February 16, 2002

4:45 PM

A Chronological History of English Glam Rock! (baby)presents "a biased history of UK glam rock" from 1970 through 1975. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play my Sweet, T. Rex, and Slade albums REALLY LOUD. Talk amongst yourselves. (Warning: this site contains a rather bizarre pornographic image)
posted by MrBaliHai (31 comments total)

Great link, BaliHai- I'm gald that this neglected genre is finally getting some attention. I'm firing up my mp3 of Mud's "Tiger Feet" as I type this.
I'm especially glad to see Sweet getting props. I remember when me and my better half first started dating I took her record-store prowling with me and was thrilled when I found a Sweet album in the racks. I went home and cued up "Little Willy" and her jaw dropped and she started singing along verbatim.
"I love this song," she said "I just don't remember where I know it from."
About a year later, her ex-biker half brother came up for a visit and he went prowling through my collection and fired up the same song.
Lisa said "You like this song?"
Her borther said "I like it but you love it, back when you were 7 you made me play it over and over again."
Since then that song always conjures up an image of my gal as a kid clapping her hands and singing-
"Little Willy, Willy won't go home'
But you cant push Willy 'round
Willy won't go"
That and it's just a killer tune too. So thanx for the reminder, BaliHai my man.
posted by jonmc at 5:09 PM on February 16, 2002

cool link! have you seen this? it's a page with photos from the glam rock era. i found it on gmt+9.
posted by centrs at 5:48 PM on February 16, 2002

no New York Dolls?
posted by jfuller at 5:55 PM on February 16, 2002

GEEWHIZ Now I have to dig in the big closet. I have almost every one of those, and on vinyl. Good thing I still have a good turntable.
posted by bjgeiger at 5:57 PM on February 16, 2002

no New York Dolls?

A sad omission. The site's mostly about British glam, although he does mention Alice Cooper and Kiss briefly.

And centrs, loved that gallery link! Mmmm...Debbie Harry in the '70s.
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:06 PM on February 16, 2002

I didn't see any porn...
posted by Kafei at 6:10 PM on February 16, 2002

I didn't see any porn...

You need to go back and look at 1972 a bit more closely.
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:16 PM on February 16, 2002

Photoshop or transexual? Hard to tell these days...
posted by Lynsey at 6:23 PM on February 16, 2002

Kafei, count yourself lucky :)
posted by esquilax at 6:23 PM on February 16, 2002

Someone apparently thought it would be funny to hack a glam rock site and put a photoshopped porno pic on it. Very original.

Otherwise, cool link, though.
posted by Ptrin at 6:36 PM on February 16, 2002

hmmm. i thought what might have happened with that porn pic is that site author linked directly to someone else's image without credit and they changed it to porn when they found out, but i looked at the source code and it's just an image on his server called "bowie.jpg". that's so weird. unless he's using the photo of the hermaphrodite as a symbol of sexual ambiguity?
posted by centrs at 6:37 PM on February 16, 2002

hehe.
posted by centrs at 6:39 PM on February 16, 2002

aaach!it's a sad day when a heartfelt, romantic tale of childhood is trumped by a chick with a dick.

**sulks off to his grotto to weep**
posted by jonmc at 6:46 PM on February 16, 2002

jonmc: don't sulk. I'm Glad that the Sweet conjured up some nice mental images for you. I actually had "Ballroom Blitz" along with "Tits" by Sparks stuck in my head yesterday, so finding this site was pure serendipity.

Most of my glam memories involve hanging out at the Rainbow and the Whiskey a' Go Go back in the mid-'70s and trying to pick up androgynous girls with glitter on their faces and Ziggy Stardust haircuts. I never had enough coke to impress them though.
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:50 PM on February 16, 2002

Bali - sorry, I couldn't resist it. Unfortunately in the mid '70s I was too busy riding my tricycle and playing in the sandbox to meet too many "androgynous chicks."
Although, I do remember hanging out in a bar called Dowtown Beirut on First Avenue in NYC back in 1989, playing "Fox on The Run" on the jukebox a few minutes before we were nearly killed by a bunch of skinheads(long story.)Seems like the Chinn/Chapman crew has a rather bizarrely strong hold on my past, though.
posted by jonmc at 6:56 PM on February 16, 2002

Random thought: I wonder how many of those sports fans who get down to "Rock and Roll Part 2" at NFL games would drop their $7 hot dogs and spill their plastic cups of MGD if they new that the guy who wrote it was a convicted kiddie porn aficionado who looks like this?
posted by MrBaliHai at 7:16 PM on February 16, 2002

It's not photoshopped.
posted by benh57 at 7:28 PM on February 16, 2002

Woo hoo! Sparks. Woo hoo! And that picture of Elton John in the duck suit is pretty funny.

Here's a nice Johnny Thunders/Dolls site. Back in the '80's I was at the It Club in NYC, and Johnny Thunders gave a surprise performance, and wound up doing most of it from the top of my table. Later I ran into him in the labyrinth back halls and he dragged me into a room and asked if I had any real drugs, not the designer drugs that all these kids were on now. Since it's been over ten years I feel I can tell you all the truth...I gave Johnny Thunders LSD. Then I had to leave to catch a train. Sounds like a Ramones song, doesn't it?
posted by kittyloop at 7:41 PM on February 16, 2002

Iggy Pop would get his tiny 5'7" ass kicked from dive to dive in his make-up, evening gloves, and occasionally a dress, by homophobic bikers, truckers and cops, and do they mention him? No!

This crap-ass site is dead to me.
posted by dong_resin at 7:52 PM on February 16, 2002

Being the Sweet fan that I have always been, it was sad yesterday to learn that drummer Mick Tucker has died.

I was cranking Desolation Boulevard loud and proud.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 9:44 PM on February 16, 2002

...I gave Johnny Thunders LSD

Which brings to mind one of his best songs.

You cant put your arms around a memory....so dont try....
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 9:58 PM on February 16, 2002

Sweet's Action rocks. Mark Bolan is awesome. After all who else could sing "She's got a hubcap diamond star halo"?
All you Bowie/Ronson fans, be sure to check out Cybernauts
posted by riffola at 10:28 PM on February 16, 2002

Rock and Roll Suicide has pulled me out of the hole several times.

And The Bewlay Brothers...don't get me started. Said words to me that Dylan never could.
posted by evanizer at 12:26 AM on February 17, 2002

jonmc: I spent a lot of time in Downtown Beirut in 1989. I probably just ordered another drink when skinheads started fights. Sometimes I went next door to the Village Idiot to watch frat boys fight.
posted by liam at 2:01 AM on February 17, 2002

This crap-ass site is dead to me.

Iggy, for some unknown reason, is usually not considered "glam", but rather the founder of punk rock. I blame Lester Bangs.

And BarneyFB, I believe that Steve Priest also died a couple of years ago, from liver disease. He looked terribly bloated and jaundiced in the pictures I saw of him towards the end. I wish that he'd gotten a liver transplant instead of David Crosby.
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:00 AM on February 17, 2002

That was lead singer Brian Connolly that died in 1997.

The Rock 'N' Roll life caught up with him.

I got an autographed live Sweet cd (well, Steve Priest only) a couple of years ago.It was a limited run of 500 or 1000, I think.

Anyway, he and Andy Scott are still around.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 10:41 AM on February 17, 2002

Kinda off topic: Does anyone know a good place in NYC where I can pick up rare glam rock CDs/80s rock CDs?
posted by riffola at 10:42 AM on February 17, 2002

jonmc: Thanks...I was trying to break my MP3 habit.

*dances off singing "little Willy Willy won't, Willy won't, Willy won't...*
posted by NsJen at 11:28 AM on February 17, 2002

Wow. I had a "Teenage Rampage" session last night with Sweet's Greatest Hits. Reading this thread dovetails nicely with my hangover. Observation: Everyone seems to be wettin' their drawers over The Strokes, but don't seem to give two hoots to an entire genre filled with gritty rock. Sigh...

" if they new that the guy who wrote it was a convicted kiddie porn aficionado who looks like this?"

Is that a picture of Gary with two members/puppets from the legendary Thunderbirds? Shweeeeet.
posted by sharksandwich at 12:39 PM on February 17, 2002

No Queen? Oh well, it was a treat seeing Sparks and Sweet in their heyday.
posted by Oriole Adams at 7:31 PM on February 17, 2002

> I feel I can tell you all the truth...I gave Johnny Thunders LSD.

Johnny's Gonna Die (Oh yeah, he did.)
posted by jfuller at 4:49 PM on February 21, 2002