Glam rock is a style of rock music popularised in the 1970s, and was mostly a British phenomenon, but American  stage gave us  Sparks . It was distinguished by the costumes and stage acts of the performers rather than any particular aspect of their music. The emphasis was on superficiality and an unabashed embracing of fame and wealth, a statement of sorts against such acts as Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Yes and Genesis, whose music was often referred to by critics as art rock.

Glam performers often dressed androgynously in make up and glittery, outrageous costumes, not dissimilar to the kind of thing Liberace or Elvis Presley wore when performing in cabaret. The most famous example is David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust phase. Sexual ambiguity became a game; Bowie told the press he was gay simply for the publicity, while the late Jobriath is thought really to have been rock's first openly gay star.

Although credit for starting the trend in Britain is often given to Gary Glitter and his band, it was probably Roxy Music, headed by former art teacher Bryan Ferry who led the field, though they avoided the excesses of many of their imitators. Ferry's brainwave was to give his young audience an excuse to dress up for concerts; as he put it, "It would be like a night at the opera for them." Other bands/acts who might be considered part of the glam scene include

 

 

David Essex (born July 23, 1947) is a British actor and singer who has enjoyed a varied career.

Born in London, real name David Cook, he failed in his first attempt at stardom. His big break came when he was selected to play the lead in the musical Godspell in 1971. It took a couple of years for his career to take off, which it did with his appearance in the film, That'll Be The Day (1973) and a major hit, "Rock On" (which he wrote himself), in the same year. A number one hit and a follow-up film turned him into one of the UK's biggest stars.

In 1978, Essex was Che Guevara in the original production of Evita, and in the same year appeared in the film Silver Dream Racer, all the while continuing his successful singing career. However, by the time of his West End musical flop, Mutiny, based on the Mutiny on the Bounty story, in 1985, his appeal was on the wane. Essex has nevertheless continued to act and sing and enjoys a large fan base in the UK

 

 

Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel were a UK rock band from the early 1970s. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock, and while they were contemporary with the glam rock period, their music is not truly classifiable as such.

Steve Harley was born as Steve Nice in February 1951 in London. His musical career began in the late 1960s when he was busking, performing his own songs, some of which were later recorded by him and the band. The original Cockney Rebel were put together in 1972, consisting of drummer Stuart Elliot, bassist Paul Jefferies, violinist Jean Paul Croker, and keyboard player Milton Reames James. They were signed to EMI after playing just 5 gigs. Their first single Sebastian, a soaring rock epic, was an immediate success in Europe, though failed to chart in the UK. Their first album, The Human Menagerie, was released in 1973.

Harley managed to irritate a significant part of the music press with his self-aggrandisement, even as the music itself was getting rave reviews and gaining a wide audience. It was becoming clear that Harley regarded the band as little more than accompaniment to his own agenda, and already there were signs that things would not last, despite having a big hit with their second single, Judy Teen. There then followed the album The Psychomodo, an adventurous and ambitious production which showed that there was real talent in the group. A second single from the album, Mr. Soft, was also a big hit. The band were voted the "Most Outstanding New Act" of 1974. By this time the problems within the band had already reached a head, and most of the band with the exception of Stuart Elliot quit. An appearance on Top of the Pops by the group in fact largely consisted of session musicians drafted in for the show.

From then on, the band was a band in name only, being more or less a Steve Harley solo project. In 1974, a further album, The Best Years of Our Lives was made, produced by Beatles producer Alan Parsons. This included the track Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) which would go on to be a number one single and the band's biggest hit. From then on, Steve Harley struggled to match that success, and the band faded away. He made a minor comeback in 1979 as a solo artist in the UK singles chart with the Tamla Motown-inspired Freedom's Prisoner which bubbled under the Top 50. After a brief appearance in the 1980s with a song from Andrew Lloyd-Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, Steve began touring again with his old Cockney rebel songs in the late 80s and 90s.

 

10cc is a British rock music group who achieved their greatest commercial success during the 1970s after evolving from the band Hotlegs. They were renamed and relaunched by music guru Jonathan King.

The group formed in 1972 in Manchester, England and consisted of members Eric Stewart (born January 10, 1945) (vocals and guitar), Lol Creme (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Graham Gouldman (bass) and Kevin Godley (drums). They quickly established themselves as a high-calibre band, combining innovative music stylings with sharp vocals and witty, topical lyrics.

Stewart was also an early partner in the successful recording studio in Stockport, England called Strawberry Studios. The group later opened Strawberry Studios South in Dorking, Surrey.

Godley & Creme is a duo of musicians and music video directors. Kevin Godley (born October 7, 1945 in Manchester, England) is a singer, songwriter, drummer and percussionist. Lol Crème, (born September 19, 1947 in Manchester), is a singer, guitarist and keyboardist. They became friends while attending art school together.

They began their music career in the trio Hotlegs (with Eric Stewart), which evolved into 10cc with the addition of Graham Gouldman in 1972. Both bands achieved some chart success.

Four years later, Godley & Creme left 10cc to work on a device they called "the Gizmo", which attached to the bridge of a guitar to create a wide variety of sonic textures. It was featured heavily on their poorly received concept album Consequences, released in 1977. They bounced back with the Top Ten single "Under My Thumb" in 1981.

However, they achieved ther greatest success as the innovative directors of more than fifty music videos in the early 1980s. They created memorable videos for The Police ("Every Breath You Take", "Synchronicity II", "Wrapped Around Your Finger"), Duran Duran ("Girls On Film", "A View To A Kill"), Herbie Hancock ("Rockit"), Frankie Goes to Hollywood ("Relax", "Two Tribes"), among many others, up to the 1996 single fom The Beatles ("Real Love"). The groundbreaking and very popular video for their own 1985 single "Cry" featured one of the first morphing effects, to sequentially blend faces of different ages and races into each other.

Paul Burgess (drums) replaced Godley and Creme in 1976.

Godley & Creme became known as a songwriting and recording duo after their departure from 10cc, but would be far better-known as producers of music videos. The video to their 1985 song "Cry" is especially memorable as one of the first mainstream uses of morphing technology.

Graham Gouldman teamed up with Andrew Gold to form the group Wax.

The name 10cc is often said to refer to the amount of semen an average adult male ejaculates; it was in fact suggested by Jonathan King, who had dreamed that a band called 10cc was being hailed as the best band in the world. The average amount of semen ejaculated is 2.5 cubic centimetres.

Sparks is an American rock and pop music band known for its quirky approach to both lyrics and the music.

The band centers around two brothers--songwriter and keyboard player Ron Mael and vocalist/other songwriter singer Russell Mael. The band first emerged as Halfnelson from the Los Angeles club scene, but changed its name to Sparks after the release of its first album.

The first album, produced by Todd Rundgren, charted a minor single, Wonder Girl. Sparks' success began in earnest, however, with their third album, Kimono My House. This work and its follow-up, Propaganda, achieved UK success (and hit singles, including their signature song, This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us) with a power pop attack fueled by Russell Mael's falsetto vocals and Ron Mael's satirical lyrics.

Sparks scored numerous hit singles throughout the world during the over thirty years of its existence. Mainstream US chart success, however, has all but eluded the band. The "Sparks sound" has evolved from 60s homage to glam pop to power pop to metal to mainstream pop to electronic dance music to its 2003 incarnation, satiric art songs layered with repetition of lyrical phrases. Despite the many genres in which Sparks has dabbled, a recognizable "Sparks sound" has given the band a cult fan base while puzzling most of the public at large.

The Maels' work explores the absurdity in rock and pop forms, and in the popular culture

 in general. Sparks proved an influence on various power pop and glam rock revivals, as well as one of several lyrical forerunners of the late

1970s new wave. Sparks' stage shows typically feature low-key theatrics, in particular revolving around Ron Mael's "so square as to be hip" stage persona, complete with short-cropped hair and various incarnations of a pencil-thin moustache.

Russell Mael is the younger of the brothers in Sparks and is the singer. His most notable vocal trait is a far-reaching falsetto, especially evident on songs like "Equator" from Kimono My House As the mystery of pop music's landscape continues to unfurl, Russell Mael and brother Ron continue to be perceived as trailblazers, historic in their influential style and artistic vision. 2002- Lil Beethoven is a 5-star album.

Ron Mael is the elder of the brothers in Sparks. He plays keyboard and writes the songs. When the band hit the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, he was well-known for his strange appearance, especially his Charlie Chaplin-like moustache. As the mystery of pop music's landscape continues to unfurl, Ronald Mael and brother Russell continue to be perceived as trailblazers, historic in their influential style and artistic vision. 2002- Lil Beethoven is a 5-star pick, a must have

 

Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro (born June 3, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan) is a bassist and singer.

She began her career in the States with The Pleasure Seekers and Cradle, then moved to England in 1971. She achieved several number one popular Heavy Rock Music hits throughout that decade in various countries, including Can the Can in 1973. Since then she has continued to tour but has also spent time in acting, musicals and radio work.

She played Leather Tuscadero in the TV show Happy Days.

She currently lives in England and hosts a weekly Rock and Roll program on BBC Radio

Sweet (referred to as "The Sweet" on one album) were a popular British glam rock group of the 1970s.

Sweet consisted of singer Brian Connolly, drummer Michael Tucker, bassist Steve Priest, and guitarist Andy Scott. A product of the very successful Chinnichap songwriting team (Nicky Chinn/ Mike Chapman), Sweet are perhaps best remembered for their outrageous stage gear - glitter and platform boots and heavy makeup - practically defining the camp extreme of the glam rock look. Scott would later say it only happened because they needed an excuse to meet Top Of The Pops dancers Pan's People and figured that going to the make-up room was a good method of doing so. Once they were in there, they started experimenting.

Sweet had strong songs that are still frequently heard on oldies radio shows, but their career was founded on the ephemeral young teenage market, and was fairly short-lived. Their biggest hit was the UK Number 1 Blockbuster in 1973 though in the UK charts they were mildly unfortunate not to add more chart-toppers - no less than five more singles (Co-Co; Hell Raiser; The Ballroom Blitz; Teenage Rampage; and Fox On The Run) all peaked at Number 2. Love is Like Oxygen was their last UK hit in 1978.

Fox on the Run, The Ballroom Blitz, and Love is Like Oxygen were by far their biggest hits in the US.

In 1979 Brian Connolly left the band under acrimonious circumstances and neither he nor the band recovered. The band had drug problems and were particularly suffering from the effects of substantial alcohol intake. Brian suffered several cardiac arrests at the height of his excess.

Brian died from liver failure in 1997 having been content in his final years to appear in retrospective documentaries to demonstrate the damage he'd inflicted upon himself.

Mick Tucker died in 2002 from leukaemia at the age of 54.