Ryan Adams

Formerly the lead-singer of the North Carolina-based alt.country outfit Whiskeytown, Ryan Adams left the group after receiving massive critical plaudits for his debut solo album, Heartbreaker (2000). Relocating to New York, Adams developed a penchant for moving in celebrity circles, mixing with the likes of Courtney Love, The Strokes and Winona Ryder, whom he briefly dated.

His second album, Gold, followed in 2001 and was a surprise chart hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Demolition, a stop-gap collection of unreleased material, was issued in 2002. Tom Edwards