Elvis, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Frank Zappa, Madonnaa ' the history of pop music is also always a history of stage performances. The Pop Concert as a Para-theatrical Form is the first systematic study to concern itself with this area of research. It deals with the foundations for understanding the particular aesthetics of the pop stage. Using the most important artistes and an analysis of their appearances, an overview is provided of the way certain types of figure have developed.