"27 club" of dead rock stars a myth

Rock stars are more likely to die earlier than the rest of us, but not at age 27, a study has found.

The number of well known musicians who died at 27 such as Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Brian Jones have led many to believe that being 27 is a perilous age for rock stars.

But a new study in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal suggests that while a rock and roll lifestyle increases the risk of musicians dying early, the risk is not is not limited to age 27.

A team of health statisticians at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) tested the "27 club hypothesis" by comparing the deaths of famous musicians with those of the general UK population.

The musicians included 1,046 solo artists and band members who had a number one album in the UK charts between 1956 and 2007.

During the study period, 71 (7 %) musicians died.

The study sample included all types of music, from crooners, death metal stars, rock 'n' rollers and even the Muppets (the actors, not the puppets). Some of the most famous names in the 27 club - such as Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison - were not included in the sample as they did not have number one albums in the study time period.

The statisticians also used a mathematical analysis to determine the significance of age 27.

Although the study found that musicians in their 20s and 30s were two to three times more likely to die earlier than the general UK population, there was no peak in the risk of death at age 27.

The researchers did find some evidence of a cluster of deaths in those aged 20 to 40 in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Dr Adrian Barnet, who led the study, said: "Interestingly, there were no deaths in this age group in the late 1980s and we speculate that this could be due to better treatments for heroin overdose, or the change in the music scene from the hard rock 1970s to the pop dominated 1980s.

"We conclude that the "27 club" is based on myth, but warn that musicians have a generally increased risk of dying throughout their 20s and 30s.

"This finding should be of international concern, as musicians contribute greatly to populations' quality of life, so there is immense value in keeping them alive (and working) as long as possible."

This article was published on Wed 21 December 2011