Does the North-South divide dictate our musical taste? A new sales survey by HMV for Uncut magazine reveals that the further north you go, the faster the people like their music. The people of Scotland are bouncing around to happy hardcore at a rate of 190 beats per minute (BPM), whereas in the South people are bobbing their heads to much slower music at 80 BPM.

The love of the slowest music is in the West Country - known for its Trip Hop scene where artists such as Massive Attack and Portishead emerged with their lethargic vibes slower than the average heart beat at just 70 BPM.

So why could this be? Perhaps with the colder, northern weather, people need to dance around a bit to keep warm and the longer evenings mean more night life? Or maybe the people in the south are just more downbeat and less cheery…

(Image: from daveybot’s flickr stream)