body was found on 20 January 2006. His three surviving bandmates performed a final tribute show the following February. They subsequently decided to remain together and by October 2007 the trio announced they would continue under the name Crashdïet, with the approval of Lepard's family, in tribute to Lepard. They eventually hired a new singer,

H. Olliver Twisted Olli Herman Kosunen (born 19 May 1983), also known as H. Olliver Twisted, is a Finnish singer who has played in the Swedish glam metal band Crashdïet. Twisted is currently a member of the Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love. Career Before ...

.Hoffman, K. Ros
"Crashdïet - Music Biography, Credits and Discography"
AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepard, Dave 1980 births 2006 deaths 21st-century Swedish male singers Glam metal musicians Hard rock musicians Male guitarists Musicians from Stockholm Suicides by hanging in Sweden Swedish heavy metal guitarists Swedish heavy metal singers 21st-century guitarists Crashdïet members 2006 suicides