What is it about rock stars and rappers that they can’t be seen using their own name on stage? You can understand Derek Dick wanting to change his name (even if it was to ‘Fish’), but what’s wrong with being called Damon Gough? The stars have always loved a good pseudonym, and that is what this chapter celebrates. Fifteen straight question, and then a short bonus tracks section asking you to link the pseudonym to the real name.
Answers: here
1 Acid House producer Adam Paul Tinley had a massive hit with ‘Killer’ in 1990 under what moniker? Which singer, born Henry Samuel, provided the vocals, launching his own career in the process?
2 By what name is Stefani Germanotta better known? In which year did ‘Just Dance’ become her first US and UK number one?
3 If Alecia Moore and Victoria Hesketh were performing a duet, who would we be watching?
4 Under what names do Maxwell Fraser and Ayalah Bentovim play in Faithless?
5 The ‘Live Stiffs’ Stiff Records Tour of 1977, featured, among others, Declan McManus and Eric Goulden. Under what names did these two artists perform?
6 Which neosoul singer was born Michel Archer in 1974? What name did he give his backing band on his 2014 album, Brown Sugar?
7 Which singer was born Deborah Ann Dyer in 1967? Which Britpop-era band did she sing with?
8 What is the stage name of Vincent Furnier? Which sport did he become obsessed with after giving up booze in the seventies?
9 What connects the performer of the musical shows Bewilderness, Tinselworm and Dandelion Mind with Guns N’ Roses?
10 Scottish trio John Lawler, Barry Wallace and Gordon McRory are collectively known as what? What is the stage name of drummer Gordon?
11 Carlton D Ridenhour and William Drayton are the main men in hip hop band Public Enemy. Under what names do they perform?
12 Damon Gough released debut album The Hour of Bewilderbeast in 2000. Under what name does he record? What was his second album, a soundtrack to a film based on a Nick Hornby book?
13 Which Irish singer was born Christopher John Davison in 1948, in Argentina? What was his huge, mawkish 1986 single?
14 ‘Dreams’ came true for Louise Bobb in 1993: under which name (her middle name) did she reach number one in the UK? And what was her 1999 album and chart-topping title track?
15 What is the stage name of rapper Elliot Gleave? And of Stephen Manderson?
Which men chose which pseudonyms?
1 Harry Webb; 2 David Evans; 3 Saul Hudson; 4 Raymond Burns; 5 Michael Balzary; 6 Fred Heath; 7 Orville Burrell; 8 Reg Dwight; 9 Chester Burnett; 10 John Ritchie/John Beverly.
a Elton John; b Cliff Richard; c Johnny Kidd; d Shaggy; e The Edge; f Slash; g Captain Sensible h. Sid Vicious; i Flea; j Howlin’ Wolf.
Who are these women better known as?
1 Niomi McLean-Daly; 2 Marie Lawrie; 3 Kimberly Jones; 4 Elizabeth Grant; 5 Christa Paffgen; 6 Susan Ballion; 7 Merrill Nisker; 8 Dana Owens; 9 Marianne Elliott-Said; 10 Priscilla White.
a Poly Styrene; b Cilla Black; c Lana Del Rey; d Lulu; e Siouxsie Sioux; f Queen Latifah; g Nico; h Lil’ Kim; i Peaches; j Ms Dynamite.
Who are these rappers?
1 Shawn Carter; 2 Tramar Dillard; 3 Dylan Kwabena Mills; 4 Christopher Wallace; 5 Trevor George Smith Jr; 6 William Drayton Jr; 7 James Todd Smith; 8 O’Shea Jackson; 9 Sean Combs; 10 Calvin Broadus.
a Busta Rhymes; b LL Cool-J; c Puff Daddy; d Flo Rida; e Snoop Dogg; f Flava Flav; g Jay Z; h Ice Cube; i Notorious B.I.G; j Dizzee Rascal.