# Dope Idol - Lead Singers Who Can't Sing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609 "2011-09-08T13:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/61 "2012-06-05T18:13:02Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Nobody mentioned Brian Ferry yet! :eek: Because he can sing. Listen to Roxy Music’s _Avalon_. His voice is a bit affected, but definitely on pitch and with enough range to sing the songs. The only singer mentioned in this thread that I concur with 100% is Lou Reed. He seems to have a total range of two notes. There was a project called _[One World, One Voice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_One_Voice)_ that featured musical contributions from all over the world. Amazing music and great singing, until it gets to Lou’s bit. Then it all collapses to…what’s the two note equivalent of a monotone? A duotone? The album is bubbling along with amazing singers from all over the world, and then _[Lou happens](http://youtu.be/KXUp_VFUgVQ?t=4m19s)_. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/62 "2012-06-05T18:20:44Z")
I vaguely remember in _Bring On The Night_, Sting saying that his voice wasn’t great, but it was distinctive. I can’t find the exact quote though. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/63 "2012-06-05T19:22:49Z")
Surprisingly, in the ten months since this thread started, no-one has mentioned late Manchunian sadcase Ian Curtis of seminal top proto-goth new wave crusaders Joy Division. It feels wrong to rag on him, but you can tell what he was going for - a kind of deep, doomy baritone of a style nailed by Peter Murphy from Bauhaus - but he didn’t have the technique or the power. Or at least he wasn’t consistent. Actually his voice is maddening. He was never _good_, but sometimes he was _great_, e.g. on “[Dead Souls](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEm4S-4v_U)”. It’s fascinating to compare them with U2, who started out as Joy Division wannabes and ended up massive; Bono had a better voice, but I can’t say that Joy Division would have been a better band with Bono as the lead singer. There’s a whole essay you could write about technical precision, passion, style, objective brilliance and quirky flukery and the nexuses where they meet. Yes, _nexuses_ is the right word. Not _nexii_. Shaun Ryder, there you go. Sorry, “scally chancer Shaun Ryder, formerly of quasi-baggy proto-chav legends Happy Mondays and late-period Britpop oddballs Black Grape”. Also, Bez, who almost certainly couldn’t sing but, to his credit, never even tried. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/64 "2012-06-05T19:27:08Z")
Fat Mike of **NOFX** ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/65 "2012-06-06T01:58:08Z")
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. He has a distinctive voice that suits his music and provides a nice counterpoint to David Gilmour’s sweeter style, but he can’t hold a note to save himself. It’s most obvious on live recordings. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/66 "2012-06-06T09:33:16Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > Surprisingly, in the ten months since this thread started, no-one has mentioned late Manchunian sadcase Ian Curtis of seminal top proto-goth new wave crusaders Joy Division. It feels wrong to rag on him, but you can tell what he was going for - a kind of deep, doomy baritone of a style nailed by Peter Murphy from Bauhaus - but he didn’t have the technique or the power. Or at least he wasn’t consistent. Actually his voice is maddening. He was never _good_, but sometimes he was _great_, e.g. on “[Dead Souls](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhEm4S-4v_U)”. > > It’s fascinating to compare them with U2, who started out as Joy Division wannabes and ended up massive; Bono had a better voice, but I can’t say that Joy Division would have been a better band with Bono as the lead singer. There’s a whole essay you could write about technical precision, passion, style, objective brilliance and quirky flukery and the nexuses where they meet. Yes, _nexuses_ is the right word. Not _nexii_. > > Shaun Ryder, there you go. Sorry, “scally chancer Shaun Ryder, formerly of quasi-baggy proto-chav legends Happy Mondays and late-period Britpop oddballs Black Grape”. Also, Bez, who almost certainly couldn’t sing but, to his credit, never even tried. Agree on all points. I’m a massive Joy Division fan, and a lot of it has to do with Curtis’ voice. But on the first New Order album Movement (which is essentially a JD album with Barney and Hooky singing lead) I felt they sounded better. Not more emotional or impactful but technically better. Barney is a great singer but very hit or miss lyrically. Tony Wilson often lauded Shaun Ryder as a musical genius but I don’t see the artistry in his voice. I typically try to block his voice out of Mondays music and quite enjoy it. Morrissey got a lot of shit about his singing early on, but I think his newer music is actually quite impressive, voice wise. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/67 "2012-06-06T09:57:14Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Fred Schneider of the B52s > > Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil > Both these guys are awesome performers, that I’d pay money to see any day of the week. Fred Schneider presumably knows damn well he can’t sing, which is why he mostly talks, with only the occasional foray into musical vocalisation. Peter Garrett gets by on enthusiasm and stage presence. > > This thread should have been “lead singers who can’t sing _but nonetheless create great music_”. Then it would have been much more interesting. Much shorter though. Yeah, I agree about the B-52s. Mesopotamia was surely done just for the lolz. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/68 "2012-06-06T12:08:33Z")
M.I.A (the rap artist). She cannot carry a tune in a bucket. I don’t know why she ever needs to, being a rapper, but unfortunately sometimes she tries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609.md?page=3)