The best secrets in music aren't about who is behind the mask—they're about who is using a different name to break every rule they set for themselves.
How else can you explain why the world's biggest pop star would reinvent herself as Jo Calderone—a chain-smoking, male mechanic from Sicily—to star in her own music video and perform at the MTV VMAs? This bizarre 2011 gender-swap proved that even global superstars yearn to shed their image.
From pop titans trying out metal to country legends embracing alt-rock, music history is littered with alter-egos, from Aladdin Sane to The Cranes, being the name The Cure would use at times to perform secret shows.
We lift the veil on 15 artists who performed, recorded, and sometimes offended, all while hiding behind a different name - and in some cases, leading to rumours who they “really” were...
13. Foxboro Hot Tubs / The Network
Both Foxboro Hot Tubs (60s garage rock) and The Network (synth-punk) are separate, fully-formed bands whose members are, despite years of denial, clearly the members of Green Day. These projects allowed the punk legends to explore different genres without the weight of their primary name, releasing full albums and playing smaller club gigs under the disguise. | Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSW
14. Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington
This alias required sustained commitment. Percy 'Thrills' Thrillington was the name used by Paul McCartney to release a 1977 orchestral jazz instrumental version of his 1971 Ram album. McCartney promoted the album in the press using the fictional persona, maintaining the elaborate secret for years before finally confirming the truth in the 1980s. | Wood/Evening Standard/Getty Images/Hulton Archive
15. Darren Spooner
Saving the grittiest shift for last is Darren Spooner, the skeletal, abrasive, karate-loving frontman of the electro-rock band Relaxed Muscle. This unsettling persona was completely inhabited by Jarvis Cocker, the famously literate and dandy-like singer of Pulp. Cocker created the alter-ego to explore a darker, more primitive side of performance, giving him an aggressive outlet that contrasted sharply with his witty, observational songwriting. | Getty Images