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Glam rock (less commonly, and mostly in the USA, known also as Glitter rock), was a style of rock and roll music popularised in the early 1970s. It was mostly a British phenomenon, at its peak between the years of 1971 and 1973, made famous by acts such as Slade, David Bowie, Gary Glitter and T. Rex and had influence on groups such as Queen and Kiss. In the USA, Glam made less of an impression and was largely confined to selected music fans in the cities of New York and Detroit.
Glam was distinguished by the glittery, sparkly costumes of the performers, perceived as glamourous by fans, and its bouncy rock n‘ roll songs. Lyrical emphasis was often on "teenage revolution" (such as in T. Rex's "Children of the Revolution" and Sweet’s "Teenage Rampage") as well as sexuality, decadence and fame.
Glam performers often dressed androgynously in make up and glittery, florid costumes not dissimilar to costumes that Liberace or Elvis Presley wore when performing in cabaret. An example would be David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane phases. Sexual ambiguity was briefly in vogue: some bands took to playing in drag outfits for a while and Bowie told the press he was bisexual, although he later denied it, whilst the late Jobriath was among rock's first openly gay stars.
Progenitors
Credit for starting the Glam genre is often given to Marc Bolan of T. Rex or David Bowie. Proponents included Slade, Mud, Gary Glitter, Sweet, Mott The Hoople and early Roxy Music including Brian Eno.
In America, glam rock was most prominently represented by the proto-punk New York Dolls, whose Rolling Stones-influenced rawk-n-roll was matched by the feminine look of the band. Another key American influence on glam rock, although commonly over-looked, Iggy Pop was very important to the development of the genre. Earlier, in 1968-69, Alice Cooper had arguably sketched the first hints of glam rock when they used a transvestite look and an overtly sexual attitude as part of their image.
In Italy, Renato Zero had already (and probably independently from abroad tendencies) used disguisements, androgine appearance and heavy make-up in the late 1960s, but with little success. After he became popular in the late-1970s, he was criticized as having borrowed the look from Bowie and Cooper.
Glam rock in theatre and cinema
Theatre and Cinema played an important role in the Glam rock movement.
The stars of Andy Warhol's stage play Pork are considered influential on the movement. Wayne County was in particular an influence on David Bowie. Another Andy Warhol Superstar, Jackie Curtis, was influential on the look and dress of glam rock.
Some examples of movies that reflect Glam Rock include: Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise; The Rocky Horror Picture Show; T. Rex's documentary Born To Boogie; David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust; Alice Cooper's Good to See You Again; Gary Glitter's Remember Me This Way; Slade's Flame; Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine; and most recently the film version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Subsequent influence
Glam rock was a major influence upon the late 1970s UK punk rock movement, notably the Sex Pistols. It was also a large influence on the British Goth rock movement, particularly the bands who played at the Batcave in London.
In the aftermath of punk rock another British movement took heavy influence from Glam rock; inparticular Roxy Music and David Bowie. This movement was dubbed the "New Romantics" and included the likes of Adam and the Ants, Culture Club, Dead Or Alive and Soft Cell.
The glam rock movement even made the shores of Japan at the turn of the 1970s, with local bands the Sadistic Mika Band and Vodka Collins having successful glam recordings on EMI records.
A trend amongst some Glam rock groups was releasing a Christmas single, examples of this are Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody", Wizzard’s "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", and Gary Glitter's "Another Rock N' Roll Christmas". These tracks receive heavy rotation in the United Kingdom every Christmas.
Today the glam rock legacy is not very largely represented, excepting certain emerging acts in Europe in the Scandanavian area.
Glam rock acts
External links
English styles of music | Rock music genres
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"Glam rock"