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As we reach the end of the
sixties its perhaps a good time to stop and make
some observations. Now it probably seems seem like the history of punk is all
cause and effect i.e. that one band influences another band who influences another
and so on until we get the Sex Pistols.
However like history itself, this is never
true. There is a pool of bands like the
MC5 and
Velvet Underground, The Who and
Stooges
who are making seminal contributions to punk yet are making their own way and their own sounds and
not necessarily influenced by each other. We have the development of non commercial dark or political
music and confrontational commercial music. Something the Sex Pistols would exploit in their
alliance with major record labels. Remember an artist wants to be heard or their
music is redundant. It's the paradox of the artist that it relies on its audience no
matter how much it despises it.
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The Sweet- make up,
glaml, androgyny and ready for the teenage rampage! |
As we begin the seventies music is coagulating into different groups. Its the
era of super groups; of playing to giant stadiums of people, of money and
remoteness by being strung out on drugs and playing music that bears no relation to anyone's
lives...anyone for the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway then? These bands were
serious bands playing serious music and attracting a fanbase of hippies
and musos which is perhaps a little unkind. Following on from Tommy and
Sgt Peppers rock
was the new classical music and could be listened to as serious music. In direct contrast
and at the same time influenced by acts such as Lou
Reed, David Bowie, T Rex and Alice Cooper popular music throws up one of its most bizarre twists when it gives us a genre
of brickies in makeup that we remember fondly as glam and glitter rock. An
expression of sexuality as marketing that is a perverse twist on
the lack of women in music at the time. However what can't be doubted was that
Glam made some fucking raucous music that still amazes me was played on the
radio then and helped pave the way for the punk look and even sound. |
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While undoubtedly the genre
threw up a number of
classics it also had it
downside. Glam and theatrics permeated every part of the music business... gave
muppets like Queen and Kiss ideas of extravagance and opened up another market of
saleability. The fact that artists like Sweet and Suzi Quatro all had their hits
made and produced for them by the Chinnichap producing and writing team also supported Glam as a
marketing idea. Worse years later, influenced by these glam bands and a
Johnny Thunders
haircut, we would get a wave of USA bands lie Poison, Kiss, Motley Crue and
their ilk inflicting pain on our ears.
Why do men like prettying themselves up
to look like women ? Now the fans followed suit with earrings, makeup and
spiky short hair a la Bowie. Women, however, still had no real outlet in music beyond the teen fantasies
being sold to
them by the industry and magazines. Suzi Quatro is the one female musicians
with, to pardon the expression, balls and will influence many female musicians
afterwards.
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Go Suzi Go!
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The
Seventies Part 2 Back
To Top
| I bow down to the Stud Brothers,
a pair of
mighty fine writers, from The Melody Maker who sometimes used to make me
cry with laughter. Some of this punk history has been lifted directly, some
changed and added to, from their 8 part series from 1987.... Pop - The Glory
Years. For a mighty fine history of glam check out
this site
http://www.doremi.co.uk/glam/
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