It is now official.Rock stars do face the risk of premature death A Liverpool John Moores study of the lives of 1064 famous rock stars has concluded that they are twice as likely to die early than the rest of the population.The average age at death was found to be 42 for US stars and only 35 for European stars.The leading causes of death have been identified as drug overdose, alcohol abuse, suicide, accidents, miscellaneous medical problems.More than a quarter of the deaths are blamed on drugs and alcohol abuse alone.
The criterion for 'fame' was having performed on any of the Virgin All Time Top 1000 Albums.So why this high likelihood of death from drugs and alcohol abuse?Factors such as stress,fall in popularity,easy availability of drugs contribute to drug and alcohol abuse.
The time when they ran the greatest risk of premature death was within the first five years of achieving success.They were three times more likely to die than members of the general population, matched for age, sex, nationality and ethnic background.The death rate is higher for male stars than female stars.
Strangely among British artists the risk remained high for the first twenty five years after the first success and then it declined to be almost normal.but in American artists the risks for aging rockers remained unchanged.The difference is perhaps due to a continued active stage life in the US,constant media attention,resultant stress and substance use.
What is worrisome is that given the huge influence the pop industry has on youngsters the rock stars may end up becoming marketeers of a drug lifestyle.Studies show that almost one in ten children between the ages of seven and sixteen dream of becoming a rock star when they grow up.Although fame and money protect the stars from many social consequences of such behavior,it doesn't protect people from long term health consequences.
It seems art can create, inspire and destroy all at the same time.Some of the all time greats who died this way are Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and the list goes on.
There are renewed calls for the music industry to take more seriously the damage done by substance abuse and risk taking behavior.Changing music's booze and drug culture may seem difficult at first, but there are signs that it is happening.When the team compared the mortality rate before and after 1980 they found a big drop.In recent years only 1.5% of the stars died within five years of their first hit.Before 1980 this rate was twice this figure.
It is very important that things change.These people hold a special position to potentially influence the behavior of millions of young people who look up to them.