One in five top ten songs in the UK have alcohol-related lyrics, a study has revealed, fueling concerns that music is promoting an unsafe image for young people.
The report, published in the journal Psychology of Music, used four focal years for analysis, comparing music charts across four decades. They found a significant jump in the number of times alcohol was mentioned.
Songs charting in 1981 contained relatively few references to alcohol, with the number declining further in 1991. Rave culture was popular in this period; a music scene linked more to Ecstasy than alcohol.
Bu alcohol was back in music by 2001, featuring in eight percent of popular hits. This figure continues to climb, more than doubling by 2011, with almost one in five (18.5%) top 10 songs featuring alcohol-related lyrics.
American singer Katy Perry's 2011 single Last Friday Night, for example, details excessive drinking and achieved a top 10 position not only in the US and the UK, but also in Australia, Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Venezuela.
The study says older children and teenagers listen to more than two hours of music every day on average.
