What was it about glam rock that scared America so? The make-up? The costumes? The camp? Then why were KISS so big here? Was it because they took every opportunity to remind everyone of how straight they were and that all this was just playing around?Īs if to prove a point, super-butch Southern rock one-hit wonders Brownsville Station very nearly hit the Top 40 with an alarmingly similar remake of the song one year later. (download) It’s a bit of a crime this single failed to even chart in the US. While that was it for Gary in the US, the hits kept coming in the UK – “Do You Wanna Touch Me?” (remade into a Top 20 hit years later by Joan Jett), “I Love You Love Me Love,” (remade into a flop single by Joan Jett ), and probably his biggest hit overseas, “I’m The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)” (1973). But first, Gary had to judge a dance contest: It wasn’t for lack of trying – Glitter toured sporadically Stateside and even did some local television appearances, like this Los Angeles-based dance show where he performed his second single. It would also be his final chart hit in the United States. While his second single was another Top Ten hit in the UK, it did noticeably less business here, barely denting the Top 40. The stomping beat, the crunchy guitars, the shouted “Hey’s” – but I’ll be damned if they’re not all catchy as hell. Let’s face it: Glitter’s songs all pretty much sound the same. Glitter followed that up “I Didn’t Know I Loved You (‘Til I Saw You Rock & Roll),” (1972) (download) a bit of a sound-alike of his first smash, albeit with vocals and a more melodic hook this time around. Originally a 15-minute jam, once the song was cut up into the mostly instrumental single version (complete with football cheer “Hey’s”), it made the Top Ten in England and the States, one of the few glam successes on this shore. After many attempts at a recording career throughout the ’60s, Glitter finally concocted a signature sound with the epic “Rock & Roll Part 2” (1972). In this case, we ask this question of ’70s glam rock god Gary Glitter, one of the biggest pop stars of that decade in the UK. Is it possible to look past someone’s reprehensible criminal behavior and enjoy their art? A question asked many times about many people.
0 kommentar(er)
