Glam Slam Guide: (70s Excess)

The scruffy, sarcastic, Bowie-boosted misfits who turned Dylan leftovers into glitter-soaked anthems and nearly broke up every week – but gave us “All the Young Dudes” anyway They looked like they’d been dragged out of a pub fight, sounded like the Rolling Stones after three bottles of Newcastle Brown, and had a singer who wore shades indoors and a guitarist who dressed like a Victorian undertaker on his day off. Yet for one glorious 1972–1974 stretch, they were the coolest g

The trashiest, lipsticked, high-heeled punks who looked like they mugged the Rolling Stones in an alley and stole their wardrobe. They didn’t come from London with perfect hair and spaceships – they staggered out of the Lower East Side in torn fishnets, smeared mascara, and thrift-store dresses, playing three-chord chaos like the world was ending tomorrow (because for them, it probably was). The Glam Slam Essentials New York Dolls (1973) – Album Release (1973)The debut that s

The operatic, over-the-top, caped crusaders who turned rock into theatre and made every stadium their playground. They didn’t just play glam – they hijacked it, cranked the volume to eleven, layered harmonies like cathedrals, and gave the world a singer who strutted in harlequin leotards and a crown. The Glam Slam Essentials Queen (1973) – Album Release (1973)The debut – “Keep Yourself Alive”, “Liar” – raw, heavy, and already ridiculous. Queen II (1974) – Album Release (1974)

The gravel-voiced, leopard-print-wearing, football-scarf-waving rascal who turned Celtic soul into chart-topping, scarf-twirling glam gold. Started as the ultimate rock frontman with the Jeff Beck Group and Faces, but when he went solo in 1969 he kept the rough edges, added a silk scarf, a feather cut, and a wink that could melt knickers at fifty paces. The Glam Slam Essentials Every Picture Tells a Story (1971) – Album Release (1971) – UK #1 / US #1The one that made him a su

The art-school invaders who dressed like 1950s matinee idols, sounded like the future, and made every other glam band look like they’d just rolled out of bed. One day in 1971, a ferryman with a quiff, a synth wizard in a leopard-print cape, and a sax player who looked like he’d escaped from a sci-fi B-movie walked into a studio and decided rock needed more oboe, more glamour, and a lot more danger. The Glam Slam Essentials Roxy Music (1972) – Album Release (1972)The debut tha

The Black Country boys who made glam rock stomp, shout and spell badly on purpose! Slade were formed in Wolverhampton, England, in 1966 as The N’Betweens. By 1969 they’d become Ambrose Slade, then simply Slade under the guidance of manager Chas Chandler (ex-Animals, Jimi Hendrix discoverer). From skinhead boot-boy beginnings they exploded into the ultimate 1970s glam sensation – top hats, mirrors, misspelt song titles and the loudest live shows on the planet The Classic Line-

The weirdest, wittiest, most theatrical brothers in glam – opera falsettos, Hitler moustaches, and lyrics sharper than their suits. Two Los Angeles art-school kids who looked like a silent-movie villain and his nervous accountant decided to invade Britain with synthesizers, sarcasm, and songs about girls called Moustache, Wonder Girl, and This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us. The Glam Slam Essentials Kimono My House (1974) – Album Release (1974) – UK #4The breakthrough –

The leather-clad, bass-slinging Detroit firecracker who kicked down the doors for every woman who ever wanted to rock harder than the boys. She was barely five-foot-nothing, but when she strapped on that bass, slapped on the black leather jumpsuit, and snarled “Can the Can,” the entire glam world stood up and took notice. The Glam Slam Essentials 1. Suzi Quatro (1973) – Album Release (1973) The debut that announced her arrival – “48 Crash”, “Glycerine Queen”, pure leather

The bubblegum-turned-glitter-booted stompers who gave us the ultimate teenage rampage soundtrack. They started as squeaky-clean pop pups churning out Chinn & Chapman bubblegum hits, but by 1973 they’d grown their hair, slapped on the makeup, zipped into satin, and turned into the loudest, campest, catchiest glam rock war machine on the planet. The Glam Slam Essentials Sweet Fanny Adams (1974) – Album Release (1974)The moment they went heavy – “The Six Teens”, “AC-DC”, “Set Me

The eight-piece, face-painted, sax-wailing, rainbow-haired glam orchestra who made Christmas forever weird and wanted you to see their baby tonight. Roy Wood left ELO, grew the maddest beard in rock, slapped on war-paint thicker than Kiss, and assembled the loudest, campest, most joyous gang of glam lunatics Britain ever saw. The Glam Slam Essentials Wizzard Brew (1973) – Album Release (1973)One long, mad, prog-glam freak-out – “Wear a Silly Grin”, “Buffalo Station”. Not radi

Albums: Ten slabs of vinyl that turned the 70s day-glo – the records that defined the glitter revolution. These aren’t just albums. They’re manifestos in sequins, manifestos with riffs, manifestos that made teenagers steal their sister’s eyeliner and dream of electric warriors. Rank Album & Year Artist Why It’s Essential 1 The Slider (1972) T.Rex Bolan at his sexiest, sleaziest peak – “Metal Guru”, “Telegram Sam”, pure cosmic swagger. 2 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust… (1

Lou Reed's second solo album, Transformer was released in November 1972. Here's an in-depth look at this pivotal work in Reed's career: Background: Post-Velvet Underground: After the disbandment of The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed embarked on a solo career. His first solo album was somewhat underwhelming commercially, but "Transformer" would change his trajectory significantly. Collaboration with Bowie and Ronson: The album was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, who wer

Released by the Alice Cooper Group, the album School's Out entered the UK Albums Chart on week commencing July 16 at number 10, remaining on the chart for 20 weeks and peaking at the number 4 place on week commencing September 3. In The US it reached No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Top Albums chart, holding the top position for four weeks. The single “School’s Out” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Sing