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21221223435 by YardieGoals
Did you see Nick Minaj's gloriously bonkers performance at Sunday's (12 February) Grammy awards (above)? Performing as alter ego "Roman Zolanski" the rapper dressed up as a nun and exorcised a priest... which is nice. Still Roman has a bit of a way to go if he/she wants to match these split personalities...

Name: Jarvis Cocker
AKA: Darren Spooner
At the height of Electro Clash, Jarvis became Relaxed Muscle's Darren Spooner, who were "the sound of young Doncaster". Spooner, the rough guy townie, was according to the Pulp front man "the kind of guy who would go out on a Friday night and just want to have a fight after the pub".
Did anyone fall for it? Relaxed muscle managed a few shows before Cocker's cover was blown. With only one release, 2003's A Heavy Nite With... we can mark this one down as post Pulp electro experimentation.

Name: David Bowie
AKA: Ziggy Stardust
According to David Bowie, "Ziggy was my Martian messiah who twanged a guitar". The Dane used Ziggy to tell his epic world-ending tale featuring Starmen, black-hole jumpers and a whole host of weirdness. Ziggy the beginning of Bowies obsession with alter-egos.
Did anyone fall for it? The album went platinum in the UK and the US and from initial critical acclaim it has only gathered acclaim with age. Just don't mention the Thin White Duke.

Name: Eminem
AKA: Slim Shady
"I was taking a shit, and the name just popped into my head," the rapper claimed of his plan to release his "evil" side. Able to say what Marshall couldn't, Slim Shady specialised in rape, murder, drugs and gore.
Did anyone fall for it? Provoking controversy with its extreme lyrical content, The Slim Shady LP remains a firm fan favourite and has been certified four times platinum.

Name: Lady Gaga
AKA: Jo Calderone
Seemingly a tribute to comedian Lenny Bruce, Calderone is Lady Gaga's sweary, chain smoking, ball-grabbing male persona. Originally unveiled in 2010 for a Vogue Homme fashion shoot, Gaga has since used Calderone in videos and notably when performing at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
Did anyone fall for it? Well when Gaga first came onto the scene everyone thought she was a man. The picture from her Q cover shoot that we have of her on the wall in the office says differently, but still if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Name: Prince
AKA: Camille
The gender confuser Prince referred to Camille as "he", yet the main feature of the 1986 album was the sped-up feminine sounding vocals, and the fact it was recorded under Camille, does not really suggest a man, but then when has Prince ever been straightforward?
Did anyone fall for it? The album and persona were shelved before release. Most of the tracks found their way onto, Sign The Times and other future releases.

Name: Lizzy Grant
AKA: Lana Del Rey
Lizzy claims Lana is a stage name. Other believe it's a persona. And now with plans to re-release her Lizzy Grant debut we'll get to judge the difference.
Did anyone fall for it? The jury is still out... but being Number 1 in half a dozen countries suggest it's going well.

Name: Paul Weller
AKA: The Cappuccino Kid
Post Jam, Weller's Style Council alter-ego was one shrouded in mystery. Restricted to liner notes and other various ramblings, The Cappuccino Kid first made his appearance on 1983's Speak Like A Child and led the band's anti-Thatcher stance, calling her: "the lady whose eyes shone with madness".
Did anyone fall for it? We reckon people bought it, though rumours suggest it may have been ghosted by friendly journalist Paulo Hewitt. And since the character only ever appeared as text, the truth may never be known.

Name: Garth Brooks
AKA: Chris Gaines
Created by Brooks to "explore pop music", Chris Gaines was a proto-emo figure whose back-story bizarrely included a car crash. The singer's alter ego was supposed to help launch The Lamb, a film chronicling the life of Gaines.
Did anyone fall for it? Despite Brooks' promotional efforts, including a VH1 mockumentary, the album was a critical flop, and fans hated the character. The Lamb was scrapped and Brookes quickly dropped Gaines.

Name: Bono
AKA: MacPhisto
For 1991's Zoo TV tour saw Bono adopt a few different stage personas, though the most memorable was Macphisto, a Faust inspired Devil/rock star that spoke with an upper-class English accent and made prank calls to politicians.
Did anyone fall for it? Well you could argue that Bono Vox is Paul Hewson's alter ego, so was this the world's first persona's persona?

Name: Billy Childish
AKA: Bill Hamper, Jack Ketch, Gus Claudius, etc - but not his real name
Artist, musician, poet, filmmaker and singer Steven Hamper has dabbled in a great deal of character acting over the years, with Billy Childish being the persona that stuck. In a 2011 interview with Whitewalmag.com Childish admitted he has at least 10 different personas, declaring: "I believe that we are all only pretending to do things, and the better you are at pretending the more fulfilling life is".
Did anyone fall for it? Utterly, even his friends don't know what name to put on his birthday cards.
Jim Campbell @jimdcampbell

10:17 AM | 16/02/2012