Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians?
The list of well known musicians who have died at age 27 may look like more than a coincidence – Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Brian Jones to name a few – but their age is unlikely to have been the cause of their demise, according to research in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com.
While fame may increase the risk of death for musicians, probably due to their rock and roll lifestyle, this risk is not limited to age 27, say the authors led by Adrian Barnett from Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
To test the "27 club" hypothesis, the authors compared the mortality of famous musicians with that of the UK population. They included 1,046 musicians (solo artists and band members) who had a number one album in the UK charts between 1956 and 2007.
During this period 71 (7%) of the musicians died.
The sample included crooners, death metal stars, rock 'n' rollers and even Muppets (the actors, not the puppets). The total follow-up time was 21,750 musician years.
The authors used mathematical analysis to determine the significance of age 27. They found no peak in the risk of death at this age, however musicians in their 20s and 30s were two to three times more likely to die prematurely than the general UK population.
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
