Editing Glam rock

{{Short description|Genre of rock music}}
{{distinguish|Glam metal}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Glam rock
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Rock and roll]]|[[bubblegum pop]]|[[art rock]]|[[hard rock]]|[[cabaret]]|[[1950s in music|1950s]] [[pop music|pop]]|[[psychedelic rock]]|[[science-fiction]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Early 1970s, United Kingdom
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[New Romantic]]|[[punk rock]]|[[gothic rock]]|[[synth-pop]]|[[post-punk]]|[[Britpop]]}}
| subgenres         =
| fusiongenres      = {{hlist|[[Glam metal]]|[[glam punk]]}}
| regional_scenes   =
| other_topics      = * [[Make up]]
* [[arena rock]]
* [[scene (subculture)]]
* [[visual kei]]
| subgenrelist      =
}}

'''Glam rock''' is a style of [[rock music]] that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, [[makeup]], and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly [[platform shoes]] and [[glitter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.attitudeclothing.co.uk/blog/glam-rock-style-guide/|work=attitudeclothing.co.uk|title=Glam Rock Style Guide|date=9 June 2020}}</ref><ref name=Encarta>{{cite web|work=[[Encarta]] |url=http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561509274/glam_rock.html |title=Glam Rock |access-date=21 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828224412/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561509274/glam_rock.html |archive-date=28 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://girlsinthegarage.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/the-sirens-and-70s-female-glam-rockers/|work=girlsinthegarage|title=The Sirens and '70s Female Glam Rockers|author= Bess Korey|date=16 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921020304/https://girlsinthegarage.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/the-sirens-and-70s-female-glam-rockers/ |archive-date=21 September 2010 }}</ref> Glam artists drew on diverse sources, ranging from [[bubblegum pop]] and 1950s [[rock and roll]] to [[cabaret]], [[science fiction]], and complex [[art rock]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/glam-rock-ma0000002619 |title=Glam Rock &#124; Significant Albums, Artists and Songs |website=AllMusic |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="P. Auslander, 2006 pp. 57, 63">P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-472-06868-7}}, pp. 57, 63, 87 and 141.</ref> The flamboyant clothing and visual styles of performers were often [[camp (style)|camp]] or [[androgyny|androgynous]], and have been described as playing with other [[gender role]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|title=The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion, and Rock n' Roll|year=1995|publisher=Serpents Tail|location=London|page=xiii}}</ref> '''Glitter rock''' was a more extreme version of glam rock.<ref name=Bogdanov2002Glitter/>

The UK charts were inundated with glam rock acts from 1971 to 1975.<ref name="Auslander">{{cite book|last1=Auslander|first1=Philip|title=Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music|date=2006|publisher=University of Michigan Press|page=49}}</ref> The March 1971 appearance of [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] frontman [[Marc Bolan]] on the BBC's music show ''[[Top of the Pops]]''—performing "[[Hot Love (T. Rex song)|Hot Love]]"—wearing glitter and satins, is often cited as the beginning of the movement. Other British glam rock artists included [[David Bowie]], [[Mott the Hoople]], [[The Sweet|Sweet]], [[Slade]], [[Mud (band)|Mud]], [[Roxy Music]], [[Alvin Stardust]], [[Wizzard]] and [[Gary Glitter]]. Though not central to the genre, artists such as [[Elton John]], [[Rod Stewart]] and [[Freddie Mercury]] of [[Queen (band)|Queen]] also adopted glam styles.<ref name="Auslander2006p72">P. Auslander, "Watch that man David Bowie: Hammersmith Odeon, London, 3 July 1973" in I. Inglis, ed., ''Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), {{ISBN|0-472-06868-7}}, p. 72.</ref> In the United States, the scene was much less prevalent, but US artists such as [[New York Dolls]], [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]], [[Suzi Quatro]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[Lou Reed]] and [[Jobriath]] achieved success in the UK and/or US.<ref name="Auslander"/> Glam rock declined after the mid-1970s, but influenced other musical genres including [[punk rock]], [[glam metal]], [[death rock]] and [[gothic rock]]. The [[New Romantic]] movement, which began as an underground fashion subculture movement in nightclubs in the late 1970s before becoming mainstream in the early 80s, was also inspired by the visuals of the glam rock era.

==Characteristics==
[[File:David-Bowie Early.jpg|thumb|upright|[[David Bowie]] as his alter-ego [[Ziggy Stardust (character)|Ziggy Stardust]] during the 1972–73 [[Ziggy Stardust Tour]] ]]
Glam rock can be seen as a fashion as well as musical subgenre.<ref name="Shuker2005pp124-5"/> Glam artists rejected the [[revolutionary]] rhetoric of the late 1960s rock scene, instead glorifying [[decadence]], superficiality, and the simple structures of earlier pop music.<ref name="fe"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Glam Rock|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/glam-rock|website=[[Britannica]]|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> In response to these characteristics, scholars such as I.Taylor and D. Wall characterised glam rock as "offensive, commercial, and cultural emasculation".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gregory|first=Georgina|date=2002|title=Masculinity, Sexuality, and the Visual Culture of Glam Rock|url=http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/11875/1/11875_gregory.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/11875/1/11875_gregory.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|journal=Culture and Communication - University of Central Lancashire|volume=5|pages=37}}</ref>

Artists drew on such musical influences as [[bubblegum pop]], the brash [[guitar riff]]s of [[hard rock]], stomping rhythms, and 1950s [[rock and roll]], filtering them through the [[recording technology|recording innovations]] of the late 1960s.<ref name="fe">{{cite web|last1=Reynolds|first1=Simon|title=Simon Reynolds Speaks at Fordham on History of Glam Rock|url=http://fordhamenglish.com/news1/2016/10/25/simon-reynolds-speaks-on-glam-rock|website=Fordham English|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|title=All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music|date=2001|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|page=3}}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news|last1=Farber|first1=Jim|title=Growing Up Gay to a Glam Rock Soundtrack|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/fashion/mens-style/growing-up-gay-glam-rock-queen-bowie-freddie-mercury.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=3 November 2016|access-date=11 November 2016}}</ref> Ultimately, it became very diverse, varying between the simple rock and roll revivalism of figures like [[Alvin Stardust]] to the complex [[art pop]] of [[Roxy Music]].<ref name="Shuker2005pp124-5" /> In its beginning, it was a youth-orientated reaction to the creeping dominance of [[progressive rock]] and [[concept album]]s – what ''[[Bomp!]]'' called the "overall denim dullness" of "a deadly boring, prematurely matured music scene".<ref name="Barnes">{{Cite magazine |last=Barnes |first=Ken |author-link=Ken Barnes (writer) |date=March 1978 |title=The Glitter Era: Teenage Rampage |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-glitter-era-teenage-rampage |magazine=[[Bomp!]] |access-date=26 January 2019 |via=[[Rock's Backpages]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Visually, it was a mesh of various styles, ranging from 1930s [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] glamour, through 1950s pin-up sex appeal, pre-war [[cabaret]] theatrics, [[Victorian literature|Victorian]] literary and [[Symbolism (movement)|symbolist]] styles, [[science fiction]], to ancient and occult [[mysticism]] and [[mythology]]; manifesting itself in outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots.<ref name="P. Auslander, 2006 pp. 57, 63"/> Glam rock is most noted for its sexual and gender ambiguity and representations of [[androgyny]], beside extensive use of theatrics.<ref name=AllmusicGR>[{{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d388|pure_url=yes}} "Glam rock"], AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2009.</ref>

It was prefigured by the flamboyant English composer [[Noël Coward]], especially his 1931 song "[[Mad Dogs and Englishmen (song)|Mad Dogs and Englishmen]]", with music writer Daryl Easlea stating, "Noël Coward's influence on people like Bowie, Roxy Music and [[Cockney Rebel]] was absolutely immense. It suggested style, artifice and surface were equally as important as depth and substance. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine noted Coward's 'sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise'. It reads like a glam manifesto."<ref name="Independent"/> Showmanship and [[gender bender|gender identity manipulation]] acts included [[the Cockettes]] and [[Alice Cooper]], the latter of which combined glam with [[shock rock]].<ref>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-472-06868-7}}, p. 34.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Marc Bolan In Concert 1973.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Marc Bolan]] of [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] performing on ABC's ''[[In Concert (American TV series)|In Concert]]'', 1973]]
Glam rock emerged from the English [[psychedelic rock|psychedelic]] and [[art rock]] scenes of the late 1960s and can be seen as both an extension of, and a reaction against, those trends.<ref name=Shuker2005pp124-5>R. Shuker, ''Popular Music: the Key Concepts'' (Abingdon: Routledge, 2nd edn., 2005), {{ISBN|0-415-34770-X}}, pp. 124-5.</ref> Its origins are associated with [[Marc Bolan]], who had renamed his acoustic duo [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] and taken up electric instruments by the end of the 1960s.<ref name="Barnes"/> Bolan was, in the words of music critic [[Ken Barnes (writer)|Ken Barnes]], "the man who started it all".<ref name="Barnes"/> Often cited as the moment of inception is Bolan's appearance on the BBC music show ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' in March 1971 wearing glitter and satins, to perform what would be his second UK Top 10 hit (and first UK Number 1 hit), "[[Hot Love (T. Rex song)|Hot Love]]".<ref>Mark Paytress, ''Bolan – The Rise And Fall of a 20th Century Superstar'' ([[Omnibus Press]] 2002) {{ISBN|0-7119-9293-2}}, pp. 180–181.</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' states that Bolan's appearance on ''Top of the Pops'' "permitted a generation of teeny-boppers to begin playing with the idea of androgyny".<ref name="Independent">[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/gary-glitter-written-out-of-glam-rock-history-in-favour-of-no-l-coward-8911627.html "Box-set billed as the definitive guide to Seventies music genre has further ostracised its disgraced former star"]. The Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2017</ref> T. Rex's 1971 album ''[[Electric Warrior]]'' received critical acclaim as a pioneering glam rock album.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/electric-warrior-mw0000196673 |title=''Electric Warrior'' – T. Rex <nowiki>| Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |</nowiki> AllMusic |last=Huey |first=Steve |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=29 December 2014}}</ref> In 1973, a few months after the release of the album ''[[Tanx]]'', Bolan captured the front cover of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine with the declaration "Glam rock is dead!"<ref>{{cite news|last=Bolan|first=Marc|title=Glam Rock is Dead!|url=http://www.marcbolanmusic.com/MyImages/glam%20rock%20dead.jpg|access-date=4 January 2014|newspaper=Melody Maker|date=16 June 1973|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102232736/http://www.marcbolanmusic.com/MyImages/glam%20rock%20dead.jpg|archive-date=2 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Noddy Holder - Slade - 1973.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Noddy Holder]] (right) and [[Dave Hill (guitarist)|Dave Hill]] (left) of [[Slade]], near the height of their fame in 1973, showing some of the more extreme glam rock fashions]]
From late 1971, already a minor star, [[David Bowie]] developed his [[Ziggy Stardust (character)|Ziggy Stardust]] persona, incorporating elements of professional makeup, mime and performance into his act.<ref name="Auslander2006p72" /> Bowie, in a 1972 interview in which he noted that other artists described as glam rock were doing different work, said "I think glam rock is a lovely way to categorize me and it's even nicer to be one of the leaders of it".<ref>{{cite news |date=4 November 1972 |title=David Bowie is the Newest Rock Star Imported From England |page=14 |newspaper=Nashua Telegraph |agency=Associated Press |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SpwrAAAAIBAJ&pg=6441,733638&dq=glam-rock&hl=en |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Bolan and Bowie were soon followed in the style by acts including [[Roxy Music]], [[The Sweet|Sweet]], [[Slade]], [[Mott the Hoople]], [[Mud (band)|Mud]] and [[Alvin Stardust]].<ref name=Auslander2006p72/> The popularity of glam rock in the UK was such that three glam rock bands had major [[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|UK Christmas hit singles]]; "[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]" by Slade, "[[I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday]]" by [[Wizzard]] and "[[Lonely This Christmas]]" by Mud, all of which have remained hugely popular.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/slade/32997 |title=UK's most popular Christmas song revealed |website=NME|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.prsformusic.com/press/2012/fairytale-of-new-york-most-popular-christmas-song "PRS for Music announces top 50 Christmas Songs (United Kingdom)"]. 14 December 2012 PRS press release.</ref> Glam was not only a highly successful trend in UK popular music, it became dominant in other aspects of British popular culture during the 1970s.<ref name="Auslander"/>

A heavier variant of glam rock, emphasising guitar riff centric songs, driving rhythms and live performance with audience participation, were represented by bands like [[Slade]] and [[Mott the Hoople]], with later followers such as [[Def Leppard]], [[Cheap Trick]], [[Poison (American band)|Poison]], [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], and [[Quiet Riot]], some of which either covered Slade compositions (such as "[[Cum On Feel the Noize]]" and "[[Mama Weer All Crazee Now]]") or composed new songs based on Slade templates.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kiss Founder Gene Simmons Says Band's 'Heart and Soul Lies in England' |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-heart-and-soul-lies-in-england-says-gene-simmons/ |magazine=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=8 January 2021}}</ref> While highly successful in the single charts in the UK (Slade for example had six number one singles), very few of these musicians were able to make a serious impact in the US; David Bowie was the major exception, becoming an international superstar and prompting the adoption of glam styles among acts like [[Lou Reed]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[New York Dolls]] and [[Jobriath]], often known as "glitter rock" and with a darker lyrical content than their British counterparts.<ref name=Auslander2006p80>P. Auslander, "Watch that man David Bowie: Hammersmith Odeon, London, July 3, 1973" in Ian Inglis, ed., ''Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), {{ISBN|0-472-06868-7}}, p. 80.</ref>

In the UK, the term glitter rock was most often used to refer to the extreme version of glam pursued by [[Gary Glitter]] and the independent band with whom he often performed known as the [[Glitter Band]]. The Glitter Band and Gary Glitter had between them eighteen top ten singles in the UK between 1972 and 1975.<ref name=Bogdanov2002Glitter>V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, p. 466.</ref> A second wave of glam rock acts, including [[Suzi Quatro]], [[Roy Wood]]'s [[Wizzard]] and [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]], had hits on the British single charts in 1973 and 1974.<ref name=Auslander2006p72/><ref>{{cite book|last=Rhodes|first=Lisa|title=Ladyland: Women and Rock Culture|year=2005|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|page=35}}</ref> Quatro and T.Rex directly inspired the pioneering Los Angeles based all-girl group [[the Runaways]].<ref>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, pp. 222-3.</ref> Existing acts, some not usually considered central to the genre, also adopted glam styles, including [[Rod Stewart]], [[Elton John]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]] and, for a time, [[the Rolling Stones]].<ref name=Auslander2006p72/> After seeing Marc Bolan wearing [[Zandra Rhodes]]-designed outfits, [[Freddie Mercury]] enlisted Rhodes to design costumes for the next Queen tour in 1974.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blake |first1=Mark |title=Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen |date=2010 |publisher=Aurum}}</ref> [[Punk rock]], in part a reaction to the artifice of glam rock, but using some elements of the genre, including makeup and involving cover versions of glam rock records,<ref>S. Frith and A. Goodwin, ''On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written Word'' (Pantheon Books, 1990), {{ISBN|0-394-56475-8}}, p. 88.</ref> helped end the fashion for glam from about 1976.<ref name="Auslander2006p80"/>

==Influence and legacy==
[[File:Boy George At Ronnie Scotts.jpg|thumb|A figure in the [[new romantic]] movement, [[Boy George]] of [[Culture Club]] (performing in 2001) was influenced by glam rock icons Bolan and Bowie.<ref>{{citation |first=Robin |last=Murray |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/boy-george-how-to-make-a-pop-idol |title=Boy George: How To Make A Pop Idol |work=Clash|date=30 October 2013 |access-date=6 November 2021}}</ref>]]
While glam rock was exclusively a British cultural phenomenon, with Steven Wells in ''[[The Guardian]]'' writing "Americans only got glam second hand via the posh Bowie version", covers of British glam rock classics are now piped-muzak staples at US sporting events.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wells|first1=Steven|title=Why Americans don't get glam rock|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/oct/14/starbucks-glam-rock|agency=The Guardian|date=14 October 2008}}</ref> Glam rock was a background influence for [[Richard O'Brien]], writer of the 1973 London musical ''[[The Rocky Horror Show]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reynolds |first1=Simon |title=Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century |date=2016 |publisher=Faber & Faber}}</ref> Although glam rock went into a steep decline in popularity in the UK in the second half of the 1970s, it had a direct influence on acts that rose to prominence later, including [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] and American [[glam metal]] acts like [[Quiet Riot]], [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]], [[Twisted Sister]], [[Bon Jovi]], [[Mötley Crüe]] and [[Ratt]].<ref>R. Moore, ''Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis'' (New York, NY: New York University Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-8147-5748-0}}, p. 105.</ref>

[[New Romantic]] acts in the UK such as [[Adam and the Ants]] and [[A Flock of Seagulls]] extended glam, and its androgyny and sexual politics were picked up by acts including [[Culture Club]], [[Bronski Beat]] and [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]].<ref name=Auslander2006p79>P. Auslander, "Watch that man David Bowie: Hammersmith Odeon, London, July 3, 1973" in I. Inglis, ed., ''Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, p. 79.</ref> [[Gothic rock]] was largely informed by the makeup, clothes, theatricality and sound of glam, and [[punk rock]] adopted some of the performance and persona-creating tendencies of glam, as well as the genre's emphasis on pop-art qualities and simple but powerful instrumentation.<ref name="Auslander2006p80"/>

[[File:David Bowie Madame Tussauds London.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A wax figure of a red-haired man with a gold "astral sphere" across his forehead.|Wax figure of Bowie at [[Madame Tussauds]], London]]
Glam rock has been influential around the world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chapman |first1=Ian |last2=Johnson |first2=Henry |title=Global Glam and Popular Music: Style and Spectacle from the 1970s to the 2000s |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=9781138821767}}</ref> In Japan in the 1980s, [[visual kei]] was strongly influenced by glam rock aesthetics.<ref>I. Condry, ''Hip-hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization'' (Duke University Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-8223-3892-0}}, p. 28.</ref> Glam rock has since enjoyed continued influence and sporadic modest revivals in R&B crossover act [[Prince (musician)|Prince]],<ref>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, p. 227.</ref> bands such as [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]], [[Suede (band)|Suede]], [[Placebo (band)|Placebo]],<ref>P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' (London: Rough Guides, 3rd edn., 2003), {{ISBN|1-84353-105-4}}, p. 796.</ref> [[Chainsaw Kittens]], [[Spacehog]] and [[The Darkness (band)|the Darkness]],<ref>R. Huq, ''Beyond Subculture: Pop, Youth and Identity in a Postcolonial World'' (Abingdon: Routledge, 2006), {{ISBN|0-415-27815-5}}, p. 161.</ref> and has inspired pop artists such as [[Lady Gaga]].<ref name="Enduring"/>

{{blockquote|Its self-conscious embrace of fame and ego continues to reverberate through pop music decades after the death of its prototypical superstar, [[Marc Bolan]] of T. Rex, in 1977. As an elastic concept rather than a fixed stratosphere of '70s personalities, it is even equipped to survive the loss of its most enduring artist, [[David Bowie]].|Judy Berman writing for ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' in 2016, ''From Bowie to Gaga: How Glam Rock Lives On''.<ref name="Enduring">{{cite news |title=From Bowie to Gaga: How Glam Rock Lives On|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1333-from-bowie-to-gaga-how-glam-rock-lives-on/ |access-date=2 January 2020 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref>}}

==Relationship to the LGBT community==

The glam rock scene that emerged in early 1970s London included numerous openly bisexual musicians, including Queen's Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and David Bowie.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/queer-artists-who-shaped-music-history |title=Queer artists who shaped music history |last=Parys |first=Bryan |date=12 June 2023 |website=Berklee |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617140242/https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/queer-artists-who-shaped-music-history |archive-date=June 17, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://thedailyaztec.com/105614/artsandculture/a-timeline-of-lgbtq-influence-in-music/ |title=A timeline of LGBTQ+ influence in music |last1=Hardison |first1=Ryan |last2=Sullivan |first2=Jacob |date=27 April 2021 |website=Daily Aztec |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428230150/https://thedailyaztec.com/105614/artsandculture/a-timeline-of-lgbtq-influence-in-music/ |archive-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> [[Medium (website)|Medium]]'s Claudia Perry felt that "Glam rock was a queer paradise of sorts. Watching [[Mick Ronson]] and Bowie frolic onstage gave hope to every queer kid in the world. John's flamboyancy was also of great comfort. Marc Bolan of T. Rex is still the subject of speculation (a friend who worked at Creem remembers him coming on to just about everyone when he came through Detroit, but this clearly isn't definitive)." Glam rock also helped to normalise androgynous fashion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 October 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/fashion/mens-style/growing-up-gay-glam-rock-queen-bowie-freddie-mercury.html|access-date=15 October 2023 |title=Growing up Gay to a Glam Rock Soundtrack |work=The New York Times |last1=Farber |first1=Jim }}</ref> Jobriath, the rock scene's first openly gay star, was also part of the glam rock scene.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/the-tragedy-of-jobriath-the-worlds-first-openly-gay-rock-star/ |title=The tragedy of Jobriath, the world's first openly gay rock star |last=Megarry |first=Daniel |website=Gay Times |date=2 May 2018 |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203071402/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/the-tragedy-of-jobriath-the-worlds-first-openly-gay-rock-star/ |archive-date=December 3, 2020}}</ref>

Glam rock hits "[[Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed song)|Walk on the Wild Side]]" by Lou Reed and "[[Rebel Rebel]]" by David Bowie also brought attention to non-heteronormative situations in the world of rock.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Einav |first=Dan |date=May 20, 2019 |title=Lola — The Kinks' 1970 hit was controversial for its risqué lyrics, and its reference to a soft drink |url=https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/lola.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919030055/https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/lola.html |archive-date=September 19, 2019 |website=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref> When discussing "Rebel Rebel", Tim Bowers of ''[[The New York Times]]'' recalls that "glam's vocals had a fruity theatricality, supporting lyrics that presented as a boast: 'Your mother can't tell if you're a boy or a girl.' Glam was butch and femme at once: bisexuality in sound."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/fashion/mens-style/growing-up-gay-glam-rock-queen-bowie-freddie-mercury.html |title=Growing up gay to a glam rock soundtrack |last=Farber |first=Jim |date=3 November 2016 |website=The New York Times |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107015723/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/fashion/mens-style/growing-up-gay-glam-rock-queen-bowie-freddie-mercury.html |archive-date=November 7, 2016}}</ref>

''The Rocky Horror Show'', soundtracked by primarily glam rock, was a keystone of LGBTQ media in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://storymaps.com/stories/159acb4ce570425d9d070b5d0f55a5ff.html |title=The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Impact on Queer Communities |last=Roach |first=Jackie |date=25 April 2023 |website=Storymaps|access-date=31 October 2024}}</ref> A song from the show, "[[Sweet Transvestite]]", was noted as "the first big, glam rock aria of the musical" and that glam rock "was a [[queering]] (or [[Camp (style)|camping]]) of the genre of rock music" in the book ''Trans Representations in Contemporary, Popular Cinema''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=Niall |last2=Smith |first2=Frances |title=Trans Representations in Contemporary, Popular Cinema: The Transgender Tipping Point |date=23 August 2022 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-61877-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dcx0EAAAQBAJ |access-date=31 October 2024}}</ref> The musical ''[[Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)|Hedwig and the Angry Inch]]'' (1998) also used glam rock to tell the story of a [[gender-affirming surgery]] gone awry. In discussing why glam rock was used for Hedwig, the article goes on to say "by showcasing a more fluid approach to gender expression, glam rock artists like David Bowie, Marc Bolan, and Freddie Mercury became icons for the LGBTQ+ community. They helped pave the way for greater acceptance and understanding."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guzzanti |first1=Flor |title=Hedwig And The Angry Inch: Celebrating 22 Years Of Glam Rock And Gender Identity |url=https://www.rockandart.org/hedwig-and-the-angry-inch-gender-identity/ |website=rockandart.org |access-date=31 October 2024 |date=28 June 2023}}</ref>

==Film==
Movies that reflect glam rock aesthetics include:
* [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]]'s documentary ''[[Born to Boogie]]'' (1972)<ref>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, p. 81.</ref>
* [[The Sweet]]'s BBC documentary ''All That Glitters'' (1973)<ref>{{cite news |title=The BBC have released some archive footage of The Sweet and it's pure glam magic |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-bbc-have-released-some-archive-footage-of-the-sweet-and-its-pure-glam-magic |access-date=31 July 2023 |work=Louder Sound}}</ref>
* [[Brian De Palma]]'s ''[[Phantom of the Paradise]]'' (1974)<ref name=Auslander2006p63/>
* [[Gary Glitter]]'s ''[[Remember Me This Way (film)|Remember Me This Way]]'' (1974)<ref>''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 Europa International Who's Who in Popular Music'' (Abingdon: Routledge, 4th edn., 2002), {{ISBN|1-85743-161-8}}, p. 194.</ref>
* ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'' (1975)<ref name=Auslander2006p63>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, p. 63.</ref>
* [[Slade]]'s ''[[Slade in Flame]]'' (1975)<ref>{{cite web| title=On The Film Programme this week | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/filmprogramme/filmprogramme_20070406.shtml | work= [[The Film Programme]] | publisher= [[BBC Radio 4]] | date= 6 April 2007 | access-date = 12 February 2010}}</ref>
* ''[[Never Too Young to Rock]]'' (1975)<ref>L. Hunt, ''British Low Culture: From Safari suits to Sexploitation'' (Abdindon: Routledge, 1998), {{ISBN|0415151821}}, p. 163.</ref>
* [[Bruce Beresford]]'s ''[[Side by Side (1975 film)|Side by Side]]'' (1975)
* [[David Bowie]]'s ''[[Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (film)|Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture]]'' (1979)<ref>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, p. 55.</ref>
* [[Todd Haynes]]'s ''[[Velvet Goldmine]]'' (1998)<ref>P. Auslander, ''Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music'' (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0-7546-4057-4}}, p. 228.</ref>
* [[John Cameron Mitchell]]'s ''[[Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film)|Hedwig and the Angry Inch]]'' (2001)<ref>{{cite news|first=Stephen |last=Holden |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/20/movies/film-review-betwixt-between-on-a-glam-frontier.html |title=FILM REVIEW; Betwixt, Between on a Glam Frontier |newspaper=The New York Times |date=20 July 2001 |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Emerson |first=Jim |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hedwig-and-the-angry-inch-2001 |title=Hedwig and the Angry Inch Movie Review (2001) |publisher=Roger Ebert |date=3 August 2001 |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Peter |last=Travers |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/hedwig-and-the-angry-inch-20010706 |title=Hedwig and the Angry Inch &#124; Movie Reviews |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=20 July 2001 |access-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>
* Kieran Turner's ''[[Jobriath A.D.]]'' (2012)<ref>{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Kieran|title=Jobriath A.D.: His Time Has Come|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kieran-turner/jobriath-ad_b_1687315.html|work=Huffington Post|date=19 July 2012|access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of glam rock artists]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Chapman, Ian and Johnson, Henry. (eds) ''Global Glam and Popular Music: Style and Spectacle from the 1970s to the 2000s''. New York: Routledge, 2016 {{ISBN|9781138821767}}
* Rock, Mick, ''Glam! An Eyewitness Account'' Omnibus Press, 2005 {{ISBN|1-84609-149-7}}
* Reynolds, Simon ''Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-first Century'' Day Street Press, 2016 {{ISBN|978-0062279804}}

==External links==
* [http://www.doremi.co.uk/glam/ A Biased History of UK Glam Rock]

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[[Category:Glam rock| ]]
[[Category:English styles of music]]
[[Category:Androgyny]]
[[Category:1970s in British music]]
[[Category:Rock music genres]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related music]]