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Flashy make-up, glitter and outlandish costumes, but also a return to a simpler, more spontaneous form of rock'n'roll: glam burst onto the British music scene courtesy of Marc Bolan, whose transition from Tyrannosaurus Rex to T. Rex marked the shift from the hippie world to one of transgression, decadence and the flashiest side of pop. Bowie, certainly no stranger to the more spectacular side of pop music, answered in kind by creating the characters of Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, producing unforgettable albums; close behind came genuine made-in-UK pop phenomena such as Sweet, Slade and the Elvis-inspired Mud, while the refined Roxy Music gave this new musical strand an elegant, arty spin.

In the US, alongside future stars such as Kiss and cult underground figures like Jobriath, the genre took on a more "aggressive" shape, moving in step with the proto-punk stirrings of the early Seventies: New York Dolls, Alice Cooper with his shock rock, Joan Jett's feisty Runaways, and the energetic Suzi Quatro; the genre's ties to the punk that followed are also well represented by Hollywood Brats, a sort of British counterpart to the Dolls, but glam also brushed up against more eclectic acts sometimes bordering on prog: Cockney Rebel, New Zealand's Split Enz, and the Mael brothers' Sparks.

There's no doubt that much of the music released in later decades owes a debt to glam-rock, just think of the more theatrical side of goth music, the glam metal strand of the 80's, and more recent heirs such as Darkness and Italy's own Måneskin.

Rebel rebel, you've torn your dress

Rebel rebel, your face is a mess

Rebel rebel, how could they know?

Hot tramp, I love you so!

Ride the wave of great music

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24/01/2026