Born Steven Tallarico in New York in 1948, Tyler attended Roosevelt High School until he was expelled for drug use. The son of a classical pianist, Tyler was a drummer and singer in a variety of local rock'n'roll bands before teaming up with Joe Perry to form Aerosmith in 1970. They have since sold 150 million records worldwide, becoming the the best selling American rock band of all time. Tyler is now a talent judge on TV show American Idol. He has four children and lives in the US.

David Dalton is the founding contributor of Rolling Stone magazine and is the author of James Dean, The Mutant King: A Biography, Faithful with Marianne Faithful and Rock 100 with Lenny Kaye.