Who is your favorite Glam Rock band?

If we’re talking about the ultimate peak of Glam Rock—assuming you count that era as its own distinct style—it has to be the soundtrack to *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*. It captures that whole aesthetic perfectly while actually sounding great, too. Like Ante Batinović used to say, it's just pure excitement.☕

Dana Anderson4, I’ll just pretend I never heard that.

dustyridge12 said:Dana Anderson4, I'll just act like I never heard that.

So, you haven't heard it yet? Or maybe you just read about it.👍
The whole Glam Rock thing always felt a bit forced to me. Honestly, you could take T. Rex, Duran Duran, or David Bowie and they would have worked perfectly fine without all that flashy, over-the-top stuff. If you step back and look at them now, they’re musically worlds apart—even more so than some artists from that era who didn't touch the glam scene at all. Take Iggy Pop or Lou Reed, for example; it feels like later historians just shoved them into that category because of the *Velvet Goldmine* vibe, which feels wrong. Then you've got bands like Slade. If you consider Gary Glitter the "pure" definition of strict Glam Rock, it starts looking pretty much like a caricature, right? That’s why I was thinking about that soundtrack—it's great music, but it's intentionally wrapped in that specific style, almost like a camp aesthetic.🙂

Well, PA didn't bother mentioning what I consider to be the absolute greatest Glam Rock band to ever grace a stage—and we all know it's KISS!

Dana Anderson4 said:What I mean is, this whole Glam Rock narrative has always felt a little forced to me. Like, if you look at T. Rex, or even Duran Duran and David Bowie, they honestly could have functioned perfectly fine without all that flashy, over-the-top component. If we step back and look at them today, you can see how musically distinct they actually are from one another, :

I don't find it forced at all. Maybe you just didn't live through it. Bolan basically stopped functioning "normally" after that specific phase (you know, right after >), but before that—during the John's Children era leading up to the end of Tyrannosaurus Rex, specifically that Hot Love>> single—he was playing an entirely different game. It's the same story with Bowie. Bowie paired with Mick Ronson is peak Bowie, though he had some great stuff early on and plenty of hits later too. Now, Roxy is a different beast altogether, as is Sparks, but to my ears, those first two albums sound incredibly Glam (take > for example). Honestly, his first record with Brian Eno feels even more Glam than the first two Roxy albums. And there’s a whole sea of other killer bands in the first half of the 70s that possessed that specific sound. Sure, some leaned more toward pop while others went full art-rock. To throw some names into the mix alongside the ones mentioned: The Rats, Iron Cross, Hollywood Brats, Hello, Geordie, and The Jook (the latter being more pub glam, almost bordering on pop-punk—very British style, not like anything out of SoCal). What I'm getting at is that when I listen to these bands, I distinctly hear those "Ronson-Bolan" guitars, that heavy "thump thump" bass sitting deep in the mix, massive stadium drums, and a certain percussive swagger. It's the sonic equivalent of sex. They share a common sonic DNA. More importantly, they were products of their era, much like Krautrock, Punk, The Beatles, or Elvis, or even the American New Wave—which ties into so many things: from more liberal attitudes toward sex to the fact that a generation was forming that felt nostalgic for old-school rock 'n' roll, prompting "new kids" to reinvent it to make it interesting for their own peers (something the punks would eventually do by taking Chuck Berry riffs and playing them faster and way worse). Plus, let's be real, Glam—much like Mod or Punk—was essentially invented by the most obnoxious middle class in existence, the English, of course. For me, the fashion is secondary; it’s just a stage uniform. Glam definitely has its "look," but Metal and Punk have looks too. Just as Metal and Punk have their own signature sounds, Glam absolutely has its own.

Now, in any pop scene, you're going to have people jumping on the bandwagon just to chase a paycheck or some fleeting fame. Even in its prime, Glam wasn't immune to that, though it was relatively more authentic. I mean, look at Ricky Wild. I guess he has a certain camp value today, similar to the fashion of that era. What about Showadawady? Or Kiss? Even they had brilliant moments (like >) along with guys like Gary Glitter or Suzy Quatro. And man, Slade>>—those first three albums are absolute gold! Not to mention the absolutely fantastic first seven or eight Alice Cooper albums (don't forget, Johnny Rotten "sang" > at his Sex Pistols audition). Glam got a bad rap because of those 80s hair metal bands—guys who just threw on some scraps to look good on MTV (a total product of their time!). They definitely understood Paul Stanley's lesson (something like, "I'm a rock 'n' roll star... my job is to hook up with every woman within fifty yards," if I recall correctly), but they completely missed the point of actual rock 'n' roll. By the way, are there any "guitar" records that sound more grating than those 80s hair metal albums?

Musically speaking, > isn't even really "jumping on" Glam... to me, it sounds more like Meat Loaf. It belongs in the "70s Oddities" category. Back then, they called it a rock opera. Today, we'd probably just call it kitsch. > deals with sex, sure, just like Glam does, but Glam is a much, much broader umbrella. Take a band like Queen—could you call them pastoral Glam? Maybe, at least on their first couple of records. Or Brega—the ultimate pop bandwagon. It's like a Glam version of Chuck Berry's Rock 'n' Roll Music, demonstrated by some variety show act on a late-night American TV special. Still, Brega had some genuinely great quasi-glam moments, especially on their second record—songs like "You're shouting at the whole village" or "That's how it is, my dear..." and "Pose, my horses!" (which leans into that Hot Chocolate vibe—more like Glitter before the Glam really hit).

Look, let me tell you something—Glam Rock is the real deal; there’s absolutely no point in even bringing his name up if you don't get it.

I don't even know if I should bring this up, but maybe it wasn't all for nothing 😬

Glam Rock isn't really the same thing as hair metal, though they're both fine.
☕

Do you think T. Rex and Jon Bon Jovi belong in the same category? 🙄

Of course they don't fit the mold. But honestly, so many people argue that some of those bands were heavily inspired by Glam Rock, at least when they were just starting out. Now, whether you call Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe, The Ratt, or Quiet Riot "hair metal," "glam metal," or just both... man, I haven't the slightest clue.

David Bowie, specifically that era involving the pink grease...

dustyridge12 said:Are you guys actually insane? Black Mötley Crüe, Jon Bon Jovi, Queen? Seriously?!

T. Rex? Brett Smiley? David Bowie? The Arrows? Sweet/Slade? New York Dolls? Jobriath? Sparks? That's what real Glam Rock is.

No, no, and absolutely no. Glam Rock is the only PLACEBO

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glam_rock

Glam Rock versus Gary Glitter...

It's a completely different story when hair metal bands thought they were doing some kind of "glam" style.

rustymaker60 said:Glitter or just some pedo rock...

🙄

wanderingraven20 said:🙄

If we're looking at it through that lens, it definitely appeals more to the gay community.
Velvet Goldmine

rustymaker60 said:more for the gay community

Maybe we had a bit of a misunderstanding here 😉

I was actually saying that Gary Glitter got busted several times over the last decade for pedophilia—he's basically rotting in a cell right now because of it. Word is he got caught when he took a computer in for repairs, and they found a massive stash of illegal photos on there and reported him. 🤣

For the gay crowd (or anyone else who isn't stuck in the past), I’d suggest checking out Jobriath 👍

Ethan Perez97 said:So, if you had to pick, who's actually your top Glam Rock or hair metal band...?
Personally, I’d have to go with Mötley Crüe... at least for right now, haha.

I suppose you could argue that the true father of Glam Rock was Marc Bolan, though he tragically passed away in a car accident back in '77, leaving T. Rex behind.


Marc Bolan

T. Rex - Get It On (1971)

Regarding the groups Sweet/Slade and the whole Glam Rock movement, I suppose one could argue that Glam Rock is more about the overall aesthetic and various subgenres of rock music rather than a single sound; you can really tell just by looking at how they dressed:


Sweet


Slade

Sweet - Blockbuster


Slade - Cum On Feel The Noize 1973

Dana Anderson4 said:Well, maybe you didn't hear it, but you definitely read it.👍
I think this whole narrative surrounding Glam Rock has always been a bit forced. In my view, T. Rex, Duran Duran, and even David Bowie could have functioned perfectly fine without all that flamboyant excess. If we look back from today's perspective, their musicality is actually quite distinct—perhaps even more different from one another than they are from artists of that era who had nothing to do with the Glam image (like Iggy Pop or Lou Reed, for instance, if you consider how much later historical revisions tried to shoehorn them into that category—maybe due to some Velvet Goldmine influence?). Take a band like Slade, for example. And if someone argues that strict Glam Rock is represented by Gary Glitter, then we’re already bordering on caricature, aren't we? That was my point regarding the soundtrack; the music is good, but it’s intentionally wrapped in that specific style, which feels almost like a certain camp aesthetic... blah blah.🙂

I partially agree.

I would argue that the term "Glam" is often used more as a chronological marker rather than a true genre definition...
That said, I can't deny that everyone involved contributed to a sort of rock 'n' roll revival. You also have those subcultural elements creeping in, like the fresh take on sexuality, the fashion, and the makeup.😁

Maybe they don't strictly fit the "Glam Rock" mold—they definitely lean more into the aesthetic than the actual genre—but whenever anyone starts talking about Glam Rock, my mind immediately jumps to these guys from Helsinki.

Hanoi Rocks

Alexander Williams512 said:I somewhat agree with you

I suppose one might argue that the term "glam" is being used more as a chronological marker rather than a strictly defined genre these days...
Mind you, I can't deny that almost everyone involved was contributing to some sort of rock and roll revival, and you certainly have those subcultural elements creeping in—things like a fresh take on sexuality, the specific fashion choices, and all that heavy makeup. 😁

In my view, Glam rock is really more about the aesthetic than anything else; it's primarily about styling. Just think about how The Beatles looked in their black and white era, and then contrast that with a band like Sweet, who were such a quintessential Glam rock outfit from the 70s.

If you watch this video, I think it illustrates exactly what Glam rock is all about.

Man, the first record I ever picked up was that double compilation from Sweet called Strung Up. I was obsessed. Honestly, they were even killer once they started writing their own stuff.
I remember back in middle school, we had this art project where we had to design a poster or something—well, I ended up drawing the inner sleeve from that double LP, you know, the one with them looking like marionettes. It turned out pretty terrible, I guess. 😁