A highly theatrical mode of presentation found in 1970s rock and pop which, in its parade of an inauthenticity that hardly appeared to sell out to commercial interests, prepared the way for the eruption of punk rock by the middle of the decade. Glam, a contraction of the slightly seedy glamour, proclaimed dissatisfaction with the excessive machismo prevalent in growing hard rock. By 1971 the New York Dolls, David Bowie and Marc Bolan's T. Rex had begun experimenting with overt feminine make-up and some cross-dressing on stage. Bowie's transgressions were most calculated, perceiving most clearly the value of image, both on stage and in print. They shared an emphasis on short, well-constructed, hook-based songs in opposition to the lengthy meanderings of progressive rock, although Bowie's contemporary work in particular, for example Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, was stylistically little removed from hard rock. Around 1972 Roxy Music combined this demeanour with a progressive style founded on Brian Eno's atmospheric tape treatments and Andy Mackay's raucous saxophone. The irony of the genre's inauthenticity became particularly apparent in the UK glitter rock bands of the early 1970s, particularly Slade, Sweet and Gary Glitter. These shared pared-down guitar textures and teen-orientated promotion, often becoming indistinguishable from mainstream teenage pop by the mid-1970s.
P. Morley: ‘The Very Dream of Smartness’, Cool Cats, ed. T. Stewart (London, 1981), 83–101
W. Faustlich: Zwischen Glitter und Punk (Rottenburg-Oberndorf, 1986)
S. Frith: ‘Only Dancing: David Bowie Flirts with the Issues’, Zoot Suits and Second Hand Dresses, ed. A. McRobbie (London, 1989), 132–40
V.M. Cagle: Reconstructing Pop/Subculture (Thousand Oaks, CA, 1995)
B. Hoskyns: Glam! (London, 1998)
ALLAN F. MOORE