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I restored "urban legend" in the opening sentence, replacing "idea". It's more descriptive and helpful to the reader for the lead to say what kind of phenomenon the 27 Club is. Being a cultural story that gets told and re-told, person to person and in the media, I looked through the various genres of
folklore — and
urban legend seemed like the best fit. One might call it a
superstition, though that WP article seems to imply that a superstition believer acts differently in some sense; whereas urban legends are simply stories that get told and re-told, often with a cautionary angle. The 27 Club article references variously use curse, myth, legend, superstition, conspiracy, and coincidence (and surely others as well). Urban legend seems like a good neutral term, and perhaps the most accurate classification.
Goffman8223:17, 27 June 2022 (UTC)
I've restored again "urban legend". The description in the lead has changed a few times and was last "a list" over six months ago. On reflection, I'm generally in agreement with Goffman82, calling it "a list" is not a satisfactory description because it fails completely to convey anything about the concept. Fundamentally, there is no "list" that anyone can produce. The 27 Club is an idea that people talk about. So either calling it an urban legend or a notional club would seem much more appropriate. --
Escape Orbit(Talk)16:21, 29 June 2022 (UTC)
"Urban legend" is definitely starting to grow on me. The 27 Club is an urban legend, broadly defined, and that does better describe the phenomenon. I'm open to other ways of explaining what it is in the lead, and I might try my hand at improving it myself, but I think it's pretty good the way it is
now. —
Mudwater (
Talk)01:24, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
The reason I would say it's not an urban legend is because of the decription of urban legend on Wikipedia:
"An urban legend or contemporary legend is a genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or family member, often with horrifying or humorous elements. These legends can be entertaining but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects. They may also be confirmation of moral standards, or reflect prejudices, or be a way to make sense of societal anxieties."
I don't see how the idea of the 27 Club conforms to that. There's no real "story that's circulated as true" nor any of the other ingredients mentioned (except in the most mundane way). It's just a list. Idea or notion seems a perfectly adequate fit to me.
Rubsley (
talk)
13:19, 1 July 2022 (UTC)
The first reason to call it an urban legend/myth is because the article's sources label the Club with those kinds of folkloric terms — myth, legend, curse, superstition, etc. Second, it's more helpful to the reader when we provide a specific term for what kind of 'idea' or 'notion' it is, especially in the lead sentence. If there's established terminology for a cultural phenomenon, we should use it. Third, as I said above, urban legend seems like an accurate, specific, and neutral term among the relevant choices. Here, the 'story that's circulated as true' is that there's something especially perilous, and possibly spooky/supernatural ('cursed'), about the age of 27, particularly among musicians/celebrities with risky lifestyles. Urban legends often "
serve as cautionary tales," and this article's sources tend to talk about 27 Club 'members' like that — while also glorifying them, of course.
Goffman8223:37, 1 July 2022 (UTC)
I hear ya, and none of that sounds unreasonable. I would still challenge it on two fronts though: 1. as an innocent visitor to the page I found it quite jarring when I first read it. I know what urban legends are and I know what the 27 Club is - or at least thought I did; the definition seems to have changed quite a lot over the past 10 years or so - and the terms really don't seem to fit together (I'm not alone in this).
Number 2, if an urban legend is a "story", a story has several aspects that differentiate it from an idea or notion. A beginning, middle and an end would be one of those things. A story is much more than an idea. And this is just an idea as far as I can tell.
Rubsley (
talk)
02:42, 2 July 2022 (UTC)
I have restored the long-term wording describing it as a "list", pending any other consensus and reliable sourcing. There are no cited sources in the article describing it as an urban legend, and that isn't what it is. The club is simply about the notable members who are in it, and the fact that those names are repeatedly cited in the media as part of the "27 club". Per above, that isn't an urban legend it's simply a phenomenon. —
Amakuru (
talk)
09:42, 4 July 2022 (UTC)
For reference: 'Myth' appears to be the most popular term among sources.
'Pop culture myth' in the lead might be closest to the sources, though it would be difficult to argue against linking that phrase to '
urban myth' (which redirects to
urban legend on Wp.)
If you'll read further into the
urban legend article, you'll see that 'stories' in the context of folklore is much broader than stereotypical 'once upon a time' tales. They include simple fact claims. Just look at the last paragraph of
Urban legend#Documentation for a few examples, including 'rock singer Courtney Love is the granddaughter of Marlon Brando.' Or in the next section, 'eating watermelon seeds will result in a watermelon growing in the stomach.' These aren't 'stories' in the usual sense, in terms of plot structure; they are stories in the folklore sense because they are transmitted orally (or via modern media).
Goffman8200:42, 5 July 2022 (UTC)
Not bad, but "myth" suggests that it is actually suggested, or believed by some, that there is an actual "club". I don't think anyone ever suggested or believes that it is an actual thing. It's more of a concept. --
Escape Orbit(Talk)09:28, 6 July 2022 (UTC)
There is a clear absence of consensus in this discussion for calling it a myth or legend. Most sources cited by the article itself do not characterise it as such, and just dwell on the club itself and its famous members, only a small handful try to claim it's something more than that. Unless consensus here changes, it should retain the longterm phrasing that it was a list, with the second paragraph also giving more info on any suggestion that there might be a "spike". —
Amakuru (
talk)
12:26, 22 August 2022 (UTC)
It was my hope to resolve this by moving the discussion from one based on editors' personal definitions/connotations of the term 'urban myth' to one based on sources. I added 5 reliable sources to the lead sentence that characterize the 27 Club as a "myth" that has been debunked/refuted by statistical studies. The National Review and Far Out Magazine articles, in particular, go into depth on the reasons for its persistence, despite refutation, as urban folklore circulating in popular culture.
Amakuru has reverted the wording back to "list" but kept the sources. Would other editors please weigh in?
Goffman8219:12, 25 August 2022 (UTC)
I think the difficulty here is that we are talking about two different things that are fiction in different ways;
Musicians are prone to dying at age 27 = A myth that some might believe, statistics show it not to be true
There is a "club" that has as members those who have died at age 27 = A concept. There is no club, no membership, and no "list".
What we need is a lead sentence that covers both and makes it clear which is which. Something like;
"The 27 Club is a conceptual club that has as members musicians and famous people who have died at the age of 27, based on the myth that this is a common age for such people to die."
We need to remember that this article is about a Club. It is not
27 List, or
27 Myth, it is about a "club" that ties these ideas together in one concept.
@
Escape Orbit: I think you make some very good points above, and I quite like your suggested alternative lead. This clearly defines what the club is, while also highlighting the potential myth status as well, without focusing solely on that. —
Amakuru (
talk)
11:40, 27 August 2022 (UTC)
I think your breakdown into two items is really helpful. I'd actually unpack it further, into four parts. The 27 Club relates to all of these elements. I think the question at issue is: which is the primary subject of this Wikipedia article?
A pop cultural belief, refuted by research: musicians/celebrities are especially prone to dying at age 27, with some statistically notable frequency
A list: celebrities who died at age 27
A colloquialism: pop culture refers to the list using the metaphor of a "club", whose "members" "joined" by dying at 27
A cultural phenomenon: how dying at 27 came to be, and remains, a perennial subject of pop culture, music industry lore, celebrity journalism, statistical research, etc.
I think #4 is the primary subject of this article. Do others agree or disagree?
My sense is that other editors may believe I'm arguing that #1 is the primary subject, which is not the case. I'm hoping we can establish some common ground here.
Goffman8204:56, 31 August 2022 (UTC)
Broadly agree, although 4 must of course first explain what the others are, probably starting at 3, followed by 1.
I would exclude 2 and modify 4. Drop all mention of "a list". It's a red-herring that leads in the wrong direction. Pop culture does not refer to "a list," it primarily refers to joining the membership of a club. The "Club" may well, conceptually, have a membership list, but there is nothing about that list that is not explained in full by membership. It is a superfluous detail that only misleads because there is no list. No-one keeps a list of who has, or has not, already joined. --
Escape Orbit(Talk)12:11, 31 August 2022 (UTC)
I believe that 1. should be the subject of this article. It could be useful as an example of selection bias, which is common in the belief of many myths.
62.141.176.1 (
talk)
13:51, 11 November 2022 (UTC)
I've updated the
Cultural phenomenon section to distinguish between the 4 different aspects of the "27 Club" discussed above: the pop cultural phenomenon, the colloquial name, the refuted statistical belief, and the associated celebrities.
I think the updated version helps to make clear that the pop cultural phenomenon is the primary subject of this encyclopedia article, and "the list" of celebrities associated with it is secondary.
For the article lead, how about this edit of
Escape Orbit's suggestion above:
"The 27 Club is the
pop cultural phenomenon of documenting the deaths of popular musicians, artists, and other celebrities who died at age 27, based on the myth that this is a common age for such people to die." —
Goffman8223:20, 14 January 2023 (UTC)
Any objections to the main substance of this proposed edit to the lead?
The 27 Club is the pop cultural phenomenon of documenting popular musicians and other celebrities who died at age 27, based on the urban myth that 27 is an unusually common age for such people to die. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for celebrity deaths at age 27 has been refuted by scientific research, dying at 27 remains a perennial subject of popular culture, celebrity journalism, and entertainment industry lore. Because the club is entirely notional, there is no official membership.
It's my best attempt at synthesizing a consensus by encompassing all the aspects of the Club editors have said are relevant to the article. If you have merely wordsmithing type suggestions but no objections to the substance, you can make those through follow-up edits.
I don't like the inclusion of "documenting". There is no documenting, other than a couple of websites that cannot claim to be in any way official or central. 'Documenting' again suggests that somewhere a membership list exists, which is the only thing that makes it necessary to later explain that there is no official membership, which would otherwise be obvious. The paragraph also side-steps the central idea of people joining the club, which is the consistent term used in all sources. --
Escape Orbit(Talk)09:21, 18 January 2023 (UTC)
This
edit request to
27 Club has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
Addition to the section about pop-culture references.
(2016) Uno by Rex Orange County — references the 27s club with the lyric “and every now and then I think about the fact I’d become a legend if I died at 27.
The famous silverback gorilla Bokito, who rose to fame after jumping over the water-filled ditch and the wall around his enclosure violently attacking a woman, who later claimed he was making love to her. She was part of his harem. After lovingly dragging her around for tens of metres he visited a nearby restaurant where he was shot by a tranquilizer gun.
Born on 14 March 1996 he died 4 April 2023 at 27 years old. I suggest to add him to the list of members of the 27 club.
Victorvroeg (
talk)
10:24, 6 April 2023 (UTC)
I don't think the tweet is good enough. But I'd wait until others comment, and maybe have more sources. Extending the 'club' into the animal kingdom is quite a step and one website about one gorilla may not be convincing. --
Escape Orbit(Talk)16:04, 6 April 2023 (UTC)
This
edit request to
27 Club has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
I am requesting Nick Drake be added to the list of identified members of the 27 club. He died shy of his 27th birthday and is an influence singer songwriter of our time.
Not done: Per the notice at the top of this page: This is not an article listing every famous person who died at age 27. It is only about those who have been described as belonging to the "27 Club", which must be named explicitly in a cited source. If the term "27 Club" doesn't appear in the cited source, the person's name doesn't belong here. If you can supply a source naming this term, please do reopen this request.
Jamietw (
talk)
08:44, 13 April 2023 (UTC)
Julian Figueroa
He died on April 9th, 2023. He supposedly died of a heart attack but he also mentioned dying to see his dad. He had occult images on his body in the middle of his chest.
Thestudiolite (
talk)
15:22, 10 April 2023 (UTC)
I vote to put him in there are three guys on here hilighted in red with no article. The world was shocked Julian died. Thanks.
47.205.254.217 (
talk)
10:10, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
Each of those includes a link to their articles on another language Wikipedia, Russian and Korean. There are also a fair number of unlinked names, people who were in notable bands and were mentioned along with the words "27 Club". Has Mr. Figueroa gotten news coverage linking him to 27 Club?
--jpgordon𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇14:59, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
I thought you had to die at 27 do you really need to mention the 27th club Valentine Elzalde is in there he is also a Mexican performer.
47.205.254.217 (
talk)
18:21, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
Got you but yes I would vote for Julian if there's a chance he gets in. Nobility is not inherited. News is still fresh so the 27th club will take time.
47.205.254.217 (
talk)
19:17, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
I have been trying to get Sahara Davenport put BACK on this list for a LONG time. She used to be on the list and for no reason she was removed.
below are THREE articles that mention her as a member of the 27 Club. The first source also includes Reggie Lewis, Harry Hains, Aaron Hernandez and Andres Escobar as members that are not on this Wiki list.
"A central plot device in the manga
Shiori Experience by Yuko Osada is a demonic ritual by which a person can make a contract with the spirit of a musician from the 27 Club. In exchange, they must become a legend of similar caliber by their 28th birthday to avoid death. The series' protagonist, Shiori Honda, becomes haunted by the spirit of Jimi Hendrix on her 27th birthday after her older brother attempts the ritual on himself. The series also features characters haunted by other members of the club, including Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin."
88.199.147.88 (
talk)
22:02, 18 July 2023 (UTC)
Hello. Thanks for working on enhancing the beginning of the article, and for discussing it here. In my opinion your suggested text is in some ways an improvement, but in other ways not. To begin at the beginning, I wouldn't say that the 27 Club is an idiom. It's more of an informal list, as the article says now. This initial part of the article has been changed a lot over the years, as different editors have tried different ways of explaining what the 27 Club is. Also, the 27 Club doesn't attribute special significance to the members themselves -- though that's what the current version of the article says too -- it's more like it attributes significance to the fact that they died at age 27. Anyway, if I get really ambitious I might take a shot at my own rewrite, here on the talk page. Or perhaps I could put more effort into suggesting changes to your attempt above. But again, thanks for starting this discussion. —
Mudwater (
Talk)21:34, 1 August 2023 (UTC)
References
^Cite error: The named reference the-27s was invoked but never defined (see the
help page).
This is not a list of everyone who died at age 27. It is about the post-1960s cultural phenomenon that gives prominence to celebrity deaths at that age.
Ghmyrtle (
talk)
15:41, 19 September 2023 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 21 September 2023
This
edit request to
27 Club has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
Done,
here. (Per the cited ref, "Daily Post observed that Mohbad, born on June 8, 1996 – died at the age of 27, joining the infamous 27 Club – an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27." Whoever wrote that seems to have looked at the Wikipedia 27 Club article, but they are listing Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, known as MohBad, as a member on their own.) —
Mudwater (
Talk)14:18, 24 September 2023 (UTC)
The first question is ALWAYS whether the person was reported as joining the "27 Club", as published by
WP:Reliable sources. It's not enough that they died at age 27. The "27 Club" must be explicitly mentioned.
Binksternet (
talk)
20:22, 22 October 2023 (UTC)
Semi-protected edit request on 9 December 2023
This
edit request to
27 Club has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
This
edit request to
27 Club has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
Adding another member to the 27 Club bracket, specifically Pete ham - lead vocalist and guitarist of the band "Bad Finger".
He died at 27 on the 24th of April, 1975, just 3 days shy of his 28th birthday. I just think because they're at least a prominent band, be should be here.
Zombillions (
talk)
18:35, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
Further to my belief that the tone of an encyclopedia should not be that of people sitting around a fire, drinking, and mulling over ideas and recollections, I believe that in the text QUOTE: Daughtry's song "Long Live Rock & Roll" from their 2013 album Baptized references the club with the lyrics "they're forever 27 – Jimmy, Janis, Brian Jones" UNQUOTE (which exists in this article at the date and time I'm typing this talk-page comment) should have the phrase 'Jimmy, Janis' changed to 'Jimi, Janis' if there's no basis for the opinion that the official lyrics really are 'Jimmy' there, and should be changed to 'Jimmy" [sic] ", Janis' if there IS a basis for asserting that the lyrics, despite 'Jimi' being correct, are officially 'Jimmy'.
2600:1700:6759:B000:E894:BFCC:705D:880 (
talk)
05:56, 9 February 2024 (UTC)Christopher Lawrence Simpson
Because we reach 10,000 days in our lives at 27 years and 138 days (depending on leap years) I think it would be an interesting column to add.
For example: Walkie made it to 9,991 and Kami made it to 10,002 and Dickie Pride made 10,018…
I don’t know how to calculate that or how to add a column to achieve that.
Torturella (
talk)
19:41, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
The reason I added the tags which were reverted is that the tone of this article is not encyclopaedic. For one thing there is numerous repetition of the term cultural phenomenon, it is even used as a section title but is not a suitable term for a serious article. The Identified Members section has a peculiar unserious tone such as "Because the 27 Club is entirely notional, there is no official membership." Overall this article promotes an urban myth that has been disproved by scientific research and therefore I'm tempted to nominate it for AfD based on
WP:NOT despite it passing
WP:GNG, imv
Atlantic306 (
talk)
20:38, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
@
Atlantic306: Gee, I dunno. It seems pretty encyclopedic to me. And it describes an urban myth, it doesn't promote it. The Scientific Studies section explicitly refutes the idea that rock musicians and others are more likely to die at age 27, a refutation also mentioned in the lead section. And the statement about there not being an official membership is also sober-minded -- since the 27 Club is a "notion", the membership list in the article is based on third-party references. If the phrase "cultural phenomenon" is overused, feel free to improve the prose, or suggest how it might be improved. As for
WP:NOT, I don't see how that would apply to the article. —
Mudwater (
Talk)21:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
@
Atlantic306 What would you suggest instead of "cultural phenomenon"? If seems an accurate description to me, I also don't see what's unserious about the sentence. The very fact you're suggesting AfD makes me concerned that you've a misplaced idea about the purpose of Wikipedia. Just because something is a disproven myth does not mean it should not be in an encyclopedia. Notability is the criteria for inclusion.
The article is far from perfect, and does have issues (particularly list cruft), but I don't see anything particularly fan-like about it. Do you have any particular examples of anything being written from the POV of a fan? And a fan of who/what?
Escape Orbit(Talk)06:25, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
Notability is not the only reason for inclusion otherwise we would just copy newspapers, which to some extent is happening here, see
WP:NOT which lists many reasons for exclusion including Not Newspapers. I disagree with you about the tone of the article, the constant use of cultural phenomenon is promotional wording. Also the reason I came to this page is because it was being linked to the age of death of Chance Perdomo who has recently died which myself and other editors consider inappropriate. Also the references used to justify his entry are weak - a sensationalist story from a sports tabloid, and TV Insider, imv
Atlantic306 (
talk)
13:23, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
@
Atlantic306 Are you sure you understand what
phenomenon means? Also what occurs on the
Chance Perdomo article is not the responsibility of this article.
The source used to this may be weak, and I have argued a number of times that creation of a list of "members" is not the purpose of this article. It should limit itself itself to pertinent and prominent examples only to illustrate the meaning of "the club". But this has been discussed a number of times here already, and we always end up with a list that grows over time. But that list is at least factual, not promotional.
Escape Orbit(Talk)20:37, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
From your link: "In popular usage, a phenomenon often refers to an extraordinary event. The term is most commonly used to refer to occurrences that at first defy explanation or baffle the observer." Considering the debunking of this myth by science it no longer should be considered extraordinary so a description of urban myth rather than cultural phenomenon would be more appropriate in my view,
Atlantic306 (
talk)
21:17, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
The cultural phenomenon is not that rock musicians (and other figures of popular culture) are more likely to die at age 27, or that a lot of rock musicians have died at age 27. The cultural phenomenon is that people often talk and write about the people who died at age 27, and refer to them as the 27 Club. And that sometimes they erroneously think that something strange is going on. With that being said, it is an urban myth -- or urban legend, perhaps? -- and the article does already say that. Still, it should be possible to improve some of the wording of the article. —
Mudwater (
Talk)22:14, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
@
Atlantic306 So you don't understand its use here. From the lead of that article: "A phenomenon , sometimes spelled phaenomenon, is an observable event". In this case, in western culture of recent times. I also note that the bit you're quoting is not supported by the source it quotes, which says nothing about cultural phenomena defying explanation or being baffling.
The Cambridge Dictionary has real life examples here, this includes describing schools and the invention of pottery as cultural phenomena. There's nothing baffling about them.
These are Celebs who died at 27 who should be added, given the peramiters of the page:
Aaron Hernandez
Thuy Trang
Pat Tillman
Harry Hains
2600:1702:1931:2420:5CB4:E43F:BA17:2B5E (
talk) 02:26, 29 July 2023 (UTC)
Ryuchell (Japanese social media personality/model/LGBT rights activist): Died of Suicide at 27 on 6/12/23 following a messy public divorce and scrutiny/harassment after publicly announcing his gender identity. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
173.68.2.124 (
talk)
19:27, 12 April 2024 (UTC)
The only source connecting Tobler to the 27 Club are a medium.com blog article we can't use because of
WP:MEDIUM, and a comedy podcast called Y'All Heard which admits that she is not well known. Not reliable enough to list here.
Binksternet (
talk)
21:57, 31 January 2024 (UTC)
Can you add Jacob Miller, lead singer of the reggae band Inner Circle? He has a page here at Wikipedia and died in a car accident when 27 years and 324 days old in 1980.
@
Michael0986 I'm undoing your reversion with explanation here for discussion. My edit is intended to improve the
WP:NPOV of the paragraph, which is about the different interpretations of Cobain's mother's quote. The earlier version wasn't explicit that there are competing interpretations of her quote. I gave it a topic sentence so it's clear what the paragraph is about, and re-ordered the content for clarity but did not add or remove content. My newest edit tweaks some words for more NPOV. Feel free to refine further if you see issues, or discuss here. Thanks. —
Goffman82 (
talk)
22:35, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
I thought the earlier version was quite clear actually, and the order of interpretations more appropriate; the association with rock stars is more commonly accepted as her meaning. "On the other hand" is more appropriate for Segalstad's interpretation, which is not as widely accepted.
Michael0986 (
talk)
01:11, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
If I understand your concern, it sounds to be more about style than content. I moved Segalstad's interpretation to the beginning of the paragraph precisely because it offers a response to Cross's common interpretation established in the preceding paragraph. I'll make another edit that I think is a compromise. —
Goffman82 (
talk)
07:47, 16 April 2024 (UTC)