10 Most Iconic British Frontmen Of 1990s Rock Music

Before Britpop truly made its mark, every kind of jangly pop of the day usually fell under the big umbrella of alternative. Remember that we were just coming off the rise of bands like The Smiths from the '80s, so there was no reason to believe that the college rock side of the dial was going to get any airplay at the time. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of the genre though, you need to do your homework on Ian Brown.

Arriving right as the '90s were about to pop, the Stone Roses' debut record pretty much lived and died on the charisma that Ian possessed in the early days. When seeing them live, it almost looked like he was in a trance with the music, with nearly all of his movements being dictated on how intense the band was around him. One minute there'd be some psychedelic wash on songs like I Wanna Be Adored and then you'd be swept up in a haze on songs like She Bangs the Drums.

Aside from the actual presentation, the greatest strength was his voice, which sat somewhere between the retro sound of '60s rock and also taking a few pages out of Michael Stipe's playbook by focusing on the sound of words rather than the meaning. You better believe that the Gallagher Brothers were taking notes here.