The 10 Fiercest British Frontmen Of The Past Decade

July 17, 2008

A band's most lasting impression is made with a dynamic, charismatic leader who represents the group and presents all of their hard work where it matters most: in a live setting.

It takes a mind-boggling amount of stamina and hunger to wow the crowds night after night with the same amount of intensity and passion throughout a tour. We're talking pails and pails of sweat, laryngitis, broken limbs, and above all, a supreme and unwavering passion for what they do. Festival season is upon us, and to pay tribute to the blockbuster UK festivals that started it all, we count down Britain's finest leading lads of the past ten years.

Far from phoning it in, these ten frontmen have perfected the craft of embodying what it means to be a true rockstar...

10. Johnny Borrell

Johnny Borrell is probably most famous for either appearing shirtless and in white jeans, or proclaiming that he's as good as Bob Dylan and Orson Welles, among others. He's one of only seven men to have ever appeared on the cover of British Vogue and ever the arrogant frontman. But those who have seen a Razorlight show recall the thrill of their live performance. A sexy, swaggering frontman who knows he's a hottie and really woos the crowd.

Watch: Razorlight - Before I Fall To Pieces

9. Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker's songwriting skills (with Pulp, and as a solo artist) are undisputed - one minute he's singing about woodchips on the wall and the next about teenage wet dreams. He's got that classic British dry wit and deadpan delivery that Pulp fans have loved from the start. He's the quintessential gentleman, always well-dressed and donning his trademark thick-rimmed glasses. And with the exception of his stage invasion during Michael Jackson's performance at the 1996 BRIT Awards, he's generally well-behaved and reserves his cultural commentary for more civilized forums like talk shows and interviews. Check out the rowdy performance of Common People below.

Watch: Pulp - Common People (@ Glastonbury)

8. Ricky Wilson

Every time I've seen the Kaiser Chiefs perform, I've been rendered exhausted just trying to keep up with Ricky Wilson himself. He's a notoriously fidgety performer who never stands still - he's airborne for nearly 50% of a typical Kaiser Chiefs set thanks to his trademark pogo-ing and sporadic leaping (usually performed while simultaneously playing a tambourine!). Add to that the fact that he likes to climb things (scaffolding, speakers, whatever) and crowd surf to "get out and see what the crowd smells like" and you have yourself quite an unpredictable riot of a show. Ricky's so reckless, in fact, that in 2006 he was injured in a hit and run accident that resulted in an ankle cast, yet he still toured for the rest of the summer, getting up to his usual stage antics.

Watch: Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot (@ PinkPop 2006)

7. Chris Martin

Chris Martin kinda has it all. He's a generally nice guy, he has the attention and adoration of thousands, plays piano and guitar, two cute kids and a superstar wife (Gwyneth Paltrow). Watching him perform with Coldplay is amazing because it's such a complete experience. At a typical show you might see him bop from the mic to piano, then back to guitar, then tear across the stage, then disappear deep into the crowd to sing a spontaneous cover of Nelly's Hot In Herre. And like many frontmen, Chris Martin knows exactly how to wield his star power to bring awareness to the causes he supports - in the last four years the back of his left hand has been almost permanently stamped with a "Make Trade Fair" equal sign.

Watch: Coldplay - Yellow (in Sydney, 2003)

6. Tom Chaplin

The amount of energy and passion that Tom Chaplin puts into every single Keane show is something I've rarely seen before. It's a given that all three band members will end any show soaked in their own sweat, and Tom leads the way. He hits every note, inserts dramatic pauses at just the right moments and really engages the audience throughout. Watching them perform popular set-closer Bedshaped is phenomenal - at 3:41 especially Tom's vocal abilities really shine.

Watch: Keane - Bedshaped (@ Rock Werchter, 2007)
Watch: Keane - Somewhere Only We Know (@ Live8)

5. Ian Brown

He's constantly referred to by the UK press and tabloids as "King Monkey" or a 'monkey' variation thereof - a nickname I'm pretty confident he can't possibly be a fan of - and in 2006 he won NME's "Godlike Genius" award. Indeed, while on stage with his former band The Stone Roses or as part of his solo efforts, Ian Brown is godlike. Strong lyrical delivery, heaps of charisma and dynamic stage presence set him apart from the crowd. At a June show in Sheffield, a fan dragged Ian into the crowd where he fell and suffered a wound to the head that required 10 stitches. The injury wasn't enough to keep him away from the stage - the unstoppable force performed a full set at the Isle Of Wight Festival the very next day.

Watch: Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored (@ T In The Park)

4. Matt Bellamy

Time and time again you hear people recount stories of Muse's live show, saying either that it's 'the best show they've ever seen' or marvelling at the ability of three seemingly unassuming dudes to absolutely OWN a massive festival-sized stage. Matt Bellamy is at the helm of this triad, and his stage presence and vocal ability are both mesmerizing. He's been seen outfitted in a head-to-toe red jumpsuit rocking out behind a lucite, laser-clad baby grand piano on more than one occasion - watching a blisteringly-loud set by Muse is truly a sight to behold.

Watch: Muse - Knights Of Cydonia (@ Wembley Stadium)

3. Richard Ashcroft

Richard Ashcroft has been part of a massive festival circuit with the recently reunited The Verve - in 2008 they've already played Coachella, MSG in New York and headlined Glastonbury, where they featured their new single Love Is Noise, a song that the NME describes as "such an instantaneous classic that The Verve had the audacity to end their set with it". Richard usually sports a uniform of sunglasses, tidy, zippered jackets and, most notably, no shoes. He's a commanding frontman that never loses his cool - he engages the crowd and shuffles his way across the stage, but you just know he thinks he's the tits, and frankly, we're inclined to agree with him.

Watch: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony (@ Glastonbury 2008)

2. Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher has what is arguably one of the most instantly recognizable mic stances in all of British rock 'n roll. Instead of grabbing onto the microphone and using it as his instrument or tool, he prefers to approach the mic with his hands clasped behind his back or in his pockets, neck angled upwards towards it, with his upper lip and nose (instead of his actual mouth) closest to it. It's like he's a messiah (we already know he THINKS he is) and simply REFUSES to touch the microphone. Even at blockbuster shows like Glastonbury and T In The Park, he maintains a stoic, god-like presence on stage.

Watch: Oasis - Wonderwall

1. Dave Gahan

Most Depeche Mode fans can agree that Dave Gahan acts as a mouthpiece for the songwriting and lyrics that are primarily the work of bandmate Martin Gore. And even after over 25 years as the face of Depeche Mode, Dave remains a dangerously sexy, unstoppable force who manages to make grown women weep and render themselves hoarse from screaming his name. As a typical Depeche Mode set progresses, more and more clothing is removed and by the end of it, what you're left with is a bare-chested, tattooed and ripped Dave gyrating his way down the catwalk like a sexy, sweaty mess. I dare you to not get chills when Dave commands an audience of over 150,000 people to wave their arms rhythmically at the 4:43 mark of the classic Never Let Me Down Again performance below.

Watch: Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again
Watch: Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence

Obviously there are heaps more that didn't make it onto this list, so who are your favourite British frontmen? Post in the comments!

Photographs, except Matt Bellamy, Courtesy of Getty Images

Posted by Kat at 03:16 PM | Comments (61)

Comments

My fvourite part about these blogs are how many a time they features my fave Brit bands that don't get enough attention :)

Posted by: mandy at July 17, 2008 09:14 PM

These guys will never compete with the gih hair 80s rockers!
http://www.iurlz.com/demtools

Posted by: Josh Thomas at July 18, 2008 10:18 AM

no thom yorke?

Posted by: iec at July 18, 2008 10:26 AM

Where is Keith Flint from the prodigy ?

Posted by: Niq at July 18, 2008 10:26 AM

Uhhhhh... THOM FUCKING YORKE!

Posted by: Dan at July 18, 2008 10:29 AM

uhhh... where the hell is Thom Yorke?

Posted by: tallahuslter at July 18, 2008 10:30 AM

The only thing fierce about Chris Martin is his willingness to castrate himself in order to sing like he does. He sounds like a combination of Gizmo the Gremlin and Flipper the Dolphin. If Radiohead was in the movie Space Jam, and had their talent stolen by aliens, they would become Coldgay, er, Coldplay.

Posted by: Mike at July 18, 2008 10:31 AM

No Thom Yorke? Boooo! Lame!

Posted by: Mike at July 18, 2008 10:32 AM

If you are going to include depeche mode because they are still making new music, you might as well include the following: Mick Jagger, Bruce Dickinson, and Paul McCartney

Posted by: Cullen at July 18, 2008 10:44 AM

What kind of music do they play?
I like rock.

Posted by: phetrs at July 18, 2008 10:44 AM

THOM YORKE?

Posted by: j at July 18, 2008 10:54 AM

what a bunch of lamers. theyre all people that really ruined music for the world.

if all it takes to be "godlike" is up your own arse...

Posted by: chris at July 18, 2008 10:57 AM

Radiohead is phenomenal, but Thom Yorke is far from a fierce frontman. Above all, his live performance voice is absolutely awful. He just can't pull it off in a live setting.

Posted by: dee at July 18, 2008 11:07 AM

this list is garbage without jay kay/jamiroquai. wtf. cold play? yeah, if i want to fall into a sleep i'll never wake from.

Posted by: chimera at July 18, 2008 11:07 AM

I have to TOTALLY agree about Muse. I bought a CD based on a recommendation of a friend, liked it but shelved it after a few spins. In '06, I saw Muse at SummerSonic in Tokyo and they owned the stage. Hands down they were the best act of the entire festival. I've been hooked ever since.

Posted by: Chris at July 18, 2008 11:09 AM

What a pile of shite! i don't usually whinge on comments lists - but what the hell?!?! Jarvis Cocker, Matt Bellamy, and Chris Martin - Yes they are decent frontmen. I don't now whats going on with the rest of them.

This guy either has a rubbish (and a decade out of date) taste in music, or its a VERY sad reflection of the current music scene! Again - Thom Yorke?! Damon Albarn, Dave Grohl, Antony Keidis, Kanye West, Michael Stipe, Billy Corgan, Mynard James.

Johnny Borrell is an absolute Asscrack.

Posted by: tonto at July 18, 2008 11:13 AM

@TONTO: Take a look at the post title, asscrack. Dave Grohl, Anthony Kiedis, Kanye, Michael Stipe, Billy Corgan, Mynard James = NOT FUCKING BRITISH.

Posted by: leigh at July 18, 2008 11:14 AM

Coldplay? Fierce?
A lot of these frontmen I wouldn't have considered Fierce in the past 10 days let alone decade. I'm thinking more like "Hot Tranny Mess", but not in a good way.

Posted by: RN b at July 18, 2008 11:22 AM

This is shockingly bad. Tom Chaiplain from Keane???? What the fudge?. Wheres Doherty or Barat? This is the worst list ever.

Posted by: Tony James at July 18, 2008 11:23 AM

Where's Damon !?

Posted by: Anna at July 18, 2008 11:24 AM

What about Moz? He's fiercely hilarious!

Posted by: Johnny Marr at July 18, 2008 11:57 AM

Borrell is a twat.

That is all.

Posted by: Phil Young at July 18, 2008 12:24 PM

you've got to be joking about Borrell. he's a pathetic part-timer compared to the two geniuses you didn't include: Doherty and Barat.

Posted by: cece at July 18, 2008 12:28 PM

Pete Doherty. Carl Barat.

That is the most glaring omission that could ever possibly be!! And Jarvis should be higher.

Posted by: M. at July 18, 2008 12:44 PM

Andy Falkous people. Andy Falkous.

Posted by: februarymakeup at July 18, 2008 12:55 PM

Tobias Sammet from Avantasia/Edguy, guy is crazy good live... one of the most unbelievable live voices ever.

Posted by: thespore at July 18, 2008 01:32 PM

WTF

This is possibly the most inaccurate and pathetic list I've ever had the misfortune to come across.

#10 is some tosser and #6 has the fierce qualities of a dead fart being raped by a tea bag.

#7 and #8 are about as fierce as a nan flicking herself off.

Posted by: Rockgeek at July 18, 2008 01:56 PM

Shane MacGowan - the ugliest frontman of all time.

Posted by: F. at July 18, 2008 02:00 PM

what a load of rubbish. you have some of the least charismatic and most pedestrian indie bores that have darkened music's doorstep over the last few decades.

coupled with the author's charmless and fawning writing style this makes for a truely abysmal article that i wish i hadnt read.

utter bollocks, give it up.

Posted by: alphabeta at July 18, 2008 02:04 PM

definitely missing pete doherty

Posted by: e at July 18, 2008 02:09 PM

Iggy Pop!

Posted by: SPL3000 at July 18, 2008 02:18 PM

Thom Yorke??

Posted by: inanimateface at July 18, 2008 02:31 PM

"pails and pails of sweat, laryngitis, broken limbs, and above all, a supreme and unwavering passion for what they do"

minus the broken limbs... have you ever seen thom yorke dance to Idioteque or sing Paranoid Android? Seen his band live at all? Have you seen glastonbury '03 or coachella '04?

I'd like to believe you honestly did not think Thom belonged to the "Fierce" category and give you the benefit of the doubt, but to include CHRIS MARTIN with your list of attributes entitling him to be included here is F*ing ridiculous...

Posted by: shaun at July 18, 2008 03:05 PM

wtf, where's thom yorke?

Posted by: katy at July 18, 2008 03:45 PM

Completely agree with the Dave Gahan choice. Never have I seen a frontman able to move a crowd like he does, truly amazing in concert.

Posted by: michele at July 18, 2008 03:49 PM

dave gahan if you aint seen him in action (oh ur) then you dont know what your missing defo number 1

Posted by: suth at July 18, 2008 04:28 PM

Two words: Bruce Dickinson. now thats fierce

Posted by: finger at July 18, 2008 05:45 PM

great to see em in action. http://www.itsfreemusic.com

Posted by: itsfreemusic.com at July 19, 2008 12:21 AM

WHERE THE FUCK IS DAMON ALBARN

Posted by: null at July 19, 2008 03:10 AM

Fiercest British frontmen ever? Never seen such nonsense in my life!
This list is a bunch of britpop shirt-lifters for the most part. No Lemmy out of Motorhead? No Johnny Rotten? Try again, kids...

Posted by: rico at July 19, 2008 03:15 AM

Dave Gahan crowned King as the fiercest frontman - ABSOLUTELY!! Finally, acknowledgment of what Depeche fans have known for years - no-one can whip a crowd into rapture like our Dave!! A dangerously sexy force he is indeed!!

Posted by: Charlie at July 19, 2008 04:31 AM

DAVE GAHAN BEST FRONTMAN IN THE WORLD!!!!....YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH !!! DEPECHE MODE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD !! YYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: my_shoes93 at July 19, 2008 08:17 AM

Well done; I make these kind of lists myself and I really like this one. My favourites are Dave and Liam (L) They are both amazing - and I'm going to see Liam and the boys August 27th! :D

Posted by: Stephanie S. at July 19, 2008 02:49 PM

Freddie Mercury's 17yrs dead and he'd still kick all these amateurs off the stage.

Posted by: Fin at July 19, 2008 03:31 PM

Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden and Rob Halford from Judas Priest should have made this list, hands down.
Who the hell are Keane and Depeche Mode, anyways?

Posted by: EddieGreat at July 19, 2008 04:06 PM

If you don t know who is Dave Gahan or DEPECHE MODE search on youtube and you won t regret

Posted by: DMODEFAN at July 20, 2008 05:15 AM

This is B.S. One name missing... BRUCE FU*KING DICKENSON!

Posted by: adam B at July 20, 2008 02:19 PM

Dave gahan the best frontman in the world no doubt. Depeche Mode a great band

Posted by: Anabela - Portugal at July 20, 2008 07:33 PM

this list is absolutely terrible. full of indie landfill with the slightest hint of heritage with gahn. What about keith flint, johnny rotten, morrisey, ian mc cullough, thom yorke, shaun ryder,mick jagger, ray davis etc i could go on but whats the point in arguing with someone who obviously has no idea about music. I mean johnny borrel !! please spare me.

Posted by: marcus at July 21, 2008 06:30 AM

Dave Gahan? Really? No, really? I think that you could lose 50% of the singers in that list, without any complaints from anyone. Johnny Borrell is just an idiot, too. And the singer from Keane is a big girl's blouse.

No Morrissey? No Johnny Rotten? No Mick Jagger? Almost literally insane.

Joe - www.anewbandaday.com

Posted by: Joe | A New Band A Day at July 21, 2008 07:15 AM

It's a measure of how Depeche Mode continue to divide opinion, confounding perceptions and eliciting adoration in equal measure, when one reads the responses to what really is an uncontroversial choice for the millions of Mode devotees around the globe.

Certainly Gahan's propensity to indulge in "Rock God" mode occasionally jars ("Come on, let's see those hands! Oh yeah!") and he's never quite been able to square the confines of DM and his obvious desire to be Iggy Pop, but in full flow he's a remarkable performer, having suffered well, emerging from the other side intact and in remarkable condition.

Posted by: Sean at July 21, 2008 02:02 PM

I vote Bruce Dickinson

Posted by: null at July 23, 2008 07:14 AM

Fierce? FIERCE??? Only in the "Project Runway" sense. These dudes are ALL sissies.

Here's an article that challenges you to name even FIVE British singers who don't sing like little girls:

http://www.gloriousnoise.com/shorties/2008/ten_fiercest_british_frontmen.php

Posted by: Jake at July 23, 2008 11:37 AM

Something people should watch by Dave Gahan is his video for "Kingdom".
Amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwcUi-Aok6Q

Posted by: Tan at July 23, 2008 11:19 PM

Yay :]
I'm glad Matthew Bellamy is on this!!
I love him.

Posted by: Alyssa at July 24, 2008 06:28 PM