Rarely does that genteel scholarly journal Psychology of Music grab headlines. But it has scored a bull’s-eye by publishing the findings of a Leicester University academic, Dr Adrian North, into links between musical taste and lifestyle. True, Dr North’s research (based on a survey of 2,500 UK music-lovers) often confirms stereotypes. For instance, classical music fans enjoy incomes 50 per cent higher than dance fans, and have higher educational qualifications than anyone else. And more than half of all hip-hop fans admit to having committed a crime, compared to just 18 per cent of “people who like musicals”.
But some results are more unexpected. Not only have a quarter of classical music fans tried cannabis, but more than 12 per cent of opera-lovers admit to nibbling magic mushrooms. Presumably they help Parsifal pass quicker. The most startling stats, however, are about sex. Among hip-hop fans, 37 per cent say they have had sex with more than one partner over the past five years, compared with just 1 per cent of country-music fans. Whether that explains why country songs are generally so depressing is a question that surely calls for urgent new research.