6 of 7

Write now Article Tools

Glam rock is simply glamorous rock and roll. It really is as simple as that. Slade, Mud, T-rex, Queeen, The Glitter Band and all those others whose spandex and sequins blinded the audience into submission before the first note was strummed.

Not only did they have to be able to hold a tune but members of these bands had to be prepared to dress up in high heels, silver and gold lamme suits, top hats and generally make steaming great nits of themselves.

Glam rock is the play time for rock and roll. It sped up the charts - being aimed at the teen age audience whilst the serious rock and rollers like Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Def Leppard and others sold steadily and had good audiences live but chart-wise remained always on the fringes.

Glam rock came at a time when the world of pop music had hit something of a hiatus. Gone was the initial thrill and rebellion of rock and roll. Indeed, the rock and roll generation of the 1950s now had children of their own who wanted something more than the music of their parents. It had lost its rebellious streak, was accepted and there was little left with which to shock the establishment.

For a while, pop went soft with the war between Donny and David, soppy singers abounded and solo artists began to rise in the charts. There was a danger of pop music becoming something all generations liked. Cliff, Elvis, the Beatles, nothing quite had the kick of the initial rock and roll rebellion and appealed to all generations - hence the millions of albums sold.

True rock bands evolved but they remained on the fringe of the pop industry and were associated with bikers, heavy metal fans and drugs.

Then, into the breach came the glam rock knights - the pantomime dames of pop - shocking yet safe. Millions of teenagers found something with which to shock their parents. Something to identify with that was accessible, easy to imitate and with catchy tunes that became icons. Songs like Tiger Feet (Mud), See My Baby Jive (Wizard), It's Christmas (Slade) and Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) filed the gap between hard rock and pop music.

The bejeweled, dazzle suited, colored haired glam rockers in their oh so tight slinky suits gave the girls especially what they wanted, whilst being accessible ,easy to emulate and showing that boys could be pretty as well as masculine.

Every occasion turned into a glitter party with staggeringly high platform shoes and anything goes as long as it sparkled in tones of pink, orange, yellow or purple. Some hardened rockers even crossed the line into glam rock with groups like Deep Purple making forays into glam rock and Queen trying at times to go the other way. Glam rock made music fun, fun fun. It shocked ma and pa (who wouldn't be shocked at a purple glittery top hat teamed with bright green trousers and yellow glitter platform shoes!) but yet remained relatively safe. You could rebel yet still be an A student.

Little did they know that an extension of this would lead to punk rockers - what a contrast but that's another story!

Learn more about this author, Sammy Stein.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about What is glam rock??
We want to hear your view. Write now!