Members of the 27 Club

Almost all of us have this image of glamorous lives of celebrities, and often we find ourselves fantasizing about the lives and stardom of these people in the limelight. But it’s not always rainbows and butterflies; sometimes they have to pay huge costs of all the stardom, as big as their lives.

Several Hollywood celebrities have reported being dead in mysterious circumstances and what is more surprising is that all of them were only 27 years old at the time of death. The concept first started in the 1960s-1970s when more celebrities, specifically singers and musicians, started dying at 27. In short, those celebrities who died at the 27 become a part of the mysterious 27 clubs. We have compiled a list of these celebrities who passed away at the young age of 27 and ultimately became a part of the club. Let’s see who we have on the list.

James Douglas Morrison was an iconic American singer, poet and famous songwriter. He was best known for being the lead vocalist of the 1970s rock band The Doors. Morrison had a wild personality. All his songs that he performed on and wrote had distinctly poetic lyrics that most people liked. Morrison’s live performances were highly unpredictable and erratic, which often left the fans in a state of surprise.

During the peak time of his career, Jim Morrison developed an alcohol addiction that affected his on-stage performances and affected his overall career. In 1971 when the singer was at the peak of popularity and stardom, he mysteriously passed away in a hotel room in Paris. He died when he was only 27 and was one of the first members of the 27 club. Since no autopsy was ever performed, the exact reason for his death remains unknown to date.

You cannot speak of the death of young celebrities without mentioning the ever so loved and admired Kurt Cobain. He is undoubtedly one of the singers we wish never left. Kurt Cobain was a man gifted with so many talents. He was a fantastic singer, songwriter, artist, and musician. He is most popular for being the frontman of the famous rock band Nirvana. He was an excellent guitarist and the band’s primary songwriter. Owing to their contributions to rock music, he is known as one of the most influential musicians of Generation X.

A little before his death, Kurt Cobain developed an addiction to heroin. One of the lesser-known reasons for his addiction is his struggles with depression. IN 1994 when Kurt Cobain was only 27 years old, he was found dead at his home in Seattle. The reason of his death was identified to be a self-inflicted gunshot right in his forehead.

Most of us remember this one so clearly, an iconic female in music history. Amy Winehouse was a super talented British singer and songwriter. She is best known for her deep and highly expressive vocals. Her music genre was jazz, blues and rhythm. She was born in 1983 in England to Jewish parents. Music ran in Amy’s family. Most of the family on her maternal side was professional jazz musicians. Her paternal grandmother was also a well known British singer.

Amy Winehouse first stepped into the music industry when she was 16. Her solo and probably best albums were her debut album, Frank, with the most heart touching and popular song ” stronger than me”. Like other members of the 27 club, Amy struggled with alcohol addiction. In July 2011, Amy Winehouse tragically and unexpectedly died due to an alcohol overdose, leaving her fans and family grieving.

James Marshall Hendrix was a famous and well-admired musician, singer and songwriter of his time. However, his career and fame were only short-lived. The mainstream career of Jimi Hendrix lasted for only four short years. But as they say, time hardly matters. The musician left quite a mark and is regarded as one of history’s most influential guitarists. He is also one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th Century, and years after his death, his movie still leaves us in awe.

During the last few years before his death, Jimi Hendrix was suffering from drug addiction issues. Several times the singer was charged with illegal possession of drugs. In September 1970, Hendrix was found unconscious and unresponsive in Monika Dannemann Apartment in London. He was rushed to the hospital, but the singer was pronounced dead a day later. Astonishingly he was also 27 years old at the time of his death.

Janis Joplin was born in 1943. She was of well known for her powerful blues-inspired vocals that mesmerized the audience and listeners every time. She was undeniably the most noted and admired rock star of her era.

Another innovation that Janis Joplin introduced in music was her psychedelic rock style. She developed a strong passion for music from an early age, but she joined the Big Brother and Holding Company in 1966 when her career took off. Shortly afterwards, in 1968, she released an album called ” Cheap Thrills, ” a huge hit. The singer had problems with heroin addiction, and in 1970, shortly after the singer had just turned 27, she passed away from a drug overdose.

Those fond of rock music know about Rolling Stones and are fans of Rolling Stones ought to admire the iconic Brain Jones. Brain Jones is a British music composer and famous for being the founder and original leader of Rolling Stones band. He was initially a guitarist of the band but later on tried his hands on various musical instruments and produced music still loved.

Like others on the list, Jones became a member of the 27 clubs upon his death in 1969 when he was only 27 years old. He was found dead and drowned at the bottom of his swimming pool, and later it was evident from his reports that Jones has been taking alcohol and drugs in higher quantities. His death is mysterious, and there are various theories regarding his death to be a murder by the former associates of the rolling stone band. There isn’t enough evidence to support those theories, so his murder is still a mystery.

Looks like most of the members of the 27 club had a strong relationship with addiction to alcohol and drugs, and probably that is one of the reasons they died so young. Next on the list is Ronald Charles McKernan, popularly known as Pigpen. Pigpen was an American singer and musician and the founding member of the Grateful Dead’s San Francisco band. His peak years in the band were from 1965 to 1972.

His music was mainly inspired by African music, and the listeners could quickly tell that. Most of us know that rock band singers, specifically those with exceptional songs, took various psychedelic drugs. But Pigpen was among those who refused to take those drugs and preferred to drink alcohol. His alcohol addiction has caused various health concerns for him, and in 1973 at the age of 27, he was found dead due to a gastrointestinal haemorrhage.

Next on the list is Dave Alexander, a former member of the influential protopunk band called The Stooges. Dave Alexander was one of the celebrities who struggled a lot in his career, but we’re blessed with luck. When Dave was still in high school, his family relocated to another city in Michigan, where Dave dropped out of high school, sold his motorcycle and went to England to find the legendary band, the Beatles. But instead, he met Iggy Pop, and his music career started there. Together with Ashton Brothers and Iggy Pop, Dave formed The Stooges in 1967.

Dave slowly developed a strong addiction to alcohol, and for the same reason, he was forced to leave the band in 1970. Later on, in 1975, when Dave was 27 years old, he suddenly died, and the reason again was alcohol overdose damaging his pancreas.

Derrick Coleman, known by Fredo Santana, born in 1990, was a professional American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. His career started in 2013 with his debut album, Trappin Ain’t Dead, ranking at number 45 on the US Billboard 200. In 2017 due to a seizure and blood coming out of his mouth, Fredo Santana died. He was 27 years old at the time of his death.

Since his childhood, this famous rapper has had his share of struggles with addiction. He was a heavy drugs user from the very start, and at a certain point, he even overdosed on Xanax and Lean. Fredo admitted that he switched to using drugs because he had post-traumatic stress disorder, and the drugs helped relax him.

Unlike others on the list, our last and tenth member of the 27th club members list for today is a Russian- American actor Anton Yelchin. He was born in 1989 into a Jew family in the soviet union, and when he was only six months old, his parents had migrated to the United States. 

From a very early age, Anton Yelchin was into acting. He started his career as a child actor in 2001 by appearing in a drama film called the Hearts in Atlantis. As he grew up, the actor took leading roles in famous movies like the Star Trek reboot Terminator Salvation. Again, unlike most of the members of the 27 club, the actor didn’t have any issues with addiction. He was killed in an accident under unusual circumstances. To our surprise, Anton was 27 years old at the time of his death.

The New England Patriots football team star Aaron Hernandez was an all-American at Florida when the Patriots selected him in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. With teammate Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez formed one of the league’s most dominant tight-end duos. Hence, the pair became the first to score around five touchdowns each in all consecutive seasons for the same team. Hernandez also made an appearance in Super Bowl XLVI.

Hernandez was charged with the murder of his good friend Odin Lloyd in 2013. Lloyd was a semi-professional player and was dating Hernandez’s fiancée’s sister. After Hernandez’s arrest, the Patriots immediately released him, and the star was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2015. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole possibility and sent to the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. Later, several other murder cases were linked to him, and the footballer hung himself in his prison cell in 2017 while undergoing trial for those killings.

Jean-Michel Basquiat was a little-known graffiti artist who later turned painter and, by the 1980s, became the star of the art scene. Basquiat used to socialize with celebs like Andy Warhol and became a popular artist of the country. He first achieved fame while he was with graffiti duo SAMO. With Al Diaz, he wrote enigmatic epigrams in Manhattan’s Lower East Side during the 1970s.

During the early 1980s, Basquiat’s paintings were exhibited in museums and galleries at an international level. By the time he turned 21, he had become the youngest artist ever to part in a documentary in Kassel, and at 22, Basquiat was the youngest to have an exhibition at the Whitney Biennial in New York. He died at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose. After his death, his work’s value increased, and a 1982 painting by Basquiat was sold for $110,5 million, setting a new record high for the most expensive painting for an American artist at an auction.

Sahara Davenport, aka Antoine Ashley, was a renowned drag queen and most famous for appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Davenport died in 2002 due to heart failure. She had appeared on the Logo series using the screen name Sahara Davenport. She breathed her last at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. After Ashley’s death, her Drag Race co-stars shared many details about his life and Antoine’s hardships. Karl Westerberg, aka Manila Luzon, posted this message:

Don’t get confused. Andres has no relation to Pablo Escobar. He was the Colombian football team’s defender known for scoring his own goal in the 2nd match of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which made the team lose their place and get eliminated from the tournament. Just one week later, Escobar was killed by a drug cartel gang.

Rumor has it that he was murdered for his mistake during the World Cup. Until his death, Escobar worked to promote Colombia as a peaceful region and earned nationwide acclaim for his efforts. However, his murder ruined all those efforts as the country’s image was severely tarnished.

Peter William Ham was a popular Welsh singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Pete is best known as the composer and lead vocalist of the 1970s rock band Badfinger. The band’s hit singles include No Matter What, Baby Blue, and Day After Day. Pete Ham also co-wrote a ballad titled Without You, which became an international hit. Ham received two Ivor Novello awards in 1973 for this song.

Badfinger guitarist died just three days before turning 28. Reportedly, the rockstar was undergoing a financial crisis and was also having a tiff with the band’s manager Stan Polley. In 1975, Pete Ham took his life and left a suicide note in which he specifically mentioned Polley. His sudden demise shocked the band, and former bandmate Tom Evans also committed suicide in 1983.

Kim Jong-hyun, aka Jonghyun, was a South Korean singer, record producer, songwriter, radio host, and author. He worked under the label SM Entertainment, and for nine years, he served as the main vocalist of a South Korean boy band, Shinee. During this time, he released 12 albums in Japanese and Korean languages.

He also participated in SM the Ballad, a project group of SM Entertainment, and released two EP albums. However, from 2015 onward, Jonghyun made his presence felt as a solo artist and released his first EP album titled Base. Sadly, the K-pop star took his own life in 2017 and left a harrowing suicide note behind.

Reggie Lewis was the star player for the Boston Celtics. Though he appeared perfectly healthy, in 193, the basketballer suddenly collapsed while playing on the court. He was diagnosed with a serious heart condition and was asked not to play anymore. Later on, he was advised to resume light exercise; however, Lewis died of heart failure while shooting baskets three months later. It happened during off-season practice at Massachusetts’ Brandeis University in Waltham.

At the time of his death, Reggie was 27 years old. A Brandeis University cop, James Crowley, was on a routine patrol around the gym. He tried to revive Lewis along with another cop. The police officers used CPR to bring Lewis back to life, but they were unsuccessful. Lewis is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain.

Jonathan Gregory Brandis was an acclaimed American actor who started as a child model and later switched to acting. Initially, he starred in commercials and eventually ventured into television and then movies. He made his acting debut as Kevin Buchanan in 1982 on the soap opera One Life to Live.

In 1990, Brandis made waves as Bill Denbrough in Stephen King’s miniseries IT. The same year he starred as Bastin Bux in the NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. When he was 17, in 1993, Brandis played the character of Lucas Wolenczak in the NBC series SeaQuest DSV, which made him popular among teens. Unfortunately, his career ended abruptly when he committed suicide in 2003.

Leslie Cameron Harvey served as a guitarist in various mainstream Scottish bands of the late 1960s-early 1970s. The most notable gig is with the rock band Stone the Crows. Les Harvey was the brother of Alex Harvey, and sadly, he suffered a tragic and very public death in 1972.

Harvey was the co-founder of Stone the Crows, formed in 1969. While performing on stage at Swansea Top Rank in 1972, the famed guitarist was electrocuted when he touched a microphone, which was not earthed. He was touching the strings of his guitar from the other hand. It is wrongly reported that his death occurred because it was raining and a puddle was on the stage. The venue was indoor, and nothing happened on the stage. Though a roadie later unplugged the guitar, Harvey had suffered enough injuries and died at 27.

Harry Hains was an Australian actor best known for his roles in American Horror Story and The OA. Harry was the son of Mission Impossible fame Jane Badler. Sadly, the young star passed away after accidentally overdosing fentanyl in January 2020. According to the official statement from the LA County Medical Examiner/Coroner office, fentanyl intoxication was the cause of Hains’ death and it was an accident. Badler, 66, confirmed the news of her son’s death via an Instagram post on Jan. 27, which read:

American professional baseball starting pitcher Tyler Wayne Skaggs played in Major League Baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels between 2012 and 2019, Skaggs died. The left-handed pitcher was found dead in his hotel room. According to his toxicology report, he died due to a reaction caused by alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone.

Skaggs was found unconscious in his hotel room on Jul. 1, 2019. He was at that time staying at a hotel in Southlake, Texas. The Angels were visiting the city for a series against Texas Rangers. The pitcher was pronounced dead right away. An autopsy report revealed that Skaggs died of asphyxia after aspirating his vomit as he was under the influence of alcohol, oxycodone, and fentanyl.

The founding member of popular American Indie Rock Band Surfer Blood, Thomas Fekete, also died at the age of 27. Fekete had left the band after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer back in 2017. Surfer Blood guitarist died after a long battle with a rather aggressive cancer one year after being diagnosed. Thomas Fekete’s wife, Jess, wrote on his GoFundMe page, which was created to cover his medical expenses, that until he breathed his last, the musician was hopeful.

Richard James Edwards, also known as Richey Edwards, Richey James, and Richey Manic, was a famous Welsh musician. Edwards was the rhythm guitarist and lyricist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. The musician was known for his intellectual and politicized songs. His forte was combining dark themes in an enigmatic character, which gave him the cult status. Edwards was regarded as the leading lyricist of his generation.

Mysteriously, the Manic Street Preachers guitarist disappeared in 1995, and his car was discovered under a bridge. It was alleged that he killed himself. Edwards’ body was never found, so in 2005, he was declared dead. People suspect that he staged his disappearance and could still be alive.

Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody, aka Jade Goody, was a British TV personality. Goody made waves in the world of entertainment in 2002 after appearing on the 3rd season of the Channel 4’s hugely popular reality show– Big Brother. Later on, Goody starred in many other TV shows after getting evicted from Big Brother. She also launched many different products under her name.

Throughout her career, Jade was criticized by the British press for her lack of intelligence and etiquette and was even dubbed by some media outlets as Britain’s most hated woman. Jade Goody was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer. She started signing deals with tabloids and kept doing so until her death because she wanted to leave behind as much money as possible for her two sons.

English producer and musician Peter Louis Vincent de Freitas served as a drummer in Echo & the Bunnymen. Freitas performed on the band’s first five albums. Later, Pete de Freitas funded, played, and produced drums under the moniker, Louis Vincent, on Wild Swans’ first single, The Revolutionary Spirit, in 1982. The song was recorded for Zoo Records.

The musician had a troubled time when he was in his 20s. For e brief period, Pete found happiness and stability in life after he got married and had a daughter Lucie Marie. However, tragically, he got involved in a motorbike accident in 1989 and died on the spot. He was on his way to Liverpool and riding a 900cc Ducati motorbike in the A51 road in Longdon Green, Staffordshire.

Christopher Branford Bell was a well-known American musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Bell led the power-pop band Big Star with Alex Chilton and released its first album #1 Record in 1972. Bell also pursued a solo career during the 1970s and released the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP. According to AllMusic Guide, Bell was an “unsung hero” of the American pop music scene. However, his solo career didn’t garner him much success, so he joined his father’s burger restaurant, and in 1978, he died in a car accident.

The famous soviet rockstar Alexander Baslachev from the 1980s was best known for his poetry and music. In fact, he was referred to as the rock bard. But, just before his death, Baslachev underwent writer’s block and rarely wrote new songs. He even stopped performing on his old songs.

Baslachev’s last song titled Cherry was written in 1987, after which the musician became more depressed and isolated himself. In February 1988, Baslachev died after falling from the window of an apartment located on the 9th floor at Kuznetsov Avenue in Leningrad. The cause of death was later identified as suicide. A few months after his death, his son Yegor was born to his girlfriend, Anastasia Rakhlina.