An inquest has heard that Crazy P front woman Danielle Moore took her own life as she began to struggle with her increasing workload with the band
Crazy P star Danielle Moore took her own life, an inquest has ruled.
The front woman of the electronic band died under “sudden and tragic circumstances” in August 2024. At the time, her bandmates said they were “devastated” as they confirmed the news of her death. It was ruled that Danielle, who was 52 at the time of her death, died instantly after being struck by a train near Kings Heath railway station in Birmingham on August 30 last year.
An inquest heard that Danielle had been battling exhaustion due to her increased work load, with her husband, James Ensell telling the court that she also had issues with sleeping due to perimenopause symptoms. But as her success with the band, who formed in 1995 continued to grow, Danielle began to struggle.
Mr Ensell described her as a “remarkable woman” with an infectious personality who was also “self deprecating and humble who had an awareness of her own vulnerability”
Three weeks before she died, he said, his wife had asked him whether he thought she had a personality disorder. Mr Ensell said that she had performed her last gig at a festival on August 25 in Lincolnshire and that she had been “unusually self critical about her performance.”
He last saw her at 9am on August 30 and was later contacted by the police to say his wife had been found near railway tracks A post mortem examination revealed she died as a result of multiple injuries. The inquest in Birmingham also heard from a hypnotherapist who said that on the day before her death the singer had contacted him to discuss whether she was suffering from a border line personality disorder.
Dr David Budd said that there appeared to be “a lot more going on than was apparent” when she had previously spoke to a clinician and she had been struggling with her mental health. Birmingham and Solihull Area Coroner James Bennett said: “The evidence from Danielle’s husband and her friends is clear, that she had suffered with her mental health over many years.
“She was working extremely hard as a successful and popular musician. The consequences of being perimenopausal did have more than a minimal impact upon Danielle’s mental health. She had a low mood and reported disassociation against a background of being impacted by exhaustion working as a musician and symptoms of perimenopause for which she had been prescribed HRT by her GP.
“At around 4pm on August 30 she purposely placed herself in front of a high speed train on a railway line.” The coroner said Miss Moore had previously climbed over a barrier and that her belongings were later found on a block of concrete. He recorded that she deliberately took her own life.
In a statement made by Mr Ensell, on behalf of the family he said “We are still reeling from her loss and cannot comprehend that she is gone. Whilst we will never fully understand why Danielle took her life we know that how she died bears no relation to who she was in life. Danielle cared deeply about the well being of others and the world in which she lived.
“She was pained by social injustice and the impact of consumerism. She was an empath, instinctively compassionate and loyal, nurturing the truest connections with the people in her life. The image of human kindness and generosity of spirit. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the prevalence of neurological and psychiatric symptoms during perimenopause, something which is well known in the scientific community, but little talked about outside of it.”
Moore was born in Manchester and joined Crazy P in 2002. The band was originally formed by Chris Todd and Jim Baron at Nottingham University in 1995 and expanded to include members such as Moore, bassist Tim Davies and percussionist Mav Kendricks. They were signed by Manchester record label Paper Recordings and released eight albums between 1998 and 2019, including 24 Hours Psychedelic Freakout and A Nice Hot Bath With….
Their singles include 1996 debut Digging Deeper and There’s a Better Place which samples the song Pure Imagination from movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Crazy P built up a strong fanbase in Australia where they have toured several times, as well as playing festivals such as The Big Chill, Bestival and Beatheard.
Their last live performance came at Lost Village festival during this year’s August Bank Holiday weekend and they were booked to play in Bristol yesterday for Forwards Festival. Away from her career in the band, Moore was also a DJ.
If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch.
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