Steven O'Rourke posted on September 09, 2009 20:00
It will probably come as no surprise, but I don't remember much about my birth. I know I was a reluctant child; if my Mam is to be believed she was in labour longer than Pat Rabbitte. I do remember most of my birthdays though, even the one that everyone else forgot. Unfortunately, John Hughes didn't make a movie about me (probably because I wasn't a 16 year old American girl). My most memorable birthday was probably my 21st, which I spent in hospital waiting for an operation to remove metal pins from my arm. That was fun!
That's enough about me though, this blog is supposed to be about the statistical anomaly that has seen so many influential musicians who happen to die at my new age. The 27 Club or the Forever 27 Club contains the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain. Even Charles Cross, who has written two excellent biographies on Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, has stated that 'The number of musicians who died at 27 is truly remarkable by any standard. [Although] humans die regularly at all ages, there is a statistical spike for musicians who die at 27.' As many as 37 notable musicians have died at that age.
Cobain's entry to the 27 club had, perhaps, the most influence on me growing up and was, indeed, the first I heard of the 27 club. There is a huge volume of text available on Cobain's death with many saying he timed his suicide so he good join the club. Cobain of course was a student of rock history and this, it seems, is the main reason why many bloggers claim he killed himself. What most don't tell you is that more than 30,000 Americans took their own lives in 1994, the year Cobain died, so it's not entirely surprising that someone, who had as many problems as Cobain did, joined them.
One aspect of the 27 club that, perhaps, has the greatest appeal (and you'd be surprised by the amount of people who actually want to join this club!) is that it is difficult to imagine any of its more prominent members reaching old age. The idea of a 50 year old Jim Morrison fronting a Door's reunion tour doesn't sit comfortably. Likewise, it is difficult to picture Jimi Hendrix or Brian Jones as old men. On the other hand, how great would it be to hear that a new Nirvana album was coming out at the end of 2009? Either way, we'll never know.
Thankfully, Key Notes doesn't have either an outstanding body of work behind him or a face that might adorn a thousand t-shirts surrounding the central bank so he doesn't have to worry about joining the 27 club, even if he wanted to. Really, this blog was just an excuse to let everyone know it was my birthday and to play this video:
Nirvana: Heart Shaped Box
Now I just have to reach Jesus' age to have an excuse to play that video again!
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