Gerard Way is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer who was the lead vocalist of the rock band My Chemical Romance from its formation in 2001 until its split in 2013. He is known for taking on different stage personas that reflect the music he creates, from the "Basement Gerard" look of messy hair and pale makeup in the early 2000s to the iconic black marching band jacket and bleached hair of the "Black Parade" era in the mid-2000s. After MCR disbanded, Way embarked on a solo career and adopted a style inspired by David Bowie, wearing bright suits and dyeing his hair red for his 2014 album "Hesitant Alien".

1. Star Profile – Gerard Way
Lucy Hocart

2. Gerard Way
Gerard Way, born on the 9th of April 1977, is
the former lead vocalist of the rock band My
Chemical romance, independent
singer/songwriter and comic book artist. He
is known for his flamobyoant stage persona
and ever-changing image, which often
(alongside his time in MCR) reflects the
music he makes.

3. 2001/2002
2001 consisted of Gerard Way and his brother
forming the rock band My Chemical Romance –
Way, while at the time working as an intern
with Cartoon Network, witnessed the 9/11
terror attacks, which while being a deeply
affecting experience, inspired him to change his
life and pursue music.
The song “Skylines and Turnstiles” reflects on
this experience, and is shown on their album, “I
Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your
Love”, released later in 2002.

4. 2003-2006
In 2003, Way and his band signed a
record deal with Reprise Records,
prompting a larger fanbase. During this
time they also released their second
album, “Three Cheers For Sweet
Revenge”.
This era brought a slightly different look
about, which many fans have since
affectionately nicknamed “Basement
Gerard”. A large change from his
previous plainer look, Way sported long,
messy hair and often wore pale makeup
and smudged eyeshadow in order to give
off a vampiric persona.

5. 2006-2009
This era showcased the “Black Parade” era,
arguably Way’s (and the band’s) most iconic and
well-known phase. As mentioned, Way often
dressed and acted according to the music he
released, with this album and era being no
exception. Way took on a deranged marching band
leader persona, with him and the rest of the band
dressing in black marching band jackets.
The Black Parade, being a concept album,
showcased a character referred to as “The Patient”
– Way adopted a similar style, bleaching his hair
white and wearing smudged, dark eyeshadow. Way
has stated that he was also planning on shaving his
eyebrows off, but was eventually talked out of it
by his manager.

6. 2009-2011
Throughout these few years, Way and the rest of
My Chemical Romance began working on an
album entirely different to anything they had
released before. Danger Days: The True Lives Of
The Fabulous Killjoys was their fourth album,
released in 2011. Way was the main artistic
director of the whole project, designing
characters and costumes for each of the band
members. He went on to write the characters
into a mini comic-book series.
His own character, Party Poison, presented a
more androgynous and flamboyant look than
any of his previous looks. Going alongside the
rebellious anthems of this album, each of the
characters were supposed to reflect the style of
rebels in a post-apocalyptic, government-
controlled world.

7. 2014
After MCR’s breakup in 2013,
Gerard Way embarked on a solo
project and released an album
titled “Hesitant Alien” in the
autumn of 2014. This era lead to
Way taking on a style similar to
David Bowie, wearing bright
suits and colouring his hair red.
Way mostly stayed within this
style up until 2016, where he
then reverted back to a more
casual persona after taking a
break from music and working
more on writing/illustrating
graphic novels.