My life as a Glam Rock music fan in the 70s Long before Lady Gaga there was David Bowie & T. Rex. I grew up in Dundee, a city on the east coast of Scotland, some 60 miles north of Edinburgh. There are many places in the world where 'looking different' an glam rock fashions can attract negative attention and at that time, Dundee was such a place. Street gangs were common and well-organized, each having its own 'uniform' consisting of a colored jersey, Sta-Prest trousers and Doc Marten boots (a continuation of the skin-head fashion of the 60s). The Lochee Fleet wore blue and red, the Shams wore black and red, the Kirkton Huns blue and white, and so on. Consequently, street violence was rife, combined with high unemployment and an abundance of hard drugs. I was relatively sheltered from all of this, growing up in a stereotypically middle-class family, living in what would have been considered a 'posh' part of town, attending a 'posh' school, the Dundee High, a semi-private, Presbyterian establishment who preached unhealthy, elitist attitudes towards the outside world and glam rock fashions.
Being a youngster in the 70s i was made aware of glam rock stars like Marc Bolan, David Bowie, The Sweet and loads of other glam rock bands that were popular at the time. There were many divisions in the music scene including prog rock, hard rock, skinhead ska and general pop music of the day. Glam rock was divided between groups like The sweet, T Rex and the more serious David Bowie, Cockney Rebel type of glam rock bands. After seeing and hearing the first Roxy music record i decided I wanted to look like a glam rock star myself and proceeded to carry on my mission as a glam rock kid in Northern England.
My glam rock life began as I started to badger my mother for certain clothes: I wanted platform shoes, I wanted flares, shirts with wild, aeroplane collars and, above all, long hair. It took quite some time to get my "glam rock look' together but finally, at about the age of 14, I was able to look in the mirror with some degree of satisfaction.I rapidly realized that, in a place like Dundee, dressing in this glam rock fashion manner would be asking for abuse and it soon came along. It was mostly verbal combined with being jostled or shoulder-barged in the street. i was soon to learn the danger's of dressing like a glam rock star in the 70s.
The first act of personal attack upon me did not take place very long afterward. I walked the distance from a bus stop on the way home from a glam rock gig by a new band in town. I was being screamed at by about 20 kids from across the street, soon they came charging after me wanting blood. I was trapped and tried to reason saying it was just a fashion thing and all the girls dug it. Unfortunately this made them even more angry as I suppose they were not so popular with the opposite sex as at the time glam rock guys were getting all the dates and best looking women.
Since it was raining, walking in my socks wasn't really an option- so I hopped and hobbled to the bus-stop. On the bus I was mocked and jeered at by a group of teenagers for looking glam rock but finally made it home, war-torn and bloody. Thanks to the alcohol, I didn't feel any physical pain until the following day when I woke up with a black eye and what turned out to be a cracked rib. But it was the irreparable damage to my clothing which upset me more than anything else. Not surprisingly, I wasn't the only glam rock person in Dundee and I soon met and befriended other like-minded glam rock individuals. This enabled me to avoid developing a persecution-complex, realizing with some pride and satisfaction that I was pursuing self-expression without compromise in a hostile environment opposed to glam rock.
Being a youngster in the 70s i was made aware of glam rock stars like Marc Bolan, David Bowie, The Sweet and loads of other glam rock bands that were popular at the time. There were many divisions in the music scene including prog rock, hard rock, skinhead ska and general pop music of the day. Glam rock was divided between groups like The sweet, T Rex and the more serious David Bowie, Cockney Rebel type of glam rock bands. After seeing and hearing the first Roxy music record i decided I wanted to look like a glam rock star myself and proceeded to carry on my mission as a glam rock kid in Northern England.
My glam rock life began as I started to badger my mother for certain clothes: I wanted platform shoes, I wanted flares, shirts with wild, aeroplane collars and, above all, long hair. It took quite some time to get my "glam rock look' together but finally, at about the age of 14, I was able to look in the mirror with some degree of satisfaction.I rapidly realized that, in a place like Dundee, dressing in this glam rock fashion manner would be asking for abuse and it soon came along. It was mostly verbal combined with being jostled or shoulder-barged in the street. i was soon to learn the danger's of dressing like a glam rock star in the 70s.
The first act of personal attack upon me did not take place very long afterward. I walked the distance from a bus stop on the way home from a glam rock gig by a new band in town. I was being screamed at by about 20 kids from across the street, soon they came charging after me wanting blood. I was trapped and tried to reason saying it was just a fashion thing and all the girls dug it. Unfortunately this made them even more angry as I suppose they were not so popular with the opposite sex as at the time glam rock guys were getting all the dates and best looking women.
Since it was raining, walking in my socks wasn't really an option- so I hopped and hobbled to the bus-stop. On the bus I was mocked and jeered at by a group of teenagers for looking glam rock but finally made it home, war-torn and bloody. Thanks to the alcohol, I didn't feel any physical pain until the following day when I woke up with a black eye and what turned out to be a cracked rib. But it was the irreparable damage to my clothing which upset me more than anything else. Not surprisingly, I wasn't the only glam rock person in Dundee and I soon met and befriended other like-minded glam rock individuals. This enabled me to avoid developing a persecution-complex, realizing with some pride and satisfaction that I was pursuing self-expression without compromise in a hostile environment opposed to glam rock.
About the Author:
Glam rock glitter clothes rock stars music rockstars Glam rock star fashions styles music bands news rockstar clothes
No comments:
Post a Comment