It wasn’t me, Your Honour; it was the music. When fighting drunks appear before magistrates, they have another excuse for their behaviour: the landlord’s playlist.

An academic study has identified the music that is most likely to trigger violence in Britain’s pubs and nightclubs, and the songs most likely to promote harmony.

Robbie Williams, best known for his anthem Angels, leads the list of artists whose hits can calm drunken revellers. By contrast, the guitar riffs of songs such as the Rolling Stones’ Street Fighting Man and heavy basslines of hip-hop tracks were most likely to trigger a bar brawl.

The study, funded by the NHS, claims to provide the first evidence of a link between music and pub violence.

Researchers from Glasgow University, who monitored the playlists and outbreaks of fighting at eight pubs and bars in Glasgow city centre, found that loud rock and rap music encouraged customers to drink more, increasing loutish behaviour that often spilt over into violence. The pounding rhythms also made it difficult for customers to hear one another, causing misunderstandings.

Songs such as (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life from the Dirty Dancing film were found to encourage provocative dancing by women, which led to confrontations when they were propositioned by men.

Rock music such as AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and the Rolling Stones’ Brown Sugar was found to encourage macho posturing and aggressive behaviour among male customers.

However, researchers also discovered that Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe and Williams’s hits could be used to defuse potential disputes. Easy listening and “slushy” romantic songs were sometimes used to deter gangs of young men from entering pubs.

JD Wetherspoon, one of Britain’s biggest pub chains, said: “We avoid playing R&B and rap music in our pubs. Our research shows that the bassline can be quite aggressive and could potentially cause problems.”

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