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We're all familiar with the tragic folklore that surrounds members of rock's infamous '27 Club', but a study has found that musicians do indeed tend to die much younger than the rest of us - a staggering 25 years younger, by average.
The world of rock has tragically taken far too many young hopefuls long before their time, but a study conducted by Sydney University examined12,655 musicians who passed away between 1950 and 2014 - and found that the average age of death was between their late 50s and early 60s.
Prince was aged just 57 when he recently passed away - and was said to be battling painkiller addiction.
The study also found that suicide among musicians was between two and seven times higher as a cause of death than among the general population - with homicide eight times greater.
“The music scene celebrates drugs and promiscuity and valorisation of early death, so young musicians who are depressed and suicidal are attracted to these types of environments," Professor Dianna Kenny told ABC News. "They are meeting fellow travellers where they amplify each others suicide, depression, or substance abuse and that gets into an-out-of-control spiral leading to early death.”
The likes of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and Jim Morrison all lost their lives in tragic circumstances at the age of 27.
