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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

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direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

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Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
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new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.
About Us
Contact Future's experts
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Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.
Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
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By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.
About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.
Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024
MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024
MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years
Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.
Features Classic Rock
10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024
The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024
“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.
Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)
When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.
MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK
Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years
Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!
Your Email Address
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024
You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.
Features Classic Rock
10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024
“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila
Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)
Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Contact Future's experts
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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.
Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)
When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”
Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)
Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.
MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK
Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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started
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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years
Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!
Your Email Address
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024
6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read
By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024
“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
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made the classic Breakfast In America
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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

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Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
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Accessibility Statement
Careers
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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila
Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)
Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”
Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)
Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years
Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.
Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)
It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.
Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)
In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024
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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
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By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”
Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.
Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)
When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila
Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)
Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
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new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024
He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years
Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.
Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)
It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
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new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Accessibility Statement
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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.
Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.
Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)
In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

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Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
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made the classic Breakfast In America
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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”
Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.
Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)
When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
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made the classic Breakfast In America
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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

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on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
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Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
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new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years
Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.
Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)
It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.
Classic Rock Newsletter
Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

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Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
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made the classic Breakfast In America
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wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024
Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best
By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
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Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.
Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

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made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”
Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.
Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)
She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
SEE MORE LATEST ►
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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)
Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
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Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
Pearl Jam in 2024
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
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Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
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© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024
The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.
Classic Rock Newsletter
Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

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direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

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Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
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Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
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new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024
“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.
Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)
She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
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“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
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Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)
Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
Pearl Jam in 2024
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

MOST POPULAR
Why I love Kiss, by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter
By Dave Everley16 March 2024

“That was it for me, a rock god lead guitarist playing on it” how Metallica’s Kirk
Hammett helped a dance classic to come full circle
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024

“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

6 mind-bending sci-fi novels every prog metal fan should read

By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best

By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

You're going to Hell for this! That time I sent deathpunks Turbonegro to play Santa
at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024
The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week
By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

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direct to your inbox!

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Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

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something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

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MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
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publisher. Visit our corporate site.

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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

SEE MORE LATEST ►

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By Dave Everley16 March 2024

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By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“I don’t think Joe would’ve been happy retreading any steps he’d made already” Paul
Simonon on why The Clash never reunited
By Niall Doherty16 March 2024

“Marc felt this imposition of having to come up with another hit album. And fame
fuelled that fire” how Marc Bolan and T. Rex made a glam rock masterpiece with The
Slider
By Chris Roberts16 March 2024
“There have never been fisticuffs in this band… Just tense silences” How Supertramp
made the classic Breakfast In America
By Paul Lester16 March 2024

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By Amos Williams16 March 2024

The force that is in this music can never be extinguished Read the letter U2's Bono
wrote to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love's daughter Frances Bean hailing Smells Like
Teen Spirit as a song that saved his life
By Paul Brannigan16 March 2024

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By Merlin Alderslade15 March 2024

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at an old folk's home, and the terrified residents thought World War III had
started
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By Rich Hobson15 March 2024

He was one of the gang Before he won three Oscars and was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II, one world-famous actor was a roadie for Echo & The Bunnymen
By Paul Brannigan15 March 2024

MORE FROM CLASSIC ROCK

Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.Skip to main
content
CLASSIC ROCK METAL HAMMER PROG ONE LOUDER
The Home Of High Voltage Rock'N'RollSearch
NEWS
FEATURES
REVIEWS
SUBSCRIBE
NEWSLETTER
STORE
TRENDING
Queen The Works
Ace Frehley interview
Tracks Of The Week
Get Classic Rock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Here’s how it works.

Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

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Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

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Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.
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Features Classic Rock

10 massive pop stars who secretly appeared on rock and metal songs
By Paul Travers( Classic Rock ) published 17 hours ago
Katy Perry, Elton John, Boy George, Billy Joel – they’ve all secretly rocked it up
over the years

Elton John, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Katy Perry and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider
(Image credit David M. BenettMichael Ochs ArchivesJohn ShearerPaul NatkinGetty
Images)
The worlds of rock and pop might be diametrically opposed in some ways but there
have always been crossovers, in both directions of travel. From Eddie Van Halen
lending his six-string skills to Michael Jackson’s Beat It to Ozzy Osbourne and
Post Malone’s recent I’ll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine collaborations on Take
What You Want and It’s A Raid, there have been plenty of odd-couple pairings to
raise eyebrows. Sometimes, though, unlikely alliances have flown largely under the
radar. Here are 10 times major pop stars have appeared on rock and metal songs that
you probably don’t know about.

Metal Hammer line break

Elton John – Saxon, Party ‘Til You Puke (1986)

Elton John has guested on a number of rock records, including tracks by Alice In
Chains, Fall Out Boy, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Perhaps the most surprising, though, was a mid-80s shot of boogie piano on a
suitably rambunctious song called Party 'til You Puke. Saxon singer Biff Byford
explained that it came about when they were recording in studios next-door to each
other. “I think he was helicoptering in and out of the studio every couple of days
on his way to royal weddings or whatever. We got to know the band more than him,
really, but he was a nice enough guy,” he told 2fast2die.

Katy Perry – P.O.D., Goodbye For Now (2006)

She might now be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but back in the mid-
2000s Katy Perry was a struggling singer in the Christian rock scene. When
Christian nu-metal mob P.O.D. were looking for a female guest vocalist for a track
on 2006 album Testify, their producer recommended Perry, who sang on Goodbye For
Now, appeared in the video and made some live TV appearances with the band. P.O.D.
singer Sonny Sandoval told the San Diego Union-Tribune some years later “I don’t
know Katy Perry the diva. I know Katy Perry the tomboy who came in acting like one
of us, picking her nose and being goofy, having dinner with us and we’d sit around
like a family. That’s the kid I know.”

Boy George – Toilet Böys, The Last Breath Of The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Love
Affair (2016)
Boy George has appeared as a featured artist on literally dozens of tracks in the
pop, dance and DJ realms. His sole foray into the world of hard rock came with a
guest appearance on this epically titled 2016 comeback single by neo-sleaze rockers
the Toilet Böys. George had also previously collaborated with Toilet Böys vocalist
Miss Guy, co-writing the fellow club DJ’s somewhat poppier solo track Stay Away
from Pretty Boys.

Donna Summer – Gene Simmons, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel of Love (1978)
The 1970s was one big cultural melting pot, so its no surprise that Kiss bassist
Gene Simmons packed his debut album with friends from all walks of music life.
Everyone from Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Bob Seger to Helen Reddy and Gene’s then-
paramour Cher appeared, but the biggest surprise was disco queen Donna Summer, who
sang backing vocals on two songs, Burning Up With Fever and Tunnel Of Love. The
connection Kiss and Summer were both signed to Casablanca Records (and there’s
every chance they’d spent a night out at fabled New York nightclub Studio 54).
Bonus points future Married With Child Star Katey Sagel also appeared on the album.

Gary Numan – Fear Factory, Obsolete (1998)

It’s no secret that Gary Numan appeared on Fear Factory’s cover of Cars, which
provided the industrial metallers with a moderate hit as a standalone single and
helped make Obsolete their biggest-selling album. Perhaps less well-known is the
fact that, while they had him, they also got the electronic music pioneer to supply
spoken word dialogue they would use on the sci-fi concept album’s title track. In a
FortuneCity interview, vocalist Burton C. Bell said “It wasn't until after the fact
that I realized that Gary Newman is one of the forefathers of electronic music and
here he is on our record twenty years later saying that man is obsolete. I was like
‘Wow man, maybe it is partially your fault!’”

Justin Timberlake – Foo Fighters, Make It Right (2017)

Dave Grohl has, of course, guested with just about everyone and has had rock and
metal royalty from Paul McCartney to Brian May and Lemmy have made appearances on
his own recorded output. Even pop superstars want a bit of Dave’s magic and when
the Foo Fighters were recording the Concrete and Gold album at EastWest studios,
Justin Timberlake was also working at the legendary LA facilities. “We’d drink
whiskey in the parking lot,” Grohl told Rolling Stone. “Then the night before his
last day, he says, ‘Can I sing on your record I don’t want to push it, but – I just
want to be able to tell my friends.’” The result was some ‘la la la’s’ in the
backing vocals and bragging rights for Timberlake.

Billy Joel - Twisted Sister, Be Chrool to your Scuel (1985)

When Twisted Sister got Alice Cooper to appear on their 1985 single, Be Chrool to
Your Scuel, it didn’t raise many eyebrows. The New Yorkers had, after all, been the
successors to his bubblegum shock rock crown during Alice’s early-80s dip. What was
more surprising was that it featured Billy Joel on piano - although that would
have been far less fathomable if you didn’t know about Joel’s past playing songs
with titles like Amplifier Fire and Brain Invasion in proto-metal band Attila

Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) – Def Leppard, Animal(1987)

Spandau Ballet and Def Leppard became friends when both bands found themselves
residing in Dublin in the mid-80s - a time when Ireland operated a tax exemption
scheme for creative writers and composers. Joe Elliott and Spandau guitarist Gary
Kemp found themselves bonding over a shared love of Bowie and Mott The Hoople and
Kemp ended up providing uncredited backing vocals on Leppard’s huge hit single
Animal.

Liza Minnelli – My Chemical Romance, Mama (2006)

When My Chemical Romance were recording ambitious third album The Black Parade they
decided they needed a female guest for a song called Mama, in which The Patient
protagonist pens an emotional letter to his mother. “I wanted somebody kind of
motherly, but who was also a survivor, had been through a lot, but was rooted in
theatre. [Minnelli] was the first person that came to mind,” singer Gerard Way told
Village Voice in 2011. They never thought the showbiz legend would actually agree
but she did it for free, delivering the lines she’d been asked for and adding her
own unhinged sobbing to the outro.

Bonnie Tyler – Spike, Fortune (2014)

In 2014, then-Quireboys frontman Spike embarked on a labour of love in the form of
100% Pure Frankie Miller – a tribute album to the Scottish singer-songwriter. It
featured appearances from Ronnie Wood and Ian Hunter (who Spike bumped into at the
Classic Rock Awards), as well as a duet with the similarly rasping Bonnie ‘Total
Eclipse Of The Heart’ Tyler. “I played that to my mam and she couldn’t tell the
difference. She said ‘Which bit’s you’” Spike recounted to My Global Mind.

Classic Rock Newsletter

Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers,
direct to your inbox!

Your Email Address

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Paul Travers
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock,
heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines,
including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

MORE ABOUT CLASSIC ROCK

Muse live in 2016
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show

Pearl Jam in 2024

“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments

LATEST
Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past

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Audioslave backstage at the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2005
1
“I don’t think there was a single riff I wrote after 1992 that Zack de la Rocha
even liked” how Audioslave saw Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello escaping his
own past
2
“The closest thing I can compare it to is the film Gladiator” Muse’s Matt Bellamy
on what it’s like being at the centre of an enormodome rock show
3
“The pearl is the little organism that has taken the shit and turned it into
something beautiful. Maybe that’s part of what we’ve been able to do.” Eddie Vedder
on how Pearl Jam got through their toughest moments
4
He just set me on fire St. Vincent on working with Dave Grohl on her forthcoming
new album
5
Cockney Rebel leader Steve Harley dies, aged 73
Louder is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital
publisher. Visit our corporate site.

About Us
Contact Future's experts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Accessibility Statement
Careers
GDPR consent
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights
reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.