Who Is The Best Front Man?

by Dick Mac

The Top 50 front men? For New Music Express (NME) the fiftieth is Richard Hell of The Voidoids. He would probably make my list. Who would be on my list?

The lead of Tin Machine? Rolling Stones? Patti Smith Group? T.Rex? The New York Dolls? Sly & The Family Stone? The Stooges? Plastic Ono Band? Velvet Underground? Sex Pistols? The Heartbreakers? Blockheads? Blondie? Joy Division? The Ramones? The Jam? Queen? The The?

There are people on the NME list that never would occur to me to select. I'm not even sure I could come-up with 50!

So I'll do my Top Ten:

01 David Bowie
02 Mick Jagger
03 Patti Smith
04 Lou Reed
05 Iggy Pop
06 John Lennon
07 David Johansen
08 John Lydon
09 Freddie Mercury
10 Diana Ross

That list will be different as soon as I publish this article, but I think Bowie will always be at the top. I also think that Patti Smith might bump Mick Jagger out of second place. Or perhaps Iggy Pop would be #2.

The John Lennon on the list is the John Lennon who was the front man for Plastic Ono Band, not The Beatles. I did not include Yoko Ono with him, even though she and Lennon were almost always listed as co-leads of Plastic Ono Band). Also, if you have been fortunate enough to see any of the current Plastic Ono Band shows over the past few years, your opinion of her might change. Seeing a 79-year-old Japanese woman dancing and singing with a rock band is a show you shouldn't miss. I know that most of you hate Yoko Ono, but I don't care. :-P

The NME #1 was an impressive choice that reflects, I think, a rather sophisticated analysis of such a list. I won't tell you. Go find out: 50 most electrifying frontmen (and women)

I am not embarrassed to say that I did not even know some of the NME Top 50!

Who are your Top Ten? 20? 25? 50? 100?