Sometimes one identity just isn’t enough.
For musicians, taking on an alter ego can be liberating — a mask that frees them to experiment, misbehave, or vanish into myth. Whether it’s a full-blown persona with costumes and backstory, or simply a different name scrawled on the credits, these disguises often unlock creativity that would never survive under the weight of their “real” fame.
Why do they do it? Sometimes it’s pure escape — the chance to ditch audience expectations and start fresh. Other times it’s a sly wink, a way of parodying genres they secretly love. For some, it’s a buffer between themselves and an intrusive spotlight; for others, a chance to slip into a more outrageous, uninhibited self. And in rare cases, the alter ego takes over, becoming so iconic it overshadows the artist behind the mask.
These reinventions can be playful, cathartic, or even necessary for survival in the industry. They remind us that music isn’t just about sound — it’s also about character, mythology, and the stories we tell about ourselves.
Here are 15 of the boldest, strangest, and most successful musical alter egos in history — where disguise meets inspiration.
1. XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear
Swindon, UK art rockers XTC created The Dukes of Stratosphear in 1985 as a playful escape from the pressures of being a “serious” pop band. Under paisley costumes and fuzz pedals, they indulged their love of 1960s psychedelia, parodying and paying homage to their musical heroes. Free from expectations, they rediscovered joy in recording — and to their surprise, The Dukes’ albums outsold XTC’s own, proving the alter ego struck a deeper chord with listeners.
2. David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust was more than an alter ego — it was a world-shaking reinvention. The androgynous alien rock star, unveiled in 1972, gave Bowie a flamboyant, theatrical vehicle to explore themes of fame, sexuality, and apocalypse. Ziggy blurred the boundary between performance and reality so convincingly that Bowie nearly lost himself in the role. At once liberating and dangerous, Ziggy transformed Bowie into a global icon and glam rock’s definitive figurehead.
3. Neil Young as Bernard Shakey
Neil Young’s quirky alter ego Bernard Shakey emerged in the late 1960s as the name under which he released his film projects. The pseudonym gave him the freedom to experiment without the weight of “Neil Young” expectations. As Bernard Shakey, he directed Journey Through the Past (1973), the stark anti–concert film Rust Never Sleeps (1979), and starred in the bizarre yet ambitious Human Highway (1982).
These rough-edged, idiosyncratic works reflect Young’s restless creativity, often blending music, politics, and surreal humor. Bernard Shakey became a safe outlet for risk-taking, allowing Young to embrace his DIY, outsider instincts in cinema.
4. Paul McCartney as The Fireman
Macca's alter ego The Fireman allowed him to step away from Beatle expectations and explore electronic and ambient music. Collaborating with producer Youth in the 1990s, McCartney released albums like Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest and Rushes, blending loops, textures, and experimental soundscapes. The pseudonym offered anonymity, letting him create without scrutiny, and revealed a side of McCartney rarely heard in his mainstream work, highlighting his curiosity and willingness to reinvent himself.
5. Prince as Jamie Starr and Camille
Prince was a master of reinvention, and pseudonyms became one of his most playful tools. As Jamie Starr, he stepped behind the scenes to produce hits for The Time, shaping their funky Minneapolis sound while keeping his fingerprints disguised. The alias allowed him to explore collaboration and control without drawing attention to himself.
Then there was Camille, a radical experiment in identity: Prince sped up his vocals to craft a high-pitched, androgynous persona whose recordings challenged traditional notions of gender in pop music. Several Camille tracks eventually appeared on the groundbreaking Sign o’ the Times (1987), blending seamlessly with Prince’s kaleidoscopic vision.
6. Nicki Minaj as Roman Zolanski
Rapper Nicki Minaj has adopted a few alter egos, but Roman Zolanski is her most infamous. Loud, unpredictable, and outrageously theatrical, Roman raps with a snarling, manic energy that contrasts sharply with Minaj’s more polished personas. He embodies chaos, rebellion, and dark humour, allowing her to explore edgier, more aggressive lyrical territory. Whether on tracks or in interviews, Roman brings a fearless, unpredictable dimension to Minaj’s artistry, thrilling fans with his volatile charisma.
7. The Residents as The Residents
The Residents are a rare case where the pseudonym is the band. Since their formation in the early 1970s, their true identities have remained a mystery, shielded behind iconic eyeball masks and top hats. This radical anonymity allowed them to experiment fearlessly, creating surreal, avant-garde music, bizarre visuals, and multimedia projects without the constraints of celebrity or public expectation.
By erasing personal identity, the Residents became a living conceptual art project, letting the work speak entirely for itself. Their secrecy turned into legend, inspiring generations of experimental artists who admired their audacious commitment to creative freedom.
8. Paul Westerberg as Grandpaboy
Paul Westerberg, frontman of The Replacements, adopted the Grandpaboy persona in the 1990s to release raw, blues-infused rock records. This alter ego allowed him to explore loose, playful, and unpolished musical ideas without the weight of expectation attached to his name. By keeping Grandpaboy separate from his introspective solo work, Westerberg enjoyed creative freedom and a chance to indulge his love of rollicking, no-frills rock.
9. Eric Clapton as Derek & The Dominos
Derek and the Dominos were more than just a band — they were Eric Clapton’s escape hatch from fame. Following the overwhelming success of Cream and his solo work, Clapton sought anonymity, wanting to collaborate without public scrutiny. By adopting the semi-anonymous moniker, he could explore raw, blues-drenched rock with a freer, more emotional edge.
The resulting album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), captured heartbreak, desire, and vulnerability at their peak, fuelled by Clapton’s unrequited love for the model and photographer Pattie Boyd. Derek and the Dominos offered a distinct musical persona: Clapton wasn’t just a guitar hero, he was part of a passionate ensemble, experimenting, suffering, and creating timeless music under a protective cloak of pseudonymity.
10. Green Day as Foxboro Hot Tubs
In the 2000s, Green Day took a playful detour as Foxboro Hot Tubs, releasing garage rock tracks that paid homage to 1960s Nuggets-era bands. The alter ego let them indulge in raw, energetic, and deliberately rough-edged recordings, free from the expectations of their mainstream punk-pop image. The music was fun, fast, and unapologetically unpolished, giving fans a glimpse of the band’s love for retro rock while exploring a wilder, more carefree creative side.
11. Damon Albarn as Gorillaz
Damon Albarn has experimented with numerous musical identities, but Gorillaz stands as his most ambitious and striking alter ego. Conceived as a virtual, animated band with constantly shifting collaborators, Gorillaz allowed Albarn to escape the expectations and constraints of his Britpop fame with Blur.
Through this guise, Albarn explored hip-hop, electronic, and world music influences in a way that might have felt out of place under his own name. The animated personas—2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel—became characters in their own right, giving Albarn the freedom to create conceptually adventurous, genre-blurring albums while blending visual art, storytelling, and music into a fully immersive, virtual world.
12. Luke Haines as Baader Meinhof
Luke Haines, frontman of British alternative band The Auteurs, adopted the Baader Meinhof persona in the mid-1990s to explore dark, politically charged themes outside the confines of his main band. Named after the notorious German militant group, this alter ego allowed Haines to craft sardonic, provocative songs that blended post-punk attitude with wry commentary on violence, media, and celebrity.
The project was deliberately shadowy and confrontational, giving him freedom to experiment with edgy, minimal arrangements and satirical lyrics. Baader Meinhof stands as a testament to Haines’s willingness to reinvent himself and use alter egos as vehicles for thematic and stylistic exploration.
13. Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines
In 1999, country superstar Garth Brooks stunned audiences by adopting his alter ego Chris Gaines, an emo-pop persona complete with a soul patch, wig, and entirely new backstory. Brooks released a full “greatest hits” album under the guise, blending rock, pop, and introspective ballads—far removed from his country roots. The audacious experiment challenged fans’ expectations, blurred genre boundaries, and remains one of music’s most infamous and daring identity transformations.
14. Todd Rundgren as Nazz / Runt / Utopia
Todd Rundgren has long been a master of reinvention, adopting multiple band names and pseudonyms to explore vastly different musical directions. With Nazz in the late 1960s, he helped define power-pop, crafting catchy, guitar-driven songs that showcased his early songwriting flair. His solo project Runt in the early 1970s allowed him to experiment with studio techniques, quirky arrangements, and genre-blending pop-rock, establishing him as a fearless studio innovator.
Later, Utopia gave Rundgren a platform to explore progressive rock, complex arrangements, and conceptual compositions, blending synthesizers, intricate harmonies, and ambitious song structures. Each persona let him push boundaries, escape commercial expectations, and express a distinct facet of his eclectic artistry.
15. Tupac as Makaveli
For his posthumously released 1996 album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Tupac Shakur adopted the alias Makaveli, inspired by the notorious Renaissance diplomat and author Niccolò Machiavelli. This persona allowed Tupac to explore darker, more confrontational themes, delving into street politics, betrayal, mortality, and vengeance with unprecedented intensity.
The album, reportedly recorded in just seven days, is steeped in paranoia, with lyrics rife with suspicion of rivals, the media, and even those close to him. Conspiracy theories and myths have swirled around Makaveli ever since, including speculation that Tupac faked his death. The alias amplified this mystique, turning Tupac into a larger-than-life figure whose posthumous work feels haunted, urgent, and prophetic.
Makaveli was not just a pseudonym — it was a vessel for unfiltered expression, a mask that allowed Tupac to confront personal and societal demons, cementing his enduring influence on hip-hop and popular culture.
Pics Getty Images
