Norman Iceberg

Norman Bedard
Norman Bedard during his Norman Iceberg days - Circa 1988
Background information
Also known as	Norman Iceberg Norman Joseph
Born	(1962-07-30) July 30, 1962 (age 54) Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
Genres	New wave, pop rock, synthpop, dance
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active	1983–present
Labels	TGO, RCA, BMG, Unidisc, Norfolk
Website	NormanBedard.com

Norman Joseph Bédard (born July 30, 1962), also known by the former stage names Norman Iceberg and Norman Joseph, is a Canadian singer-songwriter.

A graphic artist turned performance artist, Norman Bedard emerged from the Montreal underground music scene in the early '80s under the name Norman Iceberg. One of a handful of gender-bending new wave artists to come out following the success of artists like Duran Duran, Boy George and Gary Numan, Bedard was recruited by music producer Tony Green, responsible for France Joli’s 1979 disco hit "Come To Me".

Norman Bedard's experimental, minimal electro sound was therefore remodeled to cater to the dance club scene as evident on his debut, Be My Human Tonight (RCA). Person(a), released in 1987, was a conceptual collection of synthpop songs reflecting a young man’s own vision of life, and featuring keyboardists such as Lenny Pinkas (Men Without Hats), Mario Spezza (Rational Youth) and Mic Lussier. The cover photograph of him posing nude - pre-dating Prince’s Lovesexy by several months - stirred up controversy. A few selections taken from Person(a) were used for TVA’s Le Match de la Vie hosted by Quebec author and former politician Claude Charron.

On stage, careful attention was paid to set design and visual effects; Bedard would then sometimes only be backed by a pre-recorded soundtrack and live vocalists such as Claudine Mercier and Louise Litsz, giving them entire freedom to use props and screens, a style made popular by American performance artist Laurie Anderson. 1988 saw the release of Gotta Move.