Glam rock
Glam rock (also known as glitter rock) is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970 s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platformsoled boots and glitter. The flamboyant costumes and visual styles of glam performers were often camp or androgynous, and have been connected with new views of gender roles.
History Glam rock emerged from the English psychedelic and art rock scenes of the late 1960 s and can be seen as both an extension of, and reaction against, those trends. Its origins are associated with Marc Bolan, who had renamed his folk duo T. Rex and taken up electric instruments by the end of the 1960 s. From late 1971, already a minor star, David Bowie developed his Ziggy Stardust persona, incorporating elements of professional make up, mime and performance into his act. Bowie in a 1972 interview while noting that other artists described as glam rock were doing different work said "I think glam rock is a lovely way to categorize me and it's even nicer to be one of the leaders of it".
History In the UK the term glitter rock was most often used to refer to the extreme version of glam pursued by Gary Glitter and his support musicians the Glitter Band, who between them achieved eighteen top ten singles in the UK between 1972 and 1976. A second wave of glam rock acts, including Suzi Quatro, Roy Wood's and Sparks, dominated the British single charts from about 1974 to 1976. Quatro directly inspired the pioneering Los Angeles based all -girl group The Runaways. Existing acts, some not usually considered central to the genre, also adopted glam styles, including Rod Stewart, Elton John, Queen and, for a time, the Rolling Stones.
Influence Although glam rock went into a steep decline in popularity in the second half of the 1970 s it was a direct influence on acts that rose to prominence later, including Kiss and American glam metal acts like Quiet Riot, W. A. S. P, Twisted Sister and Mötley Crüe. It was a major influence on the New Romantics in Britain, acts like Adam Ant and Flock of Seagulls extended it, and its androgyny and sexual politics were picked up by acts including Culture Club, Bronski Beat and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Influence It also had an influence on the formation of gothic rock, which was completely informed by the make-up, clothes, theatricality and sound, and even on punk rock, which adopted some of the performance and persona-creating tendencies of the genre, as well as the genre's emphasis on pop-art qualities and simple but powerful instrumentation. In Japan in the 1980 s, visual kei was strongly influenced by glam rock aesthetics. Glam has since enjoyed continued influence and sporadic modest revivals in R&B crossover act Prince, and bands such as Marilyn Manson, Placebo, Chainsaw Kittens, Spacehog and The Darkness.
Persons T. Rex: The British Glam Rock Persona In late 1970, the pioneers of British Glam Rock achieved their first chart hit in that genre. Formally Tyrannosaurus Rex, T. Rex had dented the UK Top 40 with a couple of whimsical ditties in the late Sixties, but it was Ride A White Swan (the single which marked a change from acoustic to electric guitars), that started their avalanche of Top 5 Glam hits. Gary Glitter: I'm the Leader of the Gang! His style blended glam rock with a driving, upbeat 1950 s style rock and roll. Glitter's most popular hits included I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am), Do You Wanna Touch (Oh Yeah) and I Love You Love Me Love. His Another Rock And Roll Christmas remains one of the UK's Top 30 Christmas hits of all time, and despite some serious personal problems, Glitter's career produced 21 hit singles in the UK, earning him a position among the Top 100 most successful British chart artists.
Persons Alice Cooper: Macabre Glam Rock One of the few American bands to embrace the British Glam Rock era was Alice Cooper, later the adopted name of its lead singer, Vince Furnier. The band's mix of glam and increasingly violent stage theatrics stood out amongst the denim-clad hippy bands of the time. Their first hit single in the USA was 1971's “I'm Eighteen” (not a UK chart hit), and its success together with their North American tour of 1971 - which also saw their first tour of Europe to massive success - was enough encouragement for their record label to offer them a new multi-album contract. David Bowie: The Ziggy Stardust Period Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character paralleled the early years of Glam Rock and came to public notice with the Number Ten placing of the single Starman. This single and its parent album made Bowie a star and 1972 was a continued success with the non-album single John, I'm Only Dancing peaking at UK Number Twelve. The 1973 album, Aladdin Sane, was Bowie's first Number One album in the UK. Pin Ups, a collection of his versions of 1960 s hits, was released in 1973, giving Bowie a UK Number Three hit in Sorrow and itself peaking at Number One. This resulted in David Bowie becoming the best-selling act of 1973 in the UK.
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