Since the Seventies, the untimely deaths of influential musicians has led to a popular belief in the so-called ’27 Club’ phenomenon.
Unfortunate members include Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin, who all died at the same young age.
Some say these people may have had difficult childhoods, grew up as outsiders, and suffered from self-doubt.
Others speculate the weight of impending adulthood and the approach of 30 might have triggered the desire to escape through increasingly heavy drug use.
But experts have now debunked this myth, saying that famous people are no more likely to die at 27 compared to other ages.
A team from Indiana University analysed data on 344,000 notable people who had Wikipedia pages devoted to them.
They found that although pop musicians tend to die younger than other famous people, there is no evidence supporting the theory that the age of 27 carries an increased risk of death.
However, they found that the legacies of famous people who died at this age tend to garner more attention compared to those who passed away at other ages.
Since the Seventies, the untimely deaths of influential musicians has led to a popular belief in the so-called ’27 Club’ phenomenon
Unfortunate members of the ’27 Club’ include Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin (pictured), who all died at the same young age
The 944 people in their dataset who died at the age of 27 received relatively more visits to their page.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team said that the 27 Club effect could arise from the myth’s prevailing influence online.
For example, even people who have not heard of the phenomenon are more likely to encounter a reference to a famous person who died at this age compared to other ages.
‘The ’27 Club’ refers to the widespread legend that notable people, particularly musicians, are unusually likely to die at age 27,’ they wrote.
‘Using Wikipedia data we show that while age 27 does not hold greater risk of mortality for notable persons, those who died at 27 are as a group exceptionally notable compared to those who died at other young ages.
‘The 27 Club legend originated from a statistically improbably event circa 1970, wherein four superstar musicians died within the span of two years all at age 27.
‘This coincidence captured the public imagination such that our fascination with the 27 Club brought itself into being.’
The four musicians involved in the ‘statistically improbable’ event include Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, who all died aged 27 between 1969 and 1971.
The four musicians involved in the ‘statistically improbable’ event include Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix (pictured), Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, who all died aged 27 between 1969 and 1971
Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones, was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool in East Sussex on 3 July 1969.
He had struggled with drugs and alcohol and had a heavily enlarged liver and heart when he died.
Rock legend Jimi Hendrix died on September 18 1970 after collapsing at a party in London.
The post-mortem examination concluded that he choked on his own vomit while intoxicated.
American singer and songwriter Janis Joplin died of a suspected heroin overdose shortly afterwards, on 4 October 1970.
And on 3 July 1971 – a year to the day that Brian Jones died – Jim Morrison, lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors, was found dead in a bathtub.
