Mayhem king Cobain tops rock's roll of dishonour

When it comes to sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, Kurt Cobain is the king of mayhem. The late lead singer of Nirvana, famed for his heroin abuse, gravelly voice and 1994 suicide, yesterday topped a chart of hellraisers composed by Britain's Melody Maker magazine.

The magazine's editor, Mark Sutherland, reviewing the list of the bad boys and girls of an industry renowned for excess, said: 'Their antics read like a litany of sexual deviance, drug-fuelled escapades, self-abuse and mutilation.' Cobain tops the poll ahead of Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays and the late Keith Moon of the Who. Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, upholds the family honour by taking the number eight slot.

Apart from Moon and Cobain, the list also includes the late Australian singer Michael Hutchence in 11th position followed next by the late Jim Morrison of the Doors. British pop rivals Liam Gallagher of Oasis and Robbie Williams come in at five and six. They have long traded insults and last month Williams challenged his singing foe to a boxing match with each of them putting up GBP100,000 (HK$1.2 million) for a televised bout.

Sutherland said: 'In light of the recent spat between Robbie and Liam, we thought it would be fun to look at the most infamous hellraisers in rock history.' Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin surprisingly failed to make the top 20 and some pop pundits would perhaps dispute the low rating of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards down in seventh. Richards is famed for his feuds with Mick Jagger, his love affair with Anita Pallenberg, fast cars, violence and an iron constitution.