The real name of Marilyn Manson is Brian Hugh Warner. His stage name is the combination of two famous American cultural icons, Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. Brian grew up in a devout Christian family and attended a strict Christian school, his mother was a Bishop in the Episcopalian Church. He credits the Heritage Christian School for his love of heavy metal, as they issued a list of music not to listen to, Brian went out and used it as a shopping list. He tried his hand at journalism before music, doing college courses and being an entertainment journalist for his local magazine. In 1993 Manson was noticed by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails who produced his first album, and he began to grow a cult following which saw him appear on MTV with a cover of ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’ He is in essence a 1990’s reworking of the Alice Cooper act, and his theatrical style has seen him garner two platinum albums and three gold.