Ted Nugent

Rock'n'roll wildman Ted Nugent is known just as much for his outspoken political beliefs on hunting and gun ownership as he is for his popular hard rock musical output. But despite the feral rock star image, he has also maintained an anti-alcohol and drugs stance that shows he is a man whose deeply-held convictions are formed independently of the expectations of others.

Nugent joined the Amboy Dukes in the mid-60s, and remained their only consistent member through several modestly-selling albums and dozens of line-up changes. In 1973 he took the lead and changed the name of the band to Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes, but two albums later decided to drop the unwieldy band name that didn't mean much as the line-up kept changing. Now just known by his real name, Nugent released a series of popular rock albums including the double platinum Free For All (1976), and Cat-Scratch Fever (1977) and Double Live Gonzo! (1978), which both went triple platinum. Although his record sales began to decline after the turn of the decade, Nuge continued to draw huge crowds to his charismatic live shows.

In 1990, Nugent formed a supergroup with members of Night-Ranger and Styx and released an eponymous album, Damn Yankees. It was a giant of a record, selling around five million and marking a comeback to popular favour for Nuge. Their second album wasn't so popular, but Nuge's comeback solo record Spirit of the Wild (1995) received great reviews.

In recent years Nuge has concentrated on TV appearances and media commentary. He has been the host of two shows, including celebrity challenge show Surviving Nugent. He has also appeared on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Simpsons and That '70s Show. In 2001 he published his first book, God, Guns & Rock and Roll.