#1
Sting (The Police)
His mother christened him Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner but we call him Sting. He got the name "Sting" from a member of one of the many jazz bands he played with in his pre-Police days. One day Sting came to a rehearsal in a black and yellow striped top which led to him being called "Stinger" - which eventually became "Sting." He was a ditch digger, a bus conductor and an English teacher before being invited to join The Police by Stewart Copeland. He's been known to play a fretless bass on occasion but is also the proud owner of a 150 year old upright bass.
#2
Paul McCartney (The Beatles)
Easily the most famous bass player on the list, if not the world, Paul shared lead vocals in The Beatles with John Lennon. It's doubtful that any non-guitar players would have heard of Hofner if it wasn't for his signature use of their 500/1 violin bass which has since become known as a "Beatle Bass".
#3
Gene Simmons (Kiss)
Kiss's music never was or never will be as famous as their image. Four fully grown men dressed in studded leather and platform shoes with their faces painted to varying degrees of campness (their copyrighted makeup designs include The Starchild and The Catman). So what could Gene Simmons do to counter-balance this effeminacy? He had fake blood pouring out of his mouth and played a bass guitar that was in the shape of a huge axe!
#4
Lemmy (Motorhead)
Facial warts? Mutton chops? Huge Nazi memorabilia collection? Apparently none of these things have stopped Lemmy from sleeping with over 2000 women. As far as I can tell, the trick seems to be playing your bass guitar at the loudest possible levels through your amps which you have named "No Remorse", "Killer" and "Murder One".
#5
Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)
Have a listen to "Dancing In The Moonlight" below and try tell me that this man wasn't cool. This song completely encompasses everything that this list is about. When everything goes right, you can't get better than a bass-playing singer. In this song we hear one of the all time great opening basslines followed by absolutely perfect vocals.
