Rock stars really do live fast, die young

Rock stars, notorious for their 'crash and burn' lifestyles, really are more likely than other people to die before getting old.

A study of more than 1000 mainly UK and North American artists, spanning the era from Elvis Presley to rapper Eminem, found they were two to three times more likely to suffer a premature death than the general population.

More than a quarter of all the deaths were related to drugs or alcohol abuse, says the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

"The paper clearly describes a population of rock and pop stars who are at a disproportionate risk of alcohol and drug related deaths," says lead author Professor Mark Bellis from Liverpool John Moores University.

In all, exactly 100 stars died between 1956 and 2005, a death rate of 7.3% among women and 9.6% among men.

These included Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain.

Over a 25 year span that started with their rise to fame, stars were more than 70% likelier to die prematurely compared with the general population. And the risk was 240% higher in those crucial first five years.

And for those who achieved fame in the 60s and 70s, the risk of death occurring within the first five years was an astonishing 350% higher than for Mr or Ms Average.

European stars were much likelier to survive compared to their North American counterparts, the study also found.

Those Europeans who died tended to expire in the blaze of youthful glory, at an average age of 35, compared to 42 among the North Americans.

As time went by, though, ageing North American rock stars were twice as likely to die prematurely than Europeans, according to the authors, who speculate that the lifestyle of US rockers may make them more susceptible to chronic heart disease.