Klark Kent

Because Superman's alter ego was Clark Kent, the notion that Klark Kent served as a pseudonym came as little shock. Behind the name stood Stewart Copeland, drummer of the Police. In 1980 he adopted the Klark Kent persona and supplied an entirely fabricated résumé claiming the artist was a computer programmer who had taken IBM to court over a purloined invention. The actual motive was simpler: Copeland wished to document several songs he had written for the Police that Sting had declined to record. On the resulting solo album, Klark Kent: Music Madness From the Kinetic Kid, he handled vocals along with percussion, guitar, bass, kazoo, and piano, all released under the Kent credit. The record's whimsical, off-kilter numbers stood in marked contrast to the Police's lyrically weightier catalog. Although the single "Away From Home" earned spins on new-wave stations, its modest reception owed almost entirely to the performer's connection with that band. Once the true identity surfaced, Copeland shelved the character and rejoined the Police. The complete Klark Kent recordings later surfaced as the 1995 compilation Kollected Works.