Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

[Guest]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Freddie Mercury? Bono? Mick Jagger? Robert Plant? Jim Morrison?

If you fancy a vote http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/pages/poll

[bovril]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Hmmm.

Frontman?

In my opinion it has to be not only a good perfomer technically but also some one whose mere presence excites a room/hall/arena/stadium.

Seen a few over the years.

Jagger is perhaps the biggest "star" i have seen perform.
Prince also makes you feel blessed to be in his company
Springsteen gives great performances but i think lacks charisma
Bono and Michael Stipe both grab your attention - in the many times i have seen U2 i always know i should be looking at The Edge to see what he is up to with the guitar but just end up watching Bono.
Liam Gallagher has a massive presence and a great voice
Morrissey too circa 1985/86
Bruce Dickinson is a very good frontman too.

Maybe someone I haven't seen - Elvis?

[MsD]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Bowie

[evilC]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Iggy
Prince
Henry Rollins
John Otway

Personally, I also like frontmen who can switch from performance to comedy at the drop of a hat and banter with a crowd in a natural way. I know some people don't like that particular 'glass ceiling' between performer and audience to be broken, but I quite like it.

[willie1foot]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Roger Daltrey

[Bored Of Education]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Out of ones, I have seen Iggy. Straight down the line, Iggy. I was in a band at 17 and, nicking things from other people, I had my top off, climbed PAs etc and then I saw Iggy for the first time and realised I had been ripping him off all the time.

All the others mentioned are too studied, arch and affected. You know that they have half an eye on how they look, they keep something back. Iggy is just a sheer force of nature, the embodiment of his songs. Having said that, I can't believe that he didn't realise that this

looked awesome

Rollins comes pretty close on this score. Like Iggy, you get the feeling that he goes into a "zone".

Again, I didn't see him so Elvis must have been close especially in the early days although the 68 comeback special is the best mix of vocal ability and stage presence I have seen. Playing in the middle of the audience in a boxing ring takes some doing.

Liam Gallagher was alright at the start for pulling off the "not doing much" charisma but Joey Ramone was always the best at that

[evilC]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Bored of Education wrote:

All the others mentioned are too studied, arch and affected.

What - John Otway?

[erwin]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

For sheer charisma and infectious enthusiasm, Bruce Springsteen takes a lot of beating.

(to disagree with Bovril re the 'charisma' bit)

[Bored Of Education]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Bored of Education wrote:
All the others mentioned are too studied, arch and affected.

What - John Otway?

I missed him although when I saw him there was an element of planned slapstick about him.

Marylin Manson is a great frontman but no Iggy Pop.

[Lucia Lanigan]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Definitely Bono. And Sting. And Hitler.

[Ray de Galles]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Three words;

David

Lee

Roth

Thread closed.

[Ray de Galles]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

bovril wrote:

Maybe someone I haven't seen - Elvis?

To get needlessly hung up on thread semantics for a minute (as is my wont) I think a "frontman" has to be in a band rather than a solo performer.

[bovril]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Harry Truscott wrote:

bovril wrote:

Maybe someone I haven't seen - Elvis?

To get needlessly hung up on thread semantics for a minute (as is my wont) I think a "frontman" has to be in a band rather than a solo performer.

Agreed. Ignore the King

Diamond Dave is a good shout too

[G-Man]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Fuck the egomaniacs. Collective outfits is where it's at. So take your pick: Temptations vs Four Tops.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Harry speaks for me on this issue.

(I'll go out on a limb and guess that Twisted Sister is in this camp too).

[Borracho]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

The best frontman I ever saw at a live gig was Franz Treichler of the Young Gods.

Neil Kulkarni, if he still posts here, will back me up on this.

[Gangster Octopus]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Alex Harvey.

[Cal Alamein]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Henry and Diamond Dave aren't bad, but Iggy is the ultimate front man.

[evilC]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Analogue Bubblebath II wrote:

The best frontman I ever saw at a live gig was Franz Treichler of the Young Gods.

Bugger! How could I possibly have forgotten about him?

Due to my deteriorating knee joints, they're now likely to forever remain the last band I ever went into the moshpit for. (That is, spent most of the gig there ...even though I think I lost 'cool points' for doing so with several other OTFers who were there, as a result! ;-> )

What I want to know is how Treichler kept his own knees going for so long? Mind you, perhaps their move towards acoustic experimentation partly answers that question.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Of ones I've seen:

Jagger

Morrison

Iggy

Springsteen

Roger Chapman

Most influential/original:

Jagger

Morrison

Lydon

Curtis

[Bored Of Education]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Harry has thrown a really good (and ridiculously previously overlooked) hat in the ring with DLR which causes me a quandary.

Rollins definitely comes second to both as he rips off both. I will take on board the Elvis veto.

Pop V Roth?

Too close to call

[mafu]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

james brown

[MsD]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

evilC wrote:

Analogue Bubblebath II wrote:

The best frontman I ever saw at a live gig was Franz Treichler of the Young Gods.

Bugger! How could I possibly have forgotten about him?

Due to my deteriorating knee joints, they're now likely to forever remain the last band I ever went into the moshpit for. (That is, spent most of the gig there ...even though I think I lost 'cool points' for doing so with several other OTFers who were there, as a result! ;-> )

What I want to know is how Treichler kept his own knees going for so long? Mind you, perhaps their move towards acoustic experimentation partly answers that question.

You know they're touring again, don't you? Think it was December I saw them, can't see any upcoming London dates but they're in Europe this month.

Rotten (Lydon) is a great, great frontman and one of the best I've ever seen. Young Django Stewart is the latest; mesmerising and charismatic.

I said Bowie, as he was the ultimate popstar in his Ziggy phase, doesn't really matter what he did, or has done since.

[Bored Of Education]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Treichler is a good call but, again, slightly too influenced by Iggy to be the greatest.

Lux Interior is near the top as well

Axl Rose on their first and second tours over here (Marquee and Hammersmith Odeon) was very good as well

[evilC]

Who has been the greatest frontman ever?

Bored of Education wrote:

Lux Interior is near the top as well

That's a superb call. Intelligent chap, too.

Anyone for Nick Cave?

(Oooh! Tangential thread inspired now...)