[kj] OT: Newsflash: Study shows rock stars more likely to die earlier than average public

[Brendan Quinn]

Other amazingly insightful research that's come out lately: Women like
muscular males, women see kissing as a way to test a male whereas men see it
as a way to get into a woman's pants etc...

GROUNDBREAKING stuff. Apparently nothing is real unless it's proven by a
scientific experiment. I see the most common sense stuff come out of
research, it's laughable sometimes. Along with the dumbest stuff too.

Science is getting back around to promoting stretching before gym training
after denigrating it during the 90s (a test showed that it temporarily
reduced muscular output...within about 10 mins of stretching). Anyone
actually involved in those endeavours who took the time to try it for
themselves found out for themselves...it works. It's gone in cycles of
trends...stretching good. Static stretching bad, dynamic stretching good.
Stretching bad. Stretching before workout bad. Stretching good. Holding a
stretch for longer than 20 seconds is a waste of time and potentially
damaging (tell that to a yogi).  

Most of the above research is done and promoted by people who can't touch
their toes...

Same with the research by Klein back in the 60s that squats were bad for the
knees, a single flawed study by a biased researcher with an existing agenda
setting out to prove his own hypothesis (as opposed to trying to disprove,
as scientific rigour dictates)...the aftereffects of that were that squats
were banned in a lot of gyms, schools etc. A completely natural human
movement...try getting into a car without squatting, or sitting down on the
loo, or getting on and off a chair (!). 

Science is a great discipline, it's just practiced so poorly by many. I
won't even get onto corporate sponsorship and agendas...

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On
Behalf Of B. Oliver Sheppard
Sent: Tuesday, 4 September 2007 9:16 p.m.
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: [kj] OT: Newsflash: Study shows rock stars more likely to die
earlier than average public


  Rock stars more likely to die prematurely



By Tim Castle
Mon Sep 3, 7:06 PM ET

Rock stars -- notorious for their "crash and burn" lifestyles -- really 
are more likely than other people to die before reaching old age.

A study of more than 1,000 mainly British 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.

Between 1956 and 2005 there were 100 deaths among the 1,064 musicians 
examined by researchers at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool 
John Moores University.

As well as Presley, the toll of those dying before their time included 
Doors singer Jim Morrison, guitar hero Jimi Hendrix, T Rex star Marc 
Bolan and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

More than a quarter of all the deaths were related to drugs or alcohol 
abuse, said the study in the Journal of Epidemial 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," said 
Mark Bellis, lead author of the study.

He said the study raised questions about the suitability of using rock 
stars for public health messages such as anti-drug campaigns when their 
own lifestyle was so dangerous.

"In the music industry, factors such as stress, changes from popularity 
to obscurity, and exposure to environments where alcohol and drugs are 
easily available, can all contribute to substance use as well as other 
self-destructive behaviors," the report said.

FIRST FIVE YEARS RISK

It found that musicians were most at risk in the first five years after 
achieving fame, with death rates more than three times higher than normal.

Hendrix, Bon Scott of AC/DC and punk rocker Sid Vicious all died within 
five years of hitting the big time, said Bellis.

Among British artists the risk of dying remains high until around 25 
years after their first success, when they return to near normal life 
expectancy.

That bodes well for rock survivors like The Who's 63-year-old Roger 
Daltrey, who famously first sang "I hope I die before I get old" in the 
song "My Generation" back in 1965.

But this trend was not found in North America, where ageing rockers 
remain almost twice as likely to suffer a premature demise, particularly 
from heart attack or stroke.

American stars Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, Carl Wilson of the 
Beach Boys and Johnny Ramone of the Ramones all died in their 50s.

Bellis suggested that the high death rate among older American musicians 
could be related to the continent's greater appetite for reunion tours, 
exposing the artists for more years to an unhealthy "rock'n'roll" lifestyle.

It could also be due to the poor medical outlook for impoverished 
American ex-pop stars who have no health insurance, he said.

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