GLAM ROCK Glitter Rock

It is perhaps surprising that the trademark outrageous outfits of GARY GLITTER were not adapted by more artists. Glitter, known in previous incarnations as Paul Gadd and Paul Raven, transformed his fortunes by adopting sequins and glitter as his stage outfits, teaming up with co-writer/producer Mike Leander, and adapting the strident beats of John Kongos and using them as a base for his pop/dance rhythms. His flamboyant style secured him a series of number one singles, and his own film, 'Remember Me This Way'. Glitter managed to revive his career more times than most of his contempories, but his reputation is now permanently tarnished following his conviction for child sex offences.

After two years in the shadow of their ‘leader’, THE GLITTER BAND (who had reputedly never actually played on Gary's records) struck out on their own in 1974 with ‘Angel Face’, kicking off a string of hits in their own right, for a while even eclipsing Glitter's success. Trying to escape the Glitter association they later changed their name to the G BAND, with limited results. Most of the band are still gigging today seperately, and a 2003 reunion is rumoured.

The underrated HELLO were always bigger in Europe (9 chart hits in Germany) and Japan than in their native UK, partly due to some poor record deals, but scored internationally with their cover of 'Tell Him' and their own 'New York Groove'. They can still be found gigging today as one of the leading attractions on the glam revival circuit.

BARRY BLUE tasted chart success as co-writer of hits for LYNSEY DE PAUL (having released 3 unsuccessful singles as BARRY GREEN), before hitting the big time in his own right when he dressed in a silver suit and won over the international charts with 'Dancin' On A Saturday Night'. A series of successively less successful singles followed, though a number of his songs have been hits for others.

KRISTINE SPARKLE had tasted chart success in the late 60's with the group Family Dogg and their hit 'Way Of Life', then following a stint as a TV presenter on Crackerjack, she made a bid for glam stardom with her rendition of 'Hokey Cokey', followed by several more unsuccessful albums and singles. She later dropped the Sparkle, and headed in a country direction simply as KRISTINE.

Want to be confused? You will be! There were no less than 3 seperate glam-era groups called JIGSAW existing simultaneously. First up were a Dutch band, who split in '73 and who's musical direction I'm not sure about. Secondly there was an Australian band of the same name, who had a series of hits in their native land, and certainly had a hint of glam to their sound. Thirdly, and best known internationally due to the massive success of their hit 'Sky High', were a group formed in the UK, and known in Australia as BRITISH JIGSAW (this despite 2 of the band members actually being Australian). This last lot certainly did adopt the glam/glitter image.

Gary Glitter