GLAM ROCK1970 - 1976 ish

Key Facts

In general ‘Glam’ was an intentionally disposable, commercial form of pop music

Glam artists were intentionally androgynous

Lyrics tended to be light and stayed away from controversial themes

Instrumentation

Similar to heavy rock;

Vocals (usually male)

Guitar

Bass

Drums

Keyboards

Main Influences

Rock and Roll

Heavy Rock

Psychedelic rock

1960’s Pop

Performance & ArrangementVery hook laden songs. Very catchy melodies

Simple (basic) song structures

Distorted guitar playing riffs. Very similar to that of Rock & Roll and R&B.

Driving Rock Beats, sometimes featuring shuffle

Camp delivery

Technology & ProductionSimilar to other early 1970’s rock production

Guitar sounds based on distortion/ fuzz, powerful amplification

Multi-track recording giving a clear and big sound

Some use of synths for experimental effects

Natural or plate reverbs

Tape Echo

Famous ‘Glam’ songs

Merry Christmas Everybody - Slade

I wish it could be christmas every day - Wizzard

David Bowie

Often featured songwriting more advanced than other Glam artists

1970’s he adopted the persona of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ to release the albums ‘The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust’ & ‘Spiders from Mars’

His work was often influenced by ambient electronica that was starting to emerge

Modern influences

Glam was a huge influence on artists such as;

Elton John

Queen

Rod Stewart