Glam rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, characterized by the flamboyant fashion, makeup, and hairstyles of its artists, especially platform shoes and glitter. Glam rock musicians drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including bubblegum pop, 1950s rock and roll, cabaret, science fiction, and intricate art rock. The ostentatious attire and visual appeal of the performers were often campy or androgynous, challenging traditional gender roles. Glitter rock represented an even more exaggerated form of glam rock.
From 1971 to 1975, the UK charts were flooded with glam rock acts. Marc Bolan of T. Rex, adorned in glitter and satins during his March 1971 performance of "Hot Love" on the BBC's Top of the Pops, is often heralded as the inception of the movement. Prominent British glam rock artists included David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade, Mud, Roxy Music, Alvin Stardust, and Gary Glitter. While not strictly part of the genre, Elton John, Rod Stewart, and Freddie Mercury of Queen also embraced glam styles. In contrast, the United States had a less prominent scene, with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed being the only American artists to achieve a hit in the UK. Other notable American glam artists were New York Dolls, Sparks, Suzi Quatro, Iggy Pop, and Jobriath. The glam rock phenomenon waned after the mid-1970s but left a lasting impact on various music genres, including punk rock, glam metal, death rock, and gothic rock. Additionally, the New Romantic movement, emerging from the late 1970s nightclub subculture and entering the mainstream in the early '80s, drew inspiration from the glam rock visual style.
Glam rock is recognized both as a fashion statement and a musical subgenre. Glam artists turned away from the revolutionary ideals of the late 1960s rock scene, choosing instead to celebrate decadence, superficiality, and the straightforward structures of early pop music. Scholars like I. Taylor and D. Wall have described glam rock in light of these traits as "offensive, commercial, and an instance of cultural emasculation."
Artists incorporated musical influences such as bubblegum pop, the bold guitar riffs of hard rock, pulsating rhythms, and 1950s rock and roll, blending them with the late 1960s' recording advancements. This led to a wide-ranging diversity, from the straightforward rock and roll revivalism of artists like Alvin Stardust to the intricate art pop of Roxy Music. Initially, it emerged as a youth-driven counter to the growing prevalence of progressive rock and concept albums, which Bomp! magazine described as the "overall denim dullness" of a "deadly boring, prematurely aged music scene".
Visually, it combined a plethora of styles, from 1930s Hollywood glamour and 1950s pin-up allure to pre-war cabaret drama, Victorian literary and symbolist motifs, science fiction, and ancient to occult mysticism and mythology. This eclectic mix was evident in the extravagant clothing, makeup, hairstyles, and platform boots. Glam rock is particularly recognized for its sexual and gender ambiguity, androgynous representations, and elaborate theatricality.
The flamboyant English composer Noël Coward, particularly through his 1931 song "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," prefigured what was to come. Music writer Daryl Easlea remarked, "Noël Coward's impact on figures like Bowie, Roxy Music, and Cockney Rebel was absolutely immense. He suggested that style, artifice, and surface are just as significant as depth and substance." Time magazine highlighted Coward's "sense of personal style, a blend of cheek and chic, pose and poise," which reads like a manifesto for glam. Acts that played with showmanship and gender identity, such as the Cockettes and Alice Cooper, the latter merging glam with shock rock, followed suit.
Glam rock, which arose from the English psychedelic and art rock movements of the late 1960s, is both an extension and a reaction to these genres. Marc Bolan, who transitioned his acoustic duo T. Rex to electric instruments by the decade's end, is credited with its inception. Music critic Ken Barnes hailed Bolan as "the man who started it all." Bolan's March 1971 performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops, adorned in glitter and satins for his second UK Top 10 and first Number 1 hit "Hot Love," is often marked as the birth of glam rock. The Independent remarked that this appearance allowed a generation to toy with androgynous styles. T. Rex's album Electric Warrior, released in 1971, was lauded as a trailblazing glam rock record. Bolan later graced the cover of Melody Maker in 1973, shortly after releasing the album Tanx, proclaiming "Glam rock is dead!"
Noddy Holder and Dave Hill of Slade, at the peak of their fame in 1973, displayed some of the more extravagant glam rock fashionsoddy Holder and Dave Hill of Slade, at the peak of their fame in 1973, displayed some of the more extravagant glam rock fashions
Starting in late 1971, David Bowie, already a rising star, crafted his Ziggy Stardust persona, blending elements of professional makeup, mime, and performance into his act. In a 1972 interview, Bowie remarked that while other artists labeled as glam rock were pursuing different paths, he felt that "glam rock is a lovely way to categorize me and it's even nicer to be one of the leaders of it." Following Bowie and Bolan, bands like Roxy Music, Sweet, Slade, Mott the Hoople, Mud, and Alvin Stardust adopted the style. Glam rock's impact in the UK was so profound that three bands scored major UK Christmas hit singles: Slade with "Merry Xmas Everybody," Wizzard with "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday," and Mud with "Lonely This Christmas." These hits have remained enduringly popular. Glam rock was not just a successful musical trend; it also became a dominant force in various facets of British popular culture throughout the 1970s.
A more intense version of glam rock, focusing on guitar riff-driven songs, compelling rhythms, and interactive live performances, was exemplified by bands such as Slade and Mott the Hoople. This style influenced later groups like Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Poison, Kiss, and Quiet Riot. Some of these bands covered Slade's hits like "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" or created new music inspired by Slade's work. While they achieved great success in the UK singles charts—for instance, Slade had six number one singles—only a few managed to significantly break into the US market. David Bowie was a notable exception, rising to international fame and influencing other artists like Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, New York Dolls, and Jobriath to adopt glam styles, often referred to as "glitter rock," characterized by a darker lyrical content than that of their British peers.
In the UK, "glitter rock" often referred to the flamboyant style of glam rock epitomized by Gary Glitter and his frequent collaborators, the Glitter Band. Together, they achieved eighteen top ten singles in the UK from 1972 to 1975. A subsequent glam rock wave, featuring artists like Suzi Quatro, Roy Wood's Wizzard, and Sparks, also enjoyed hits on the British charts in 1973 and 1974. Quatro and T.Rex were a direct influence on the Los Angeles-based all-female band The Runaways. Other artists, not typically associated with glam rock, adopted its styles, including Rod Stewart, Elton John, Queen, and briefly, the Rolling Stones. Influenced by Marc Bolan's fashion, Freddie Mercury commissioned Zandra Rhodes to design costumes for Queen's 1974 tour. Punk rock, which partly emerged as a response to glam rock's theatricality and included some of its elements like makeup and glam rock cover songs, contributed to the decline of the glam rock trend around 1976.
he glam rock scene that emerged in early 1970s London included numerous openly bisexual musicians, including Queen's Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and David Bowie.[43][44] Medium's Claudia Perry felt that "Glam rock was a queer paradise of sorts. Watching Mick Ronson and Bowie frolic onstage gave hope to every queer kid in the world. John's flamboyancy was also of great comfort. Marc Bolan of T. Rex is still the subject of speculation (a friend who worked at Creem remembers him coming on to just about everyone when he came through Detroit, but this clearly isn't definitive)." Glam also rock helped to normalise androgynous fashion.[45] Jobriath, the rock scene's first openly gay star, was also part of the glam rock scene.[46]
Glam rock hits "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed and "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie also brought attention to non-heteronormative situations in the world of rock.[47] When discussing "Rebel Rebel", Tim Bowers of The New York Times recalls that "glam's vocals had a fruity theatricality, supporting lyrics that presented as a boast: "Your mother can't tell if you're a boy or a girl." Glam was butch and femme at once: bisexuality in sound."[48]
The Rocky Horror Show, primarily featuring glam rock music, was a cornerstone of LGBTQ media in the 1970s. The song "Sweet Transvestite" from the show was highlighted as "the first major glam rock aria of the musical," and glam rock itself was described as a queering of the rock music genre in the book 'Trans Representations in Contemporary, Popular Cinema.' Similarly, the 2001 musical 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' utilized glam rock to narrate the tale of a botched gender-affirming surgery. An article discussing the use of glam rock in 'Hedwig' stated that "glam rock artists like David Bowie, Marc Bolan, and Freddie Mercury, by presenting a more fluid approach to gender expression, became icons for the LGBTQ+ community, contributing to greater acceptance and understanding."
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