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THE HISTORY OF GLAM
The first glam rock band largely recognised as gaining significant commercial success was T. Rex with the song Ride A White Swan (released in July 1970 although not getting to the top of the charts until early 1971). Bolan had previously fronted the psychedelic-folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex which had found limited commercial success in the late 1960s, however with T. Rex he created a more simplistic, stripped down, catchier and distorted sound than his previous bands. Bolan openly experimented with his image by wearing makeup and sprinkling glitter on his face, as well as wearing futuristic and androgynous outfits which distinguished him from the music subcultures and stars of the time. With the release of the singles Hot Love and Get It On, T. Rex rose to fame and by 1972 had a popularity amongst teenagers not seen since the Beatles disbanded. Slade and Sweet would both consolidate their commercial success in 1971. Gary Glitter would also rise to fame in 1972, making glam a national music phenomenon.However, a massive influence on glam would also come from David Bowie, although he did not experience substantial commercial success until mid 1972. Despite having a hit in 1969 with the song Space Oddity, his albums The Man Who Sold the World and Hunky Dory did not gain much recognition in the British mainstream although they would later be regarded as pivotal influences on the genre. Even image wise Bowie experimented with glam-style androgyny at the time as evidenced on both album covers and his image of the time. Tony Visconti collaborated with both Bolan and Bowie and was an important influence upon the creation and popularity of the genre.In 1972, Bowie changed his image drastically to fit the new concept character he designed for a musical project named Ziggy Stardust. Strongly influenced by films of Stanley Kubrick (such as A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey), the rock and roll of the late 50s and early 60s, various literature, philosophy and other influences, Ziggy extended beyond the concept album and spilled into real life. When the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released, Bowie became famous and experienced his greatest commercial success in the UK. Over the years 1972-74, Bowie's image grew more extreme, as did those of the his fans, and his musical scope widened to include American soul and funk influences in his music. In addition, Bowie would promote and collaborate with two at-the-time obscure Americans - Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, who both took in glam influences in both their music and image. He would go on to produce the Stooges album Raw Power and Reed's album Transformer, two now influential records in the history of music and both important examples of glam and protopunk. Bowie would also create Mott the Hoople's glam anthem All the Young Dudes.Roxy Music belonged more to the arty and progressive side of glam rock than any of the others, yet they still scored four top ten albums during the period without the mandatory many single releases usually considered a staple of glam; Roxy Music, For Your Pleasure, Stranded and Country Life. Slade became massive in popularity having successive number one singles over and over in the UK during the early to mid 1970s whereas Sweet also became strongly popular. Gary Glitter amassed a strong popularity as well, having 26 hit singles during the early 1970s. His band The Glitter Band would also rival him in popularity when they began to release their own material in 1973. Suzi Quatro, Mud and Wizzard would all appear during this time. Though primarily a UK-centred genre, Glam rock rapidly influenced popular culture to the point where everyone from the Osmonds to the Rolling Stones wore some glitter or makeup. Even though their sales-oriented work had little if any connection to science fiction, sexual ambiguity or high art, the genre's pop stars also wore makeup and 'futuristic' garb. However, as glam dragged on, it became more difficult to differentiate between glam bands, earlier bands who had changed their image and bubblegum pop as it was largely regarded as becoming increasingly more diluted and commercialised. In addition, many felt that most of the new glam bands were simply cashing in on the fad.In 1973 the New York Dolls' released their debut album and the American Graffiti movie hit the screens. In the US, the Dolls' album attracted uniformly low sales whilst the 1950s-60s 'Rock and Roll' soundtrack to American Graffiti was a phenomenon, outselling any and perhaps all glam rock albums put together. (although later on the Doll's album would be regarded as one of the first punk records and their brief producer Malcolm McLaren later went on to be strongly involved with the Sex Pistols) Over 1974, a surge in nostalgia for the 1940s and 1950s and the rise in popularity of Reggae and Disco music supplanted Glam in music culture. Science fiction was also falling from favour as a mass concern. However, some notable bands appeared during this period, the most enduring being Cockney Rebel and Queen. (however although having a strongly glam image at the time Queen had a much harder sound resembling heavy metal and progressive rock at first)By 1974 Glam had become a quasi-subculture. However, the social upheavals of the 1960s had produced a fertile post-hippie era in which not only "futuristic" glam rock could flare, but the undercurrent of nostalgia which had run throughout the 1960s (after all, 1950s celebrants Sha-Na-Na had performed at Woodstock amongst the blues-rockers) could surface and become a mainstream interest. As it unfolded with a disconcerting slowness the "space age" gradually fell from popular culture currency and by 1975 the future was out of style, and glam rock had subsided in popularity. These retrospective bands as well as the new soul and disco music from the US flooded the British charts until the outrage of punk became popular a few years later.Bowie officially announced his retirement of Ziggy in 1973 with a "farewell concert" (in which he announced somewhat ambiguously that "it is the last show we'll ever do"); he then went on to create the album Diamond Dogs, which many see as a farewell to the glam movement. He had largely changed his musical style to a combination of soul, funk, Krautrock and disco music by the mid 1970s. T. Rex quickly faded from the musical scene as their album sales and popularity collapsed, partially due to internal fighting and substance abuse in the band. However, before Marc Bolan's death T. Rex had partially returned to mainstream popularity as Bolan had cleaned up, hosted his own TV show Marc and had toured with new punk bands such as The Damned. Sweet and Slade had hits well into the mid 1970s but Sweet changed their image and sound to be harder while Slade faded in popularity but carried on until they found more retrospective commercial success in the 80s and 90s. Roxy Music would carry on releasing albums and would resurface to their greatest success in the New Wave movement of the early 1980s while former keyboardist Brian Eno released a few albums of glam leanings before becoming a pioneer in ambient music. Some American acts influenced by British glam such as Alice Cooper and Kiss would go on to have strong commercial success in the face of soul, funk and disco music popular at the time, however.
Find more music like this on Glamnation
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