 And here we go, live. Live once again on the Metal Voice. Our good friend, Rick Hughes, to the south of us. To the south of us. We're having a, you know how they say, better late than ever, better late than ever. A little bit of computer issues, but we're good now. We're all good. Evening Rick, to the Metal Voice, the shot turned to sort of a new Oshel's Re, and we're anxious to hear your top 10 list. Oh yeah, my top 10 list, true. All right, so we are so busy trying to get you online. We completely forgot about the top 10 list. So here it is, let me set this up. Today we're gonna talk about the top 10 front men, not singers, front men in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal and Rick is gonna give us his list. We have absolutely no idea what this list is. It's gonna be reaction. Me and Alan just gonna be reacting. We're gonna be reacting to what you're saying and commenting. But before that, Alan, tell them what's coming up with Sword. Yeah, on the 13th of January at the Beanfield, almost a year to the day that when the Sword III album was released and you played the Beanfield Blast, that'd be a great Christmas gift for everybody. Get your Sword tickets. So it's Rick, it's Sword Anonymous and who else is playing with you guys that night? There's, of course, Anonymous, like he said, Sword, Venter Black Worship and Atomic Train. Oh my gosh, five. Yeah, it's gonna be like old school night. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, old school night when Sword used to play at Le Starrium de Verdun with Wasp and would accept and with Metallica and it was an happening. You know, there was not only one band where like four or five bands and it would start in the afternoon and that would get people going. Okay, I'm looking forward to that. It's happening again. We'll say it January, 13th, go ahead, Alan, go. 13th of January at the Beanfield in Montreal. All right. Exactly, thanks, guys, yeah. You're welcome. There's not many tickets left. So if anybody that's interested and passing a good metal night on January the 13th, get your tickets guys because it will be played at Guichet-Fermin. Rick, in French for our friends at Francophone, just pitch it. Yes, that's it. Well, it's January 13th or it's the 5th of January, which is called now, Beanfield. The Beanfield Theater. And then, it's January 13th, as I explained, there's almost no tickets left. So if you want to have a good metal night, hard rock with us on January the 13th, don't miss your chance because we'll probably be at Guichet-Fermin on January the 13th. It's a good gift for Christmas, right? Yes. You can buy some tickets. But also, if you've never had a nice Christmas gift, you should go to January the 2nd because I didn't get a ticket to go to January the 13th. There's just a few Christmas days left. There's just a few Christmas days left. Going fast. Me, I'm at the age where I don't give that much gift. I get to give gift. That's it. All right, good stuff. I understand that for sure. I don't even get a tie. What the hell would I do with a tie anyway? You get a lottery ticket. I love that. When people give you a lottery ticket. True. Yeah, exactly. That's what you get, yeah. All right. Guys, let us begin. Let us begin. All right, number 10, I'm going to count them down. This, look, I have to do it like this because I don't have any numbers. Yes, go ahead. Before I start talking about my list, I have to put in context that your question was very, very narrow, heavy metal, hard rock singer, frontman, okay? So that excludes my number one pick would have been all this because listen, listen, I can only speak for myself. I will not speak on behalf of a reader's poll from last year's so-and-so magazine and so, no, no. I can only speak for my personal experience. What I saw with my own two eyes, what I experienced and when I came across, you know when Sword was out and alive back in the 80s, we were signed with Aquarius Records, which was a label owned by Donald K. Donald. Right? Yeah. So we had access to all the tickets because even when it was sold out, there were still some tickets reserved for companies, for special guests. So we had tickets to all the shows. I saw them all. I'm not kidding you guys. I went to all the shows, metal, non-metal. I mean, when it was interesting, I went. So anyway, so this being said, on my personal experience, my number 10 is David Coverdale. Yes. That's my number 10. So why would you pick David Coverdale? Well, why do you think he's such an, and we're talking about more frontman than singers, right? It's a combination, right? Exactly. Because of them, first of all, just for the fact that when I saw him live a couple of times, last time I saw him was at Metropolis, which is now Telus. And Telus. Yeah, that's the last time I saw Coverdale sing. That was way back, 2000, something like that. And he was still getting the notes, you know? And he was there. He was like, he owned the stage. And it wasn't happening, you know? Everybody was like waiting for him to come out. And once he came out, there was this thing about him that as soon as he opened his voice, it was distinct, you know? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why Jimmy Page picked him. I saw him open for the Scorpions and the docking was part of that. I can't even remember 15, 20 years, I can't remember, but he comes out Coverdale and he starts within the still of the night with that scream at the end. That's his opening song. It was just unbelievable. Like you said, he's a regal. He gives that regal presence. A true British gentleman and what a voice and what a front man. He keeps you really excited and then he's starting to watch too. You know, I'm gonna say this is the definition of a front man, a person who represents, I guess a group or works to make its image more appealing to the public. So I mean, it could be a front man in business. It could be a front man in a band, but that's what he does. He's the charisma of the band, the image of the band, right? He kind of, I think you said it before. Like he owns the stage, right? There's something bigger than just a singer, right? If you wanna define the word charisma, you know? I mentioned Elvis earlier. This gonna sound like a joke because it sure sounds funny, but it's the truth. Elvis, you remember when we saw him live in Hawaii or the 1968 comeback special? When there was a guitar solo, he would point at the guitar player, you know why? Because he had so much charisma that even during solos, everybody was still looking at him. And he would go, look at him, he's doing the solo, not me. That's true. That is presence, that is the presence at its core, you know, where you have to point at the direction, stop staring at me. I'm gonna take a sip of water right now while this guy is doing this great solo. You know, on the point of Elvis, I think he was the first real metalhead. He was, you know. Oh man, Elvis influenced a lot of singer of my generation. Some won't mention it out of, I don't know for what reason, but I'm sure I'm not that guy, you know? When I was a kid, he was on TV, my mom was his favorite singer. His music was good, his voice was perfect. I mean, I later on in life, you know, I find my way with a more rock sound than what he was doing. But still, this guy is the epitome of presence of this. He doesn't even have to open his mouth. That's good, it's a good number 10. Just on Elvis, he would just walk on stage and girls would be screaming. He didn't even open his mouth yet and women would be screaming. But David Carverdale, same thing. You know, women would throw clothes at him. Him too, he walks on stage, he owns a stage. He hasn't even sung a word and he already owns the stage. That's because he wrote some great songs. So people are just anxious to hear him sing, here I go again, still at the night, is this love, you know? Crying in the rain. Crying in the rain, yeah, yeah. Here we go, ready? Here it goes, here's the machine, the analog number machine, number nine. My number nine frontman would be James Thatfield. Okay, all right, that's a little bit of a different one, but yeah, go ahead. Well, again, personal experience, I toured with Metallica. I played with them, not with them, but you know, we were at the stadium to do the tailgate party this summer and this guy live, man, he does more than just sing and play awesome, awesome guitar parts. He entertains the crowd while he does that, you know? There's not a lot of singer that have that potential, that he's awesome, man. He's here, he's there, he's everywhere, he sings the part and don't be fooled. James Thatfield's voice and melodies and lyrics are 10 out of 10. This guy sings so, with so much passion that to keep his voice the way he kept it all this time, the more power to him, my friend. This guy's a real- I'm not surprised he made your list, he has a good choice, like you said, he's a better doing it forever and doing it well and he's a focal point where he's on stage, so. And he loves the crowd and you see it, the way he works, the crowd, the way he talks to them, that's a front man, somebody that connects with the crowd. That's the number one thing that a front man should be sure that he does, it's connect with his crowd and James Thatfield is a master at that. You know, I would agree with you, it's a good choice, I didn't think of it, but it's a great choice, nevertheless, when I saw him with Metallica, you know what, everybody's looking at James because there's a certain, he's funny, like you said, he's funny, he plays the song with such passion, right? He's on stage and every second he's on stage, it's all about passion and people feel that, they feel that with, what are we like, 40,000 people at the Olympic Stadium, I don't know how many people were there, 30, 40, they all felt that. And let's not forget that the level of difficulty this guy is going through at every show because everything seems so easy that we don't think about it. He plays Metallica's music, it's very complex, you know, it's not pop music, it's almost like metal, it's more, it's more technical than pop music, it's metal is closer to jazz and to pop, that's what I mean, you know? So you got some very, you're going to beat different, beat different riffs during the same song and he's got to sing over that and catch every melody, every lyric and connect with the crowd, this guy is the real deal. Yeah, good choice. Good choice, all right, here we go, number eight. Okay. Number eight. Yeah, my number eight choice is Brian Johnson. Yeah. Oh yeah, that's a good choice, that's a good choice. Brian Johnson is a legend, there's no, there's, I mean, what he's done with black and black, back in black, you know, when you're considering Bon Scott had just died, took him six months to get into the band, to write all the lyrics back in black, which means it's a song about Bon Scott. The old album is lyrically, you know, is an homage to Bon Scott, so it was done with taste, style and this album is so big, I mean, this guy with one album, he became a legend and after that came for those about to rock. Whoa, man, what an album for those about to rock. I remember being at the Montreal Forum with the Canon. Shoo! I mean, the crowd was going crazy. This guy is not only a great frontman, he's a great human being. Because of what I've just explained, the way he replaced Bon Scott. You know, there's always, at least five, six times a year, somebody asked the question that posed Brian Johnson or Bon Scott, you know? And like 50% will hail Bon Scott while almost spewing on Brian Johnson or vice versa, you know? And I always, when I take time to write a comment, I say, they were both good. Bon Scott was excellent. The time he was alive and he was with ADCDC, what he did was like, perfect. And the same goes with Brian Johnson. There's no who's better, is ADCDC better with, Bon Scott or Brian Johnson? They're both fucking amazing. Yeah, that's true. So anyways, so I haven't seen Brian Johnson a couple of time, he's in the list, that's easy. It's an excellent frontman. And the songs he asked to sing are very, very, very tough to sing. And he nails it. Yeah. What about you guys? Two guys that I'm sure to take care of the fans. You can see Brian Johnson and the stuff he's written. Very self-deprecating sense of humor. And you know, Bon, his lyrics were just so hilarious. So yeah, two good choices. Another good choice, Brian Johnson, right, ACDC. You know what, and he was never, you know what's amazing about him? He was never like this tall, like David Carvedale, you can see he's a big man, right, he's a tall guy. Brian Johnson, all of ACDC, they're little, little guys, right? But when they're on stage, they're the biggest human beings on the world, you know, on the world, right? They're just, they're just ooze. They just give so much charisma. And let me tell you, and you know this, Rick, to be at the level of ACDC, that's pressure, man. And he comes on the stage and it's like, it's no, he does it so easily, right? Like there's no pressure at all. That's, you're singing in front of 20,000 people, that's pressure, man, that's pressure. He's got the regular Joe stage persona that nobody can quite come close to, you know? He is the regular Joe. And even when he's doing an interview, he's such a great frontman. I mean, you can, this guy's a legend. Great choice, great choice. All right guys, ready for number seven? Let me just put the meter on. Are you sure we're on number seven? No, I'm not. I'm not really good at this. Yeah, yeah. Wait a second, wait a second. And number 10 was, what was number 10? Dale. Cover Dale? Yeah, Cover Dale, James Hetfield, Brian Johnson. Right, number seven, see, see how it works? Okay, number seven, Rob Alford. No, that's Rob Alford. Rob Alford, man, same for him. I saw Judas Priest like five, six times, defender of the faith, screaming for vengeance. I mean, we had tickets. Judas Priest was playing on that. It was the only metal band playing on the radio. Think about that. They weren't, I mean, breaking the law, breaking the law. And then after midnight, they were playing on radio. This guy was metal God, metal God. Oh man, he had the moves on stage, the way he would move around. Sometimes he looked like a robot. Sometimes he, and he would, all the high notes, we were waiting for him to get the high notes and he would get them for us. And let's go back then, back then, back in the eighties or the early nineties, for a singer, it was much tougher than it is right now because the technique, as I involve so much now, we have in here for monitors. So when you do your stuff, if you're in here, you hear directly what you're doing. So it's easier than with stage monitors. Stage monitors, as soon as you move just a little bit, if you go, you move, you don't hear the same. So anyways, Rob Malford, I have to admit that the first time I saw him arrive on bikes, on stage with a bike, I said to myself, next time I do FTW, I'm gonna bring a bike on stage. Rob, Malford, go ahead, Alan. Malford back, there's really two Malfords, right? There's the ones from the eighties that was jumping around dancing, dancing like you was in a disco deck. And now there's a Malford that's out there, I call them the Liberace of heavy metal that moves like a robot, like you said, that's like Frankenstein with glitter and the studs, and there's really good, but I remember him like you did, you know, dancing, and if he was Freddie Mercury, you know, and dancing in the disco club, and again, being a frontman, that's what you wanted, you wanted that lead to the audience, so another great pick, and what a voice, I think you're still seeing some. And you know what, guys, whenever you think a Judas Priest, or anybody in the world thinks a Judas Priest, the first picture that comes into your head is Rob, and of course, the Sentinel, whatever that, what's that, the eagle there that, what's it called, Alan, the eagle on the screen of Revengeance? Yeah, the Helian. The Helian, the Helian. The Helian, yeah. But I'm just saying, like Rob is that image though, of Judas Priest, everybody thinks of Rob Halford when they think of Judas Priest, that's the first thing that comes into your mind, right? So that's because he's got that big, big persona, you know, that big charisma, that big stage presence, and the big voice, of course. And the songs, you know, the songs. Of course, the songs, yeah. It's all about the music. You know, the frontman will always be as good as his songs, you know? Yeah, yeah. When you think about it, and when you said there was like two Rob Halford, you know, I agree with you, there was the young Rob Halford and the old Rob Halford, that's what it is. Yeah, that's what it comes down to. You know, the joint, they get stiffer. I'm sure. I used to tip toe around the stage like a little ballerina, I don't anymore. All right, here we go. Number six. Number six. Number six, the one and only Alice Cooper. Oh yeah, yes, fantastic choice. Man, what a frontman. Alice Cooper. My brother and I, he's one of our first hard rock metal love with Alice Cooper. When we were a kid, we'd line up at Sam The Recordman to get the new album. Electing! And we want you for president of the United States. Let's not forget that we toured with him, so I have to tell you the Alice Cooper story. Because I'm sure you're a guru at me that he deserves to be the top ten for the top project. Absolutely. Without a doubt. So we're touring with Alice, you know? And my brother and I have big, big, big fans and we've been like, we're at the Fort Show and we're friends with the staff and we talk to the road manager and we go, when can we see Alice? He says, listen, Alice is very, very, very, very mellow guy, so we're gonna tell him you wanna meet him, so we're gonna set up a night. But listen, guys, everybody's gotta be straight. No beer, no cigarette, no joint, nothing. If you meet him, you meet him so clean and sober. If not, you stay in the dressing room. He says, okay, man. So one night, you know, I think we were in Alberta. So at the Calgary Center, so they come to us, they say, guys, tonight, Alice is gonna meet you guys. So we're like kids, man, that's back in 89. We were kids, so we do our show, we watch Alice's show, we watch all of the shows. It was so entertaining that we, after all, every show, after every sword show, at least I would stay and watch Alice's performance because all the songs were good. They were all hits. So they come to our dressing room, they go, okay, Alice's show has finished. You know what, we're waiting in the dressing room, they come, okay, let's time, follow me. So we're like, we're making it, it almost make a row. You know, we follow him like, we're going to meet Alice Cooper for the first time in our life and he likes us, you know, they've been telling us that he likes our show, our song and everything. So they take us to the tour bus. Okay, just stay there, we're gonna come back. So we're like, what's the tree stooge is there? We're like, the bus and we're like, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. No, the guy comes back and whoo, everybody stays straight, you know, okay, okay, now you're gonna go inside the bus. Nobody's got cigarettes on them? No, he's almost like, you know, touching up. If we got hidden beer, so no, no, don't worry. We understand we don't have anything. Everybody's straight and we understand, you know, what it's all about. So you go, okay, perfect. So he opens the door. So we all walk in the tour bus. So it's like a living room and from and then there's a door and that's where he sleeps, you know? So we're just waiting and we're all watching the door, you know, and we're almost like speaking like that, you know, he's gonna come out soon, you know? So the door finally opens. Out comes Alice Cooper without the makeup and just in his bait, in the room, you know? It's bathrobe. Bathrobe, thank you so much. It comes out with his bathrobe. Hey guys, how are you going? And he takes our hand, you know, and we're all kids and we spend like 15, 20 minutes with him and it was the best of times, man, the best of times. Great fun, man. I mean, watching you're welcome to my nightmare when I was a kid as well. Huge fans from the mid-70s. Still to the day, I was listening to him this weekend, listening to Detroit stories and the greatest hits. So yeah, you know what? If he was on my top 10 list, I think I'd put him even higher than six. He's a great choice. I don't want to follow him in concert. Billion dollar babies, all the albums. Rick, my cousin was older, probably even older than you and he saw Alice Cooper back in the heyday, like the 70s we're talking about here. And I was a little kid, right? And he'd tell me the stories and cutting his head off and he's like, you know, blood everywhere. And I was like, ooh, ooh, like as a little kid because I'm like, I don't know, five, six, seven. And it's amazing that when I, my teenage years, I saw Alice Cooper and it was the same thing and he's still doing it. He's still doing it. He's still out on the road making records. You know, touring, it's unbelievable. He's still going at 70, what, 75, 76? It's unbelievable. But, you know, that's the reason why he was not so high on the list because I know I've seen the show like a couple of years ago and it was the same show that back in 89. So although he's a great frontman, he's been doing like the same theatrical for so long that it takes away a little bit, you know, of the originality of being a frontman because being a good frontman is also being able to improvise on stage, you know? Not follow a script, you know? A great frontman will improvise with the crowd and with the band and with whatever happens. In this case, it's the opposite of improvising. Everything is calculated and everything, you know? So, but- So it loses a little bit. It loses a little bit, you're saying, right? Yeah, because you've been doing it for so long, you know? And I understand not changing it because you don't change a winning formula, it's still good. Yeah, all right, you guys ready? Here it is, we're on one hand now. We had two, now we're on one hand, five left. Okay, remember our first conversation, you wanted five and I said, let's do 10. Oh yeah. Now you understand why. Do you see all the five singers? I see the errors of my way. I see my error, yes. Go ahead. There's a lot out there. Okay, my number five would be David Lerot. Yes, yes. I thought you were gonna say Sammy Hager, but it's okay. David Lerot, I love it. But why is he not? I mean, he's close, he's in the top five because I'm talking about David Lerot back in the days, you know? Yeah. Because right now, I like what he does. I mean, everybody's getting older. Everybody changes, it's changed. He's not the front man that I used to idolize back then. I remember saying to people, when we would go see Van Alen with David Lerot or David Lerot with Steve Vai, all the tours, we saw them all. And I would say to people, I'd say, the thing about Van Alen or the thing about David Lerot as a front man is that at that time, when you would go see a show, if you'd go see Let's Say Made then, you know? Yeah, sometimes some of the song would be like that. You know, he's like, man, yeah, stick to the man, you know, or Judas Priest, you know? But not David Lerot. David Lerot, you would have a smile on your face from beginning to the end. 100%. The guy would make you laugh just by just prancing around like a little ballerina that I was talking about and doing this thing and talking to the crowd and pretending to drink whiskey out of whiskey and everybody knew it was iced tea that was in it because you wouldn't be able to do two nights by drinking whiskey all night. But then this guy, first time I saw him live, I said to myself, my God, that's entertaining. Did you pick up anything in your stage moves from him, Rick? Come again? Did you pick up anything that you incorporated in your stage moves from David Lerot? Oh yes, oh yes, of course I did, yeah. That thing about making people happy, making people smile, I love doing that when I'm sure. It's not all death and gloom, even if it's metal. I mean, if you're a fan of metal and you're my age, then you're a fan of old-school metal. And old-school metal was not all death and gloom, you know? There was some song that would say to stick it to the man but other song would talk about everyday life and everyday situation that we come across, you know? And enjoying life and being happy and enjoying life and appreciating life, you know, and that's important too. Yes, so. I believe in one hundred percent, Rick. I saw David Lerot on the Evening Smile, the skyscrapers tour, and same thing. You had a smile on your face from the moment he got on, if he was riding a large inflatable microphone or he had this big huge styrofoam cowboy hat or the boxing ring that comes out and he's boxing in a boxing room at the top of the forum. I mean, it's just all stuff that makes you, you look there happy and say, wow, what a show. The ultimate frontman as far as I'm concerned. You know, when I saw him on Diver Down Tour, you know, he comes out with his acoustic guitar or electric guitar and he starts doing ice cream at it but it's just him in the microphone. I remember that. And everybody's just looking at him. Like, he's so captivating, you know? He's half a singer, half a comedian, half an entertainer, a ringleader maybe we'll call it. He has everything. He's the complete package, you know? And he's just coming out there just playing guitar and doesn't play guitar well or anything. It doesn't sing great, but you know what? There's something about him. There's that charisma, that character, you know? The extra. Well, I don't totally agree with the comment that he's not singing that great. I think he's a great singer, especially what he's done with Van Halen. I mean, all the songs, there's something about it, this scratchiness of his voice, that the width of the lyrics. And I mean, can you think of anybody else than him to sing the first Van Halen album? No, that's right. It was perfect. The voice was perfect. The scream and everything, man. He's quite a singer. He had so much charisma and so much attitude that we kind of forgot that that guy was a rock singer and singing rock and roll ain't easy. It's never easy to sing rock and roll because it's a style that needs you to give a little more, you know, to surpass yourself and to put yourself in jeopardy because when you sing something like BANAMALYA, wow, and scream it. There's a risk that you can hurt your voice one night and then for the next 10 shows, yeah, you're like, you know, you're shot. Yeah, you're shot, that's all right. So now he was, at that time he was quite a singer, Jimmy. Well, I didn't mean it that way. I meant it that he could still, there's something about him, you know, like the first thing people always say about him is like, he's not a great singer, but I agree with you. I don't agree with that. He's got so much good character and the way he uses his voice does make him an excellent singer in another way. That's what I'm trying to say. Yeah, yeah. He's not coverati. I'm not saying he's not coverati. I'm just saying that he comes across, like he was my favorite, like of the Van Halen's. And I know you didn't mean to be mean. No, no, no. I'm just trying to freeze it in a way where people will understand. Yeah, and you're gonna, in the comparison, I'm gonna make a comparison and you're gonna go, whoa, that's, but it's true. It's a bit like Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was so good, songwriting, at dancing, at singing, that we kind of forgot that the guy had a hell of a voice. Man, if you put a Michael Jackson tribute band the guy is better sing. The guy has gone, the Michael Jackson singing part because the songs are really tough. You know, it's amazing. You can have so many great singers, like technically, technically amazing singers, but you don't know who they are. But when David Lee Roth sings, you know it's David Lee Roth. Yeah. He sounds original and you know it's him right off the bat. Like you just know it's him. That's what sells. That's what people want. They wanna feel like they know the person and he represents the band and there's character and there's charisma and it's just, yeah. And his little speaking parts in the songs, right, Alan? Like, you know, those, the little breaks in the songs, you know, unchanged. The line runs off the back of the stocking. This guy's the real deal. This guy's the real deal. He knows how to write a song. That's for sure. Yeah. All right, let's do this. Number four. Number four would be Ronnie James Deal. All right. That's a frontman. That's a frontman right there where you don't have to run around everywhere and then I know you just have to stand there and go, sing me a song. I am a singer. And everybody sits down and they listen to him, you know, with a high, with fire in their eyes and he's almost holding a sword in his hand, you know? And it's on and the band comes in and he just backs up a little and he comes in front and the way, the way he ran the stage, Ronnie James Deal was almost like going to church. Yeah. This guy was like, this guy was amazing, man. He was like a preacher. He was like a preacher. Holy diva, you've been out too long in the menace. And everybody went, wow. The voice would be everywhere in the Montreal Forum and you'd see this guy on the middle of the stage, you know, just moving around and that's presence to me right there. That's the sign of a great frontman where you don't need to do the somersault and this and the jump and no, no, no, just do the singing part and be right on it so that people are just enjoying themselves. Okay. I'm a huge Ronnie James Deal fan. Probably the greatest vocalist in metal. I've always loved him, but he always used to lose me lively. Follow the bouncing deal, you know? Or the talking for five minutes introducing a song. That's why he would lose me. I've seen him a few times but a voice nobody beats Ronnie James Deal. So it's just that part of his performance for me was always something that I'd just, but he followed the bouncing deal. That's like from seeing along with Mitch from 1958 or something where you followed them while it would follow the lyrics. You're like, oh, my deal is really old if he's bringing you this up, you know? So maybe cringe a little. You know what, the voice is second to none. But I would say one thing. I agree with the little points you say, Alan, but I also would say that when he walks on stage, he doesn't even open his mouth yet, but people are just waiting, waiting for that voice to embrace it. So, and I see what Rick's saying, he's sort of a different type of charisma where he moves slow, he's not doing somersaults, he's not jumping off the amps, it's just his presence and that X factor of he's there and he's gonna take care of you and you're gonna have a great time. So there's a seriousness, a mysticism about him that's different than the happy-go-lucky David Lee Roth, right? And again, I'm talking about my personal experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was all good. As a singer, as a listener, as the public, what moved me the much, the most? And Dio is right on- And you know what? He made, just think about this, okay? Yeah. Yeah, okay, there was the Beatles, there was the John Lennon and you know, there was Giza Butler, there was Giza Butler, there were so many people who claim this, but you know what? He made this the symbol of heavy metal, right? Any show you go to, even when you go to Def Leppard, even when you go to Seattle, Bruce Springsteen, people are doing this and that's the presence of Ronnie James Dio right there. Yeah. He made that popular, he made that popular. So just a good question before we get to your last two picks there, Rick. Are these all the frontmen that you have seen live? Yeah, all of them. All right, that's a, you know, to each his own. When I was asked a question, I said to myself, okay, my personal experience, I have to for myself, not for other people, that's what I think, you know? And you know what, we're gonna go down to, are we at three? Yeah. You wanna do, look at this, we're at three. That's magic, Al, that's magic, three, look at that. All right, go, number three. Number three would be Ozzy Osbourne. Okay. No, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Christmas. Christmas and Crowley, pow, pow, pow. And Ozzy would run around with his bucket of water. You know, he would finish this, so he was all wet, man. He was, he gave everything and everybody was like, Ozzy would come to town, man. The tickets would sell like in one day. The forum was sold out. There was something about Ozzy, man. Something about Ozzy, something about X-Factor. Yeah, yeah. And you know, he's, there's a, there's post about, about his, he taught Alm these days where he says that he would love to make one more tour, you know? One more tour and he's sad that he sees that he's probably won't be able to make one more tour. That shows you the, why, why we do it. It's the stage, you know? Yeah, it's fun to be in studio to create songs and all. This is perfect, but the stage, that's what makes us do it. It's the connection with the people, you know? That we're in the same room enjoying the same thing. All of us. What I'm doing with my microphone, the way I'm singing, you're liking it. Cool, because I'm sure having a good time too, you know? Yeah. So Ozzy, Ozzy, we had, we had the, we had the chance to see him live a couple of, more than a couple of times and we're the lucky ones because there will never be another Ozzy Osbourne. Yeah. Yeah. Got to catch him on the bark of the moon and the ultimate sin tours, you know? Always, you know, always five and a half. Let's go crazy. And, but again, the charisma, the power, like you said, you would sell out everywhere. And even, even back in the day, it was considered one of the top fun men throughout the 80s. So, and it got more popular even going into the 90s. So, yeah. You know what's amazing? Like we're talking about Dio and we're talking about Ozzy. Everybody used to always say, you know, Dio is the voice is not the front man. And then Ozzy's the showman, but he's not the singer. I think Ozzy is just as much as a singer as a showman. He's got a voice that just, it connects with everybody, like men, women, young, old. He's got that special voice, that tone that everybody knows it's Ozzy. And he can sing. The guy can sing, you know, no question. He can sing. Listen, I'm a professional singer. Everybody knows that. And he's my top three. Ozzy Osbourne is an amazing singer. Amazing singer that think about songs like Symptom of the Universe. They belong to you, baby. Man, that's something to sing. Imagine playing that with a, with Sabbath, you know, and the song, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba. No, no, Ozzy at the pipes, my friend. Big time. You know, you bring up a great point, Rick. You look at Sabbath. Tony wasn't moving. Giza would walk up and down. You had the drummer who had to stay in place. But Ozzy was the focal point, because he was the one really dealing with the crowd, moving, running around, trying to get the crowd all frenzied up. And I think that's why people love him. Carried over into his solo career. He was a, and everybody was looking at Ozzy, said, if he can do it, I can do it. Because he was just a man of the people. And we were talking about Brian Johnson before. He's a man of the people, and that people were attracted to Ozzy. And throughout the 70s, like he said, in the 80s, and then going into the 90s, and even having some of his longest shows ever in the 2000s, you know, it's rarely, you see somebody that's able to do that and have that connection with an audience. So. You know, I would say one of the most imitated singers, Ozzy, when you listen to any doom band, you're trying to sound like Ozzy, the success of Sabbath and his solo career is definitely his voice. Yeah, his stage and his persona and his image, that plays a big role, but it's his voice. It's his voice at the end of the day. And of course, his image, his image, right? The king of darkness or whatever they call him, right? You know, the blizzard of Oz, you know, in that addict, right? The diary of a madman. He's always the bark at the moon, right? He's always got this dark, dark, but he's funny too. He's got a sense of humor, so. Again, I'll talk to you frontman, not necessarily the best singers, right? This is frontman. No, no, no, I get it, I get it. I'm just going, I'm just saying that not only is he a great frontman, but he's an incredible singer too. That's what I'm trying to get. Yeah, but, and the point came about where you, it was really good what you said about Dio and Ozzy, you know, because they were in the same camp, you know, for quite a while. So, so yeah, it's true what you just said, but that, because of Dio being such, such a, such a big voice, Ozzy was compared to him because they were both in Black Sabbath, but it's like Brian Johnson and Bond Scott. Perfect, yeah. I cannot imagine a better singer for, we sold our soul for Rock and Roll than Ozzy Osbourne. That's right. You would put Dio to sing all those songs, it wouldn't be that good as it is right now. Because at that time, he had that high note, Ozzy, that he doesn't have anymore, but he had it at that time and he was doing the job. But you see, like going back to this, people said Dio is the singer, Ozzy's the frontman, but I think Ozzy is also the singer. And I also think to what you said, Dio is also the frontman. Like they both had it exactly how you said it, like Brian Johnson and Bond Scott, two great singers, two great frontmen, but in different ways. There's a lot of other rock singer that do a lot of stuff to be great frontman, but they don't come close to any of the 10 that I've just named here, because sometimes it's not what you do. It's your presence. It's the song you've written and that you're about to render. That brings people to just focus on you. And then if you nailed it, that's what makes you a part of the greatest ones. Yeah, yeah. All right, so here we go. Are we ready for this? Are we at number two? Yeah. Are we at number two? Rick, please confirm we're at number two. I don't know. Are we? Let's do a little quick recap. Number 10 was David Carverdale. Number nine, do you remember? Yeah, David Carverdale. Number nine was James. James Adfield. Brian Johnson. Brian Johnson, Rob Alford, Alice Cooper. Yeah. Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy. Wait, we forgot David Leroy. That was a number five. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, go. No, we're at number two. Dio, Ozzy. Dio, Ozzy, and now we're at number two. Yeah, we're at number two. Number two would be Bruce Dickinson. Oh, I'm anxious to hear. I thought you were going to say Paul Diano. I love Paul Diano, but I don't believe it. Bruce Dickinson, I mean, come on. Paul Diano, Bruce Dickinson. Why is Bruce Dickinson not at number one? You know, he's at number two. Because Paul Diano's at number one. Because there's somebody at number one, but he could be at number one, because let's talk about Bruce Dickinson. This guy drives commercial airplanes where he's sitting on his butt doing nothing. He went through cancer and still sings. And the last time I saw him live was the best, one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life. And I'm talking about 2019. This guy's been doing the apposite of all this, Cooper. You know, it's different shows every tour and he's been on top of his game all the time. All the time. Bruce Dickinson is probably the best metal singer ever. And the other day, I really like Bruce, because in every city he's in, he always wants to speak a little bit of the word of value. So when he comes to Quebec, he always speaks in French, he's in Italy, he's going to say things in Italian. So wherever Bruce goes, he always tries to speak the language of the country he's in. He moves around, a guy jumps and salts and summer salts and everything. I mean, he's all wonderful. But Alan, Alan, you were at the speaking tour, right? When he did a speaking tour, he did what? Like 15 minutes in French. Well, he married a woman from France and he opened up the speaking tour talking about 15 minutes in French. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know what? Let me tell you, he's also a novelist. Yeah. A screenwriter, because he wrote like a screenwriter, he wrote two or three books already, right? He wrote two, three novels, I believe. Yeah, right. He's a fencer. He's a fencer, he's a businessman and he invested in those big air balloon thingies. He's a commercial airline pilot, like you said. Of course he's a singer, he's a solo artist and of course, you know, he's had, even before Iron Man, he was in Samson, which was had a bit of success too. So this guy does it all, man. Did I forget something? Did I forget anything? That's incredible. I mean, last Mayden show, I was flabbergasted. I mean, everything about him. Like you said, he didn't speak a word in English. All the show, all his interventions were in French. Toutes fois qu'il s'adressait à la fois, il parlait en français toutes les fois. Ça m'a tellement surpris, j'ai fait, wow. Like you said, he does that if he goes in Italy, if he goes to Greece. He learns the language and I mean, that's a front man. That's a total, total, total front man. And that's why I can't wait to hear your number one because if Bruce is coming in at number two, this is gonna blow me away number one. And also, he's coined the phrase, you scream for me, Montreal scream for me, Italy scream for me, metal voice. You know, he's coined that phrase that that's like historic, eh? That's a way to listen to it. So I'm on a peace of mind tour with those Merlion pants. And then, you know, somewhere in time with those, that whole outfit that was supposed to light up and sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. And then like Rick said ever since, you know, he gave me head to head till I'm head tour, et cetera, et cetera. And he always puts on such a great show, I guess. All right, so, Steve moves around, Dave a little less. But Bruce is really the focal point when you go to see an Iron Maiden concert. Oh my God, operatic voice, not even. We're not gonna get into the voice, but he commands the crowd, right? He commands the crowd. Just like a sword, I am in command, right? They command, command. Pick the sum up. There's a merch store for sword before we get to number one. Sword merch, you can buy it here, right? Right, Rick? Yeah, merch, you just go to the store, you Google search sword metalized and you get on the store, yeah. There we go, and there's the t-shirt, right? The metalized t-shirt, you can buy that, you can buy what Alan has, the sword live. And let's see. Before we get to number one, anything else you want to promote, I wanted to say. The show, let's go back to the show. Well, I'd like to wish anybody that's listening to us right now, very, very merry Christmas and a happy new year, you know, take time to, if you need rest, like, get some rest. If you need love, get some love. If you need to apologize to somebody, because it's been waiting for too long, do it now. This is the time to be together. This is the time for celebrating and to be in peace with our world, you know? If we cannot make global peace, we can at least make peace towards the one we love, you know, and surround us. Wise words. All right, before you reveal your number one, people who are watching, if you want to text your number one, who do you think your number one vocalist is? Oh, no, sorry, frontman is, I'll read it out as Rick prepares to give us his number one. Okay, come on. Where's the walnut? Okay, what is your number one? Number one. All right, well, I guess nobody's going to be surprised if I tell you my number one is Robert Plant. There you go. Listen, I met Robert Plant. I was doing a video in England. He was doing a video in the same place and I went to him, he was on a pay phone and I waited till he ended and I said, Mr. Plant, can I talk to you for a minute? He says, yes, of course, of course. So I says, I'm your biggest fan and it was a place where you had to pass security because they were shooting videos. He was doing the video for the tall, cool one. Okay, the tall, cool one. I was doing the videos for Stone Again and FTW. We shot that in England while we were there with Mortared. So I met Robert Plant, so I went to him and I said, Mr. Plant, I don't know how to say it. He says, you can call me Robert. I says, okay, I'm your biggest fan. I said, I'm your biggest fan. So he heard my little accent. So I'm sure you noticed I have a little accent. So I noticed, he says, where are you from? I says, I'm in a metal band from Montreal called Sword and he answered to me, lead sapling with never heavy metal. Do you want to know what I said to him? Because I had to say something, you know? Because he kind of put me in a corner, you know? I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy as that one. Okay, listen to this guys, this is a true story. I said to him, I beg to differ, sir, but to me, communication breakdown, 1969 is the birth of heavy metal and he went like this. Too shake, like if you have a sword in his hand and he went too shake. What a story. That's fucking amazing. Think about that. Oh yeah, power chords, power chords, screaming. I mean, communication breakdown is heavy metal. What else can it be? Let me explain why my number one frontman. When I was a kid, I had my dad's record collection that my dad passed away was very young and tragically, you know? So he had some zeppelin, some Elvis. So I would listen to that zeppelin one, that zeppelin two. And then that movie came out. The song remains the same. By that time, I was like a lost ship at sea, you know? With no fuel, nothing. You know, I was just going about and I was about to sink at the bottom of the ocean because I was kind of lost without my dad, you know? So at 14 years old, I heard there was a movie. The song remains the same playing somewhere. And I had two bucks in my pocket, so I paid the two bucks. I went in, I saw the movie, the song remains the same and it changed my life. There you go. Completely. The frontman that Robert Plant was when I watched that movie made me want to be a frontman. Good evening. This is a song of hope, you know? The way he would move, the way he would sing. So that's the reason why it's my number one. And now, if you ask me, what is the best concert that I ever saw in my whole life? And like I said earlier, during the seven years I was with the Quarish record, we had access to all the tickets. And I bought a lot of tickets all my life. I went to see shows. Best show of my entire life was the Page Plants concert back in 97. 95, sorry, 95. That's the best show. I was front row, 826, with Dan Georgesco from Too Many Cooks. Okay, yeah. We were given the two tickets, 826, 827, by someone at Donald K. Donald's, because they phoned me on the day of the show and I already had my tickets, you know, I was in the red and they say, Rick, come by the office, we have a gift for you. I said, oh, and I was thinking about something about Robert Plant because Plant and Page were in town that night, you know. So I jump in my car, go to the off, they give me an envelope, I open it, 826, 827, what? So I was just, Robert Plant was there, Jimmy Page was there. And I was front row, and behind me was all forum, full man, full capacity. And they played all Zeppelin songs. And that's when I saw the best front man of my life. This guy was amazing on that tour. Robert Plant was the best, not only the knee. I was, you know, my expectations were high. Well, it took me higher than my expectations. Playing the harmonica, talking to the crowd, doing the songs, you know, entertaining, dancing, not dancing, playing the tambourine and presenting the orchestra. There was like the show that lasted two hours. There was a part of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and there was a part of the Marrakesh Orchestra, and it was presenting everyone and always be humble about it, you know. It would have standing ovation that would last like two, three, five minutes and always stay humble about it. To me, Robert Plant, all categories is the ultimate front man that ever was. Yeah. I mean, you know, just the look, right? You might have had Daltree before him during the Tommy period, but Robert Plant, just his look, defined what a front man would be until today. He's still the model of what a front man should look like, sound like, and act like on stage. Robert Plant is still that guy. You know, he had it all. And you know what? Not only did he have it all, but he was diverse, you know, in the way he would play or perform. Like you said, you know, he could play a folks on. He could scream communication breakdown. He could do a blues number. He can do everything. And you know what, to Alan's point, when you think of a front man, that is, Robert Plant is the standard that everybody else copied, right? Or try to. Try to achieve. Or try to achieve. Yeah. Just think, when I think about the ultimate front man that he is, the picture that comes to my mind is the, is the famous picture where he's holding a cigarette, a bottle of beer, and, and, and dove. And dove. And, and, and the story about that picture is that the guy, the lucky photograph that took that shot. Okay. Is that during a song, they would release dogs. So that, so they would, people would see them fly behind the stage and Robert, having the charisma that he has and the presence that he had, a bird came and landed in his hand. This tells you how, how far and how, how powerful his presence is. This, this bird could have, could have landed anywhere. He landed it in his hand. You see the smirk on his face. He's going, look at that. You know, this, look at, you know, the picture I'm talking about. Yeah. I know exactly. Robert plant. That's the picture image I had in my head. That exact picture. That's how iconic it is. I mean, I mean, I mean, when a bird is not afraid of you, imagine the crowd. You know, I've always said, if you want to make a good show, make sure you're not stressed when you go on stage. You know, why? Because you're going to stress the audience. Make sure you're not lazy when you go on stage. Why? Because that's the, that the crowd is going to become, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, the crowd is going to become lazy if you're lazy. That's a great point. Yeah. So Robert plant, when he came, when he comes on stage, all the show that I saw was always a number of being, he would come on stage. People, like you said, not a word sang and everybody was up on their feet going, yeah, he's there. You know, just a presence. You know, it's even goes further than that. It's integrity. Because as soon as John Bonham died in like 1980, he goes, that's it. There's no more Led Zeppelin. We're not going to go out and keep touring with another drummer. That's Led Zeppelin. He would not go out. And even when he toured with his soul for soul album at 11, was it pictures at 11 pictures at 11 and the one after that, he wouldn't play any Led Zeppelin songs. Integrity. And he always said, I can't sing the way I did in my 20s. I'm not going to go out there and just not perform at 100%. And when he came back in 2007 for that charity that they came out and the one performance or two performances with Led Zeppelin, with Jason Bonham on drums, he nailed it at 60 years old. I guess he was at the time, maybe 58. He nailed it. But that's it. It's over. And I know Jimmy Page always wanted him to go out. And I know John Paul Jones wanted to go out, but he wanted to keep the legacy and the integrity of what Led Zeppelin was. You can't top the top, right? So that's what I always loved about Robert Plant. He went out, he did his thing, and he didn't keep touring and then start playing clubs and his note, then pretend like he's singing and his voice is not as good. We always will remember him as the greatest frontman and singer. And personally, you know, from what I read and from what I sensed, I think that another reason why he didn't touch the Zeppelin material when he was doing a solo thing was out of respect to Jimmy Page. Yeah. Yeah. Because Jimmy Page would, I'm sure Jimmy Page would have never stopped doing music with Robert Plant, you know? That's right. But he had to do it to make a break because, like you said, his best buddy, John Bonham, had died. So for him, there was no more Zeppelin. So, like, they kind of did some stuff together after that, but it was never Zeppelin's stuff. Nope. And the Oni Drippers, he plays on the Oni Drippers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was cover songs. That was all cover songs, though. Yeah. So personally, I think it's out of respect to Jimmy Page that he never did it. And the proof is that when he did Page Plant, that's when he did the Zeppelin stuff, you know? But they didn't call himself Led Zeppelin. That's where I'm getting at. Yeah. He ran out as Page Plant. And, you know, that was very... That's just another dimension of his character, his person, integrity. He knows that without Jimmy Page, he would have never became the rock god legend that he became. It's... Without Jimmy Page, Robert Plant would have never have become the rock god that we know, you know? Jimmy Page wrote the music to Heartbreaker, to Communication Breakdown, to Stay Away to Heaven, in My Time of Dying. You know what I'm saying? Where I'm going with that? He's the guy that gave him all that great music so his voice would be so uplifting. Yeah. You know what, Rick? I got to say that was a wonderful top tag list. Great list. Yeah, I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that. Good job. You did your homework? You get an A. I'm going to give you a little sticker next time I see you. I didn't get my memo, Jim, about the frontman. It had to be a singer or anything, but I mean, Rick covered so much great... If I limit it to people that I've seen, I think Lemmy has to be there talking about charisma. I feel it, I've never seen it, but he was another great frontman. But for me, you know, he was dealing with the headstones. You can't keep your eyes off that guy. He's not in the same category as these guys, but you're talking about charisma. But for me, the greatest frontman of all is this guy right behind me. He's not a singer, but you cannot say that this guy is not the greatest performer in hard rock and metal ever. I think as young to talk about a guy that you can't keep your eyes off of. And I agree with you about Lemmy. Lemmy should have made that list. The reason he didn't make it is because of his instrument. A bit like Geddy Lee. Geddy Lee is a great frontman. But I mean, because he's so good musically doing the bass, doing the keyboard, doing the singing, he's stuck on his mic toward all the show. So it makes for a good show because it's entertaining to see somebody that talented. Same goes with Lemmy. Lemmy was doing that bass, man. He would sound like two guitars. And he would sing. And what he sang was stuff to sing. And he did it every night. We toured with him. We saw him do it. You know, there's a few people. In the chat, people mentioned Dee Snyder. Another great, another great frontman, right? I mean, you can't deny this guy's like a guy a force to be reckoned with on stage. Absolutely. You know, Dee Snyder. Great person and everything. I mean, an interview with Dee Snyder is always something refreshing to see. Yeah. 1983 hit parade. Oh yes. Yes. Slickest dude in rocks. We apologize for not having any women on our list, but slickest dude, whatever that means. Coming in at number one back in December of 93, 83, December, 1983. Who do you think came in at number one as a slickest dude and rock with over 25% of the votes? 83, 83. 83, right? 83. I'd say David Lee Rock. You are correct, sir. Yeah, I would say David Lee Rock too. 25% of the votes. Now, just give me a thumbs up or thumbs down. Okay. Ozzy Osborne came in second. So that made Rick's list. Joe Elliott. Well, 83 was the year of Def Leppard. They won everything in three. Gitaris, KK Downey. Oh. Number four. Oh. Billy Squire. Number five. Oh. Robert Platt. Number six. Bruce Dickinson came in at seven. Rick Emmett at eight. Oh, nice. Sammy Hager at number nine. Sammy Hager. What the hell's going on here? Let me tell you, I've seen Sammy perform a few times and I'm a huge David Lee Rock fan. Sammy wiped the stage with David Lee Rock. Oh, don't say these things. Don't say these things. Don't say these things. Don't say these things. Don't say these things. Don't say these things. Don't say these things. Yeah, that's the right answer. David Lee Rock. David Hobbins Zander, chief trick at 12. Stephen Tyler at 13. Stephen Tyler. Mike Guido from Love & Way 14, Steve Perry from Journey coming in at 15. That's 1983. Top. Slick as dudes. Whatever that means. KK Downey made the list. Slick as dudes. Number four. I'm so happy that David Lee Rock was number one because I sense it. When you said 83, I said to myself, Rick, it's been a pleasure. Always a pleasure. You know what? I'll say it one more time. So on January 13th at Beanfield, which is the old Corona, which is in Montreal for those of you who are not from Montreal. You know, if you're in Ottawa, come on down. If you're in Toronto, come on down. If you're in Quebec City, come on down. It's going to be Sword Anonymous, which is a thrash metal band, right? You know them. You've played with them, right? Great, great, great band. Yep. Yep. Vantablack Worship, Vantablack Worship. You know another thrash band? Very good. They're sounding amazing. Atomic Train, which I've never heard, but maybe you could tell us what kind of music they play. A friend of mine is the singer. The singer's name is François Babin. Maybe. That's going to ring a bell. He was part of the Star Academy first season, the very first season when it came out on TV there in French here. Okay. Oh, yeah. And you know what? This is everybody's Christmas present, you know, for a loved one. Pick up a sword shirt, you know? Pick up, I don't know, a CD. There you go. Or you know what? Buy tickets to the show on the 13th of January if you're close by. Or maybe you know what? If you're in the other side of the world, come on by anyways. There you go. Exactly. All right, Rick. It's been a pleasure. Always a pleasure. Thank you so much for everything. Well, we could have six sets. Rick Hughes, a take-home flowered on a sword. And hopefully it will be a great show. Sell out, like you said, and a lot of success and a lot of good luck in 2024, Rick. Thanks a lot, guys. I'm sending all the best wishes to you and anybody that's listening right now. Best wishes for the new year and for the holidays.