The 27 Club

The “27 Club” was a term invented to categorise this unsettling trend of celebrities dying at the age of only 27.  At first, it referred to famous musicians who died at that age, like Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison but the term has grown to encompass more people such as Anton Yelchin and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Some of the most famous 27 Club deaths include Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.

Between 1969 and 1971 several musicians aged twenty-seven, unfortunately, passed away, often as a result of drug and/or alcohol abuse, violent means – such as homicide or suicide – or transportation-related accidents.

Fast forward to 1994, and once again the absolute most popular musician in the most popular band dies at the age of twenty-seven. When Kurt Cobain of Nirvana died, talk of the 27 Club exploded again.  Members of the music community really began looking into it and building a database of information.  But in 2011, when Amy Winehouse died at 27 years old, talk of the 27 Club exploded into the public scene.  Especially since Amy had gone on record stating that she feared she would meet an untimely death at that age.

Theorists say that before these rockstars become legends, they make a deal with the devil so they can have this fame and fortune in the rock community. Satanists in the 70s and 80s would attend special ceremonies at various recording studios throughout the U.S. for the specific purpose of placing satanic “blessings” on the rock music recorded. At these ceremonies, people did incantations (satanic “prayers” or curses) which placed demons on every record and tape of rock music sold.

These theorists also believe that rockstars would do certain things in public or in secret for the devil so they can continue to be rich and famous – however some may not want to be a slave to the devil for the rest of their career, so an ‘accidental’ death due to a drug overdose or too much alcohol consumption may be the rockstars way of getting out of the deal with Lucifer.

Other theorists believe that their fame and fortune is timed, resulting in only a small career for the people who entered the 27 Club, twenty-seven being the age that their fame is over. On the other hand, some may say that their death marks the punishment they get for disobeying the devil and his demands.