A teenager repeatedly listened to the violent lyrics of controversial rapper Eminem after he murdered a defenceless man sleeping rough, a court heard yesterday.

Victim Richard Jones, a 47-year-old former Welsh Guardsman, was found dead in a seaside shelter where he had been sleeping. His blood-stained trousers had been removed.

Defendant David Pallister, 18, of Ashley Road, South Shields, Tyneside, had admitted murder at a previous hearing and Mr Justice Hooper yesterday sentenced him to life imprisonment at Newcastle Crown Court.

But it is the Eminem revelation that will send shock waves throughout the music industry.

Only last week, Home Secretary David Blunkett blamed gangster rap lyrics for fuelling a gun culture of violence among British teenagers.

Pallister was said to have listened repeatedly to a track by the American rapper's band D-12 following the attack around midnight on New Year's Eve 2001 on South Shield's promenade.

Mr Jones, a quiet loner who travelled around the country after caring for his mother for 15 years, was attacked five times and was kicked, punched and stamped on by Pallister.

Toby Hedworth QC, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court yesterday the defendant's former housemate, Kelly Percival, told police Pallister often listened to an Eminem track.

Mr Hedworth said: "There are references to oral sex and then the line 'I ****ing hate you, I'll take your drawers down and ****ing rape you'."

The lyrics come from the song Fight Music.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Kim Fraser agreed that as well as including sexual references, there was a "great deal" of violence in the track.

The court heard that Pallister's victim was a "gentle giant" who moved around the country after his mother Naomi died, aged 80.

Mr Jones, a single man originally from Treorchy, Wales, had been treated at South Tyneside General Hospital for depression.

The court was told he would actively avoid aggression and kept himself to himself, and although he lived rough, he was scrupulous about his personal hygiene.

Judge Hooper praised the team of detectives who worked in extremely cold conditions at the exposed murder scene and managed to preserve crucial evidence.

After the hearing, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp, said: "We started with a blank sheet, not knowing who the victim was, never mind the offender, and we are delighted with both the sentence and the judge's comments.

"David Pallister has lied constantly to avoid capture and has continued to lie up to today, never showing any remorse whatsoever."

Eminem has long courted controversy. While critics hail his musical talent, critics claim his lyrics are a dangerous mix of sexism, homophobia and incitement to violence.

Even his own mother threatened to sue after he wrote a song about raping her.

Although the link between the media and violence is far from proven, campaigners say the music industry has a duty to its young fans.

David Hines, chairman of the North of England Victims Association, said: "People are influenced by music and these lyrics might have just tipped the balance.

"Sane people don't commit murder but with people on the edge something can just flip.

"If music like this is thumping away in someone's mind, it could trigger something off."

Lord McKenzie of Framwellgate, a former Home Office advisor and police superintendent, said: "There is a clear link between what people see and hear and their behaviour in some cases.

"I would always caution against music or films promoting violence if there is a risk of someone being influenced and innocent people being injured and killed."

A spokesman for Eminem's American record label Interscope would not comment specifically on the court case.

But he said: "This question of a link between lyrics and violent crime has been raised before. People know where Eminem comes from and he does not condone real life violence."

Music and tragedy

* Kayleigh Davies hanged herself after becoming infatuated with Eminem. The Hampshire teenager took her life after being sent home from school for drinking.

* A 17-year-old fan of controversial rocker Marilyn Manson died when she plunged from Newcastle's high level bridge. The girl's mother could not say if the death-obsessed lyrics had led to the tragedy.

* Two teenagers who carried out a school massacre in Denver were obsessed with Marilyn Manson and joked about killing people.

* British star Ozzy Osbourne was condemned by a Californian coroner for releasing a song called Suicide Solution. He described the track as "the devil's music".