British musician
The legends and myths about the lead singer/keyboardist of Killing Joke are so many and strange that they almost obscure reality. Some say he's part Indian, some say part Egyptian. I say confused, but brilliant.
The most widely circulated story about Coleman is the one about his escape to Iceland. During the early years of Killing Joke, Coleman was deeply involved with occultism, and it has had a heavy influence on his lyrics. In 1982 the occult interest had turned into an obsession and Coleman was convinced that the apocalypse was near, so he fled to Iceland together with fellow band member Geordie. During their stay they got involved with some Icelandic bands, one of witch turned into Sugarcubes with lead singer Björk. Back home in England, Killing Joke bassist Youth was supposed to take care of Coleman's cat. Youth wasn't the perfect substitute cat-owner and the cat died. Coleman refused to work with Youth for some time after that.
If these stories are true or not aren't all that important, though. They can't take away the fact that much of Coleman's work is seminal in independent music.