It's been a great week for megalomania. First Kanye West told the Associated Press about his exalted "position in history" as the "voice of a generation" (he may have a point: a bling-obsessed egotist who spends his spare time blogging about over-priced aspirational boys'-toys probably does speak for our tawdry, commerce-enslaved times).

Meanwhile, Monday (24 November) sees the release of Guns N'Roses' 'Chinese Democracy', the 17-year, $14 million odyssey of Axl Rose, a man so addled by fame and power he once, during his full 'Use Your Illusion' pomp, had a pair of topiary elephants delivered by helicopter to a Hollywood mansion that he never even bothered moving into.

Such delusions of grandeur, however, are nothing compared to the actions of these Olympic-standard egomaniacs…

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Elton John
Displaying all the restraint and humility of a medieval monarch, while touring Germany in the 70s John phoned his agent and demanded something be done about the wind outside that was keeping him awake. A titanic cocaine habit – he put away four grams on his wedding night in 1984 – may have been to blame.

Carlos Santana
The guitarist's 1999 album 'Supernatural' was a huge global hit – which came as no surprise to Santana, because he'd been told as much by an angel called Metatron, who resembled Santa Claus. Apparently Miles Davis also chats to Carlos from beyond the grave.

Ol' Dirty Bastard
In 1998 the unhinged Wu-Tang Clan member invaded the stage at the Grammys, grabbing the mic from country star Shawn Colvin to announce that "Wu-Tang is for the children" (see below). Always fond of self-aggrandising statements, the crack-addicted rapper later claimed: "Remember the Indian who sold Manhattan to the white man? That's my great-great-grandfather."

Billy Corgan
In 2000, when complimented by a journalist on the long black skirt he'd taken to wearing, the Smashing Pumpkins vocalist spat: “It’s not a skirt… it’s a Gaultier.” Asked about an upcoming album, he retorted: “Work that out for yourself - which may be difficult because I’m an artist ahead of my time.” Eight years on, it seems Corgan even talks down to his own fans:

Elvis Presley
Once demanded his swimming pool be filled with thousands of light bulbs so he could stand on the edge shooting them all, one by one. Phoned President Jimmy Carter just weeks before his death, complaining he was being "shadowed" by "sinister forces."

David Bowie
Gripped by coke-induced megalomania, the Thin White Duke became convinced Satan was living in his swimming pool, so he performed an exorcism. In 1976 he greeted press in London with a Nazi salute. Then again, Bowie wasn't exactly in the best of health at this point, as this clip demonstrates (fast-forward to 0.25):

Prince
Changing his name to a squiggle, equating a $100 million Warner Bros contract with "slavery", expunging his music from YouTube (while giving it away free via the Mail On Sunday): Prince wrote the book on power-crazed pop-star solipsism.

Johnny Borrell
He proclaimed himself a genius in NME back in 2004 - but it wasn't until he turned up to South By South-West 2007 wearing a leather jacket and straddling a Harley that we realised just how deeply the Razorlight man had fallen in love with his own reflection.

Mariah Carey
The "Mariah doesn't do stairs" jibes may have been part of a negative-PR whispering campaign started by former husband Tommy Mottola, but Carey's authentic monomania requires no embellishment. Earlier this year, arriving in Paris for a 15-minute TV appearance, she booked £10,000-a-night penthouse suites for her and her 15-strong entourage. When the food wasn't up to scratch, she had renowned Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse brought to her hotel to cook her a private dinner.

Phil Spector
So unbending was Spector in his production techniques, he once held a loaded gun to Leonard Cohen's head to ensure he played a part correctly, and forced The Ramones to play the opening chord of 'Rock And Roll High School' for 8 hours straight (although Johnny Ramone had to admit, "That chord does sound really good").

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