Harry Styles' hometown named 'least musical' in Britain

One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles hails from the least 'musically sophisticated' part of Britain. Credit: Doug Peters/Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment

The birthplace of One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles has been found to be the least "musically sophisticated" part of Britain, according to a new study.

Redditch in Worcestershire came out top of the "worst" list as researchers measured people's "musical sophistication", or their ability to engage with music.

The residents of Hastings in East Sussex hit the high note when it came to being judged on their musicality, followed West Somerset and North Dorset.

The area residents were found to be least musical are:

  • Redditch, Worcestershire

  • Ashfield, Nottinghamshire

  • Richmondshire

  • Anglesey, North Wales

  • Christchurch, Dorset

  • North Lincolnshire

  • Boston, Lincolnshire

  • Maldon, Essex

  • East Lindsey, Lincolnshire

  • Swale, Kent

The study, carried out by researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London and BBC Lab UK, found a correlation between how musical people are and the average income of the area where they live.

The areas residents were found to be most musical are:

  • Hastings, East Sussex

  • West Somerset

  • North Dorset

  • Blaenau Gwent, South Wales

  • Haringey, London

  • Sevenoaks, Kent

  • Shetland Islands, Scotland

  • York

  • Hackney, London

  • Gwynedd, North Wales

More than 94,000 participants answered questions on their musical background and musical habits and took part in a range of objective musical tests.