Glam Rock on British TV 1970 - 1973
Like the video films we saw...
Defining what glam rock actually was is difficult and pointless enough, we all know
what it is, but it needs to be done, and besides it was over fifty years ago.
Mods were in monochrome, but hippies were in Technicolor, dressed in badly coordinated
coloured clobber, occasionally with paint and glitter on their faces. Just look at
the title of Tyrannosaurus Rex's debut album from 1968. My People Were Fair And Had
Sky In Their Hair... But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows. Woodland
Elf Bolan was glam rock year zero. Except of course, he wouldn't call himself that,
nor did anyone else at the time. Fellow freak Arthur Brown thoroughly embraced not
only dressing up but using heavy theatrical make up, as did Screaming Lord Sutch
before him, but in both cases this was for macabre effect, not really expecting anyone
in the audience to join the coven.
The hippies that wouldn't go home were now getting tired of sitting crossed-legged
on the floor. Their legs had gone to sleep. They wanted to dance, or at least tap
their feet. The Detroit sound of the MC5, The Stooges, Alice Cooper, SRC had people
dancing, while in the UK Hawkwind took the remnants of the hippy fan collective,
lined them up and fired them into the sun. They rocked. The Ladbrook Grove collective
in general were mad, or angry about something or other, but rocked, even if it was
only "Jesus" dancing in the crowd. Sat riveted bum-cheeked to the stage Bolan could
only look on in the lime green pantaloons of envy. Bolan was writing what he thought
was poetry, and it was just him on acoustic guitar and Steve Peregrine Took on bongos.
No one danced. Mickey Finn replaced Took and eventually the two would find themselves
standing up on stage. This was a revolution. The fans finally stood up too, and danced.
Meanwhile at Apple Central John and Yoko were lecturing the world on how great it
could be when they get to be in charge, Paul was playing sheep farmer, and George
was on a God ego trip. It seemed only Ringo had a head on his shoulders. He would
be chums with Bolan and Bowie eventually, working with Marc on a movie musical fantasy,
Born To Boogie. Our old heroes were now drags, total drags. We had to look elsewhere.
After Let It Be Lennon wasn't the only one who didn't believe in Beatles.
The sound of 1970 was a profound, but odd one. With only one more (albeit poor) Beatles
album, one more Simon & Garfunkel album and no new Stones studio album. We were saved
by soul. The Jackson 5, Invictus/Hot Wax Records, George Clinton, Sly & The Family
Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Norman Whitfield, but little of it meant that much to the
UK. We needed our own sound, our voice. Mungo Jerry was not going to be it, but a
similar, stomping, rockabilly alternative came our way and it was Bolan, of all elves,
that would give it to us.
However, Ride A White Swan was not the first glam single. That honour would probably
go to Bolan's previous incarnation. Tyrannosaurus Rex's electric rollicking King
Of The Rumbling Spires which came out a year earlier. Their follow-up By The Light
Of The Magical Moon in January 1970 was just as good. Just listen to the fans screaming
on the track, it was just what Bolan really wanted, or needed. David Bowie's The
Prettiest Star followed in March 1970, with Marc Bolan on guitar. The theme for the
children's TV series Ace Of Wands that launched in the summer of 1970 by Andy Bown
was hardcore glam. If it had been released two years' later, there would have been
no question. It bore all the glam trademarks, mystical, but really meaningless, our
poetry, and the acoustic and electric guitar combo would easily equal Bowie's. Another
lost early glam gem was credited to Dib Cochran and The Earwigs, hiding the identity
of producer Tony Visconti. Their lone 45 Oh Baby was released on Bell in September,
got little or no airplay and flopped. Isle of Wight Festival DJ Jeff Dexter got to
play Ride A White Swan first in August, and when it finally got a release in October
we were beckoned, and we followed. It has to be pointed out that producer Tony Visconti
was behind all but one of these early singles. While back in the USA David Bowie's
next album The Man Who Sold The World got its first release, also in October.
As glam, or glitter, was seen very much as a teen sensation it was also very much
the last roll of the dice for practically all its active participants. Bowie, Bolan,
Glitter, Sweet, Mud, David Essex, Quatro, Stardust had been all been around since
the mid-sixties, some of them even earlier and any chance that came their way had
to be taken or be lost forever. It's odd to think now that many of teenagers' idols
at the time were probably already known by their parents.
Glam would find a home on TV, but TV needed colour and Top Of The Pops needed it
most, but the prevailing image on TV was still psychedelic. It was as though they
were making up for lost time with light shows which had meant little in its black
and white years. Fashion was still rustic with big overcoats or suede shirts with
laced up fronts, and multi coloured belts holding up their jeans over their buckled
shoes. Nothing was about to change, but thankfully some were aware of Biba and Zandra
Rhodes. By the summer of 1970 Heavy rock was king and they had no time to look twice
at their wardrobe, and despite The Kinks' Lola, boys were still boys and girls were
still girls. Things would obviously have to change. TV was now colourful enough,
but maybe it needed just a touch of glitter.
1970
Although Bowie would appear on TV on 27th February 1970 it was with his then mentor/boyfriend
Lindsay Kemp on Grampian TV's Cairngorm Ski Night performing London Bye Ta Ta, while
the duo would also appear on another Scottish TV show The Lion’s Share the following
month, while yet another appearance in Scotland on 8th July 1970 saw the couple perform
the musical play Pierrot In Turquoise. Despite his appearances there was no hint
at what was to come musically.
After leaving Kemp Bowie would land in New York in order to impress another possible
mentor and inspiration, Andy Worhol. This time it didn't work. Bowie's gay persona
might have had a few Scots TV viewers sniffing in disapproval, but we would have
to wait a couple of years for the Dame to irritate people properly and have their
sons heading to the No7 counter at Boots. Besides androgyny was nothing new. The
Rolling Stones had dressed up in women's clothing before and Mick was far from exclusively
hetero. Back in March 1970 Bowie released his long awaited follow up to Space Oddity.
The Prettiest Star sold zilch, despite having his mate Marc Bolan on guitar. Bolan
would be glam's first star, but glam still wasn't an era yet. Ace Of Wands, Thames
Television's children's drama with its catchy as heck theme tune had kids singing
nonsense versions of it in playgrounds across the country.
Tea-time telly would become a breeding ground for future glam bands, but it would
still take a while for Lift Off, Basil Brush and Crackerjack to invite them. T Rex
played Ride A White Swan on Top Of The Pops on 12th November with Marc possibly wearing
blue dungarees, an appearance hardly likely to upset parents, nor would a later appearance
with Marc wearing a leather breastplate. There would be early telly appearances for
Mud and Sweet toward the end of the year, but they were adopters, not innovators.
There was also the curious case of Gilbert O'Sullivan who was probably the first
act of the seventies that had people asking "what is he wearing?" The flat cap, hobnail
boots, braces and half-mast trousers were more L S Lowry than Ziggy Stardust, but
he was glam. Likewise, Elton John wore American made Nudie suits on Top Of The Pops,
but we'd seen Elvis wear something similar in film clips of him on stage in Las Vegas.
We didn't have long to wait for the real thing.
1971
In January 1971 the BBC1 Scotland news show Pulse discussed "length of hair and does
it matter?" By the end of the year hair length would be the least of their worries.
Bowie was back on the plugging trail. His new album The Man Who Sold The World had
been released the previous October in America, but his UK label Mercury sat on it
until March, so a new 45 Holy Holy filled the gap until then. He pitched up in Granadaland
on Wednesday 20th January for their early evening current affairs/arts strand Six-O-One
to play it. He needn't have bothered. His old friend Marc Bolan was rollin' along.
Ride A White Swan had only just left the chart and Hot Love was out late February.
On 11th March he was back at Top Of The Pops singing live over the backing track
with everyone around him dancing, and there was even a Hot Love dance to go with
it, as practiced at youth club discos up and down the country. Just look at what's
on his face though, that's glitter. The following week it was number one, although
it wouldn't be an overnight victory, Mungo Jerry were still the biggest band in the
UK.
Sweet would be the next band to join T Rex as Pops regulars, but as stated before
they very much adopted glam clothing, covering the sound of their Tremeloes styled
pop hits, but they would eventually join in. By the mid to end of 1971 the Game of
Glam only had two contestants, Bowie and Bolan, and one kept winning. Slade, like
Bowie and Bolan, had been around since the mid-sixties and had been a successful
live band, but hadn't hit the charts, but on the 22nd May on Saturday tea-time's
Whittaker's World Of Music we got a peek at the band's new-look, complete with Noddy's
sideburns and Dave's fringe. Bowie would be back on The Pops, the first time since
Space Oddity, and although it was his song and he was playing piano it wasn't him
singing. 27th May sees Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits' cover of Oh You Pretty Things,
the result of a demo cassette from Chrysalis music publishing that had been circulating
among record producers that spring. Bowie's name was now currency again. The 8th
July sees T Rex's Get It On back at the Pops, and although it would eventually get
to the top spot it only did so when Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep was done with it. The
following week on 15th Slade turned up to The Pops' studio and wouldn't leave until
1978.
Tea-time pop shows like Lift Off would come to the rescue, but it would take another
year for anything useful to come out of it. Most of what was coming out of tea-time
pop was the remnants of the Cook/Greenaway, Hammond/Hazelhurst era. The 14th of October
sees The Bay City Rollers debut on Top Of The Pops with Keep On Dancing, but this
would be the pre-Tartan terror version of the band. Tartan was then, and would be
forever, the trademark of Rod Stewart, another sixties act now finally finding fame
in the early seventies. As far as bizarre, custom looks were concerned Elton was
progressing nicely, having not just the clothes, but glasses to not go with them.
The post-Christmas Top Of The Pops show on 27th December saw the glam equivalent
of Two Sevens Clash as Elton joins T Rex for a version of Get It On. Elton often
gets left out of the glam experience, but he was up there before most of them. First
he looked smart, then flashy, then...
1972
Glam was more than purple loons, they could be traced back to the hippy era, but
they would now be tailored better to show individuality. It was a vision that didn't
acknowledge party politics, who was male or female, drugs and food were the same,
money was to be spent and not saved. They wanted you not just to look at them but
to stare at them, they wanted you to love them. Clothes and make up were everything,
they defined them. You saw the clothes before you heard the music, it tried to prepare
you before enticing you. Like the fairground barker that beckoned Pinocchio and his
friends into the Rough House.
T Rex were back in the new year, they hadn't gone away yet, but it would happen.
Telegram Sam was their first release independently and there they were again on The
Pops 20th January with "my corkscrew hair." Slade were back on 3rd February with
Look Wot You Dun, their irritating non-consistent mis-spellings were unique, until
Prince pinched the idea. But on the 8th February it got serious. Let's face it glam
was a BBC1 thing, not a BBC2 thing. That was the territory of the grown-ups, weed
smokers, vegetarians and sandal wearers. Bowie temporarily put an end to that. His
appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, performing Queen Bitch, Five Years and an
untransmitted Oh You Pretty Things was stunning. Even the camera couldn't believe
what it was seeing, starting with his Doc Marten's and panning upwards. His hair
badly dyed blonde and apparently cut by Stevie Wonder. It was like he was still trying
desperately to get Andy Worhol's attention. Like all of his previous albums Hunky
Dory had done little at the time, despite Changes being Tony Blackburn's Record Of
The Week in late 1971. So he was already moving on. Queen Bitch and Five Years would
be taken from his next album then, and sod the lot of you.
Slade and Sweet were back on The Pops on 17th February, but Sweet were still reluctant
to play rock stars, they were still ploppng out Euro trash like Poppa Joe, but give
them time. Roy Wood is a genius, that's all you need to know. His run of hits from
1966 - 1976 from psych to classic studio pop also took in glam, at least in terms
of look. The Move's Top Of The Pops appearance on 12th April had them plugging California
Man and there he was with his greaser look and Teddy Boy suit, but that would change
with the band's demise. T Rex took their wares to London Weekend on 23rd April for
a live set and interview. Music In The Round found him trying to explain his sound
to a none-to-bothered host, but they proved could do it live despite the fact that
Whistle Test didn't want them. They were back on The Pops on 11th May with Metal
Guru and a we also saw a repeat clip of Elton singing Rocket Man, his sequel to Bowie's
Space Oddity.
Slade took to the live stage of Granada's Set Of Six on 13th June showing us what
a really weird live set they had, mixing in hits, live favourites and Lovin' Spoonful
covers. London Weekend's 2G's and The Pop People was a rare excursion for glam at
the time, Saturday evenings, the home of Bruce Forsyth and Dixon of Dock Green. Slade
appeared on the show on 17th June to perform two songs. The Old Grey Whistle Test
would continue to play its small, but useful role in the history of glam when on
20th June they hosted a one song appearance by Roxy Music, newly signed to Island.
They looked and sounded like the future, they had to be, they had no past to speak
of being fresh out the box, not for once sixties' left-overs. The following day at
tea-time David Bowie debuted Starman on Lift Off With Ayshea. These two shows and
appearances meant there was no going back. Leo McKern's Daily Express journalist
from the 1961 movie The Day The Earth Caught Fire summed it up "My God, what have
they done." T Rex looked redundant all of a sudden, why would they do that? It's
not fair. We weren't ready. You just didn't know what to expect next. No one expected
an overweight, as it turned out, bald, and aging baboon on Top Of The Pops the day
after that on 22nd June. Gary Glitter had been plying his rock and roll trade in
varied guises since the early sixties. His long-time producer Mike Leander had a
backing track that needed vocals and called in a favour.
Slade hit number one with Tak Me Bak ‘Ome and played Top of The Pops 29th June, proving
that the summer of 1972 would be one of the most important times for UK pop since
Beatlemania, and just like then TV really made it happen. On 6th July Bowie and The
Spiders performed Starman on Top Of The Pops. A seismic event in retrospect, but
only because a valiant video tape engineer copied the recording before the original
was wiped. Alice Cooper make a similarly legendary appearance for School's Out when
he got to number one. He wanted to bring his snake on stage like he had done on The
Old Grey Whistle Test a few months' before but wasn't allowed to.
If this new pop thing was to be taken seriously then someone would have to speak
up on their behalf and give a proper telly interview. Marc Bolan stepped up on London
Weekend's Eleven Plus, hosted by an always listening Russell Harty on 23rd July.
Top Of The Pops in August would give us another two momentous clips. Mott The Hoople
performing Bowie's All The Young Dudes on the 10th, two weeks' later Roxy Music crossed
the great divide form BBC2 to BBC1 and made their Pops debut with Virginia Plain.
T Rex's life-affirming Children Of The Revolution got a Pops airing on 14th September.
Sweet were slowly progressing from Crackerjack aimed pop to elder teeny acceptance,
but it was a slow progression. If they were to be taken seriously then they would
soon have to give up the Wig Wam Bam's. Slade gently coasted from one top-hatted
barnstorming stomper to another, but even they would eventually slow it down. The
songs of Bowie represented an alternate Now, posing as The Future. NASA was winding
down its Apollo missions, but he was still dealing with Space Oddity's like Drive-In
Saturday, while Bolan still had pretensions of being a poet. Thankfully his solid,
rock steady backing distracted us from his terrible lyrics. Elton was himself hostage
to his partner's lyrics, which bore little or no relation to way Elton presented
himself.
1973
And as the money came in the Elton's and T Rex's wouldn't be available so much for
TOTP, Bowie would also ration himself as he prepared for Ziggy's exit. So another
wave, glitter rock would have to make itself available. Suzi Quatro, Mud and others
were not glam, or even glitter as such, but had that stomping sound that we needed,
courtesy of Chinn and mostly Chapman, the men also behind Sweet's greatest records.
4th January 1973. Boom. David Bowie and The Spiders play The Jean Genie live on Top
Of The Pops, even down to the Love Me Do harmonica break in the middle. We're not
done yet. At the end of the show Wizzard's debut 45 Ball Park Incident plays over
the closing credits, with the band making their debut appearance on the Pops the
following week. They were pantomime glam, all make-up and daft wigs and clothes,
but musically they looked back to the fifties, just as some other acts had like Mud.
And next week... Sweet! The 18th January 1973 saw them perform Blockbuster, a song
they debuted on the Christmas Eve Lift-Off where they also played their most recent
hit Wig Wam Bam. And there was the dividing line for the band. Would they continue
with their chocolate covered bubblegum, or would they have a word with themselves?
The latter won out and they began a now over-looked string of glitter classics. Because
of the controversy surrounding Gary Glitter this whole era of secondary level glam
seems to have been unjustly binned by the media and oldies radio nowadays.
Toni Visconti via his work with Bowie and Bolan had invented the sound of glam, but
it was now over to other producers like Roy Wood, Chinn-Chapman, Phil Wainman and
Chas Chandler to spread the word. But Bowie and Bolan were moving on. Bowie put Ziggy
to sleep in the summer, while both he and Bolan headed to America, later to be joined
by Slade. The youth club disco was over, kind of. Of course, they and all the others
would all still have hits, but musical restless leg syndrome would take them away
from glam, and it just stopped being fun anymore. By November 1974 new releases by
T Rex and Sweet were entering the chart at number 50. Punk kidnapped the next wave
of fans and it all began again.
As David Bowie told Phil Manzanera "There was high glam and there was low gam. We
were high glam."
