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Thursday, Dec 20, 2012 1:15 PM UTC

Study: Solo stars at higher death risk than bands

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Study: Solo stars at higher death risk than bandsFILE - In this Feb. 16, 2007 file photo, British singer Amy Winehouse poses for a photograph at a studio in north London, Friday, Feb. 16, 2007. British police say singer Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home in London on Saturday, July 23, 2011. The singer was 27 years old. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)(Credit: AP)

LONDON (AP) — Rock ‘n’ roll will never die — but it’s a hazardous occupation.

A new study confirms that rock and pop musicians die prematurely more often than the general population, and an early death is twice as likely for solo musicians as for members of bands.

Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University studied 1,489 rock and pop stars who became famous between 1956 and 2009 and found they suffered “higher levels of mortality than demographically matched individuals in the general population.”

American stars are more likely to die prematurely than British ones.

Lead researcher Mark Bellis speculates that could be because bands provide peer support at stressful times.

The research was published Thursday in online journal BMJ Open.

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