Cold Glitter - by Robert Dayton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Cold Glitter: The Untold Story of Canadian Glam uncovers a forgotten yet fascinating chapter on glam rock music and culture...from Canada.

Multi-disciplinary artist Robert Dayton taps his Canadian roots to reveal mind-blowing stories of musicians fighting to be heard. It's a universal story of determined creators striving to make their voices heard. Dayton has spent years researching and interviewing these ground-breaking musicians trapped by geography, colonial mindsets, and the difficulties of penetrating the cultural behemoth that is the United States.

There's no denying that glam rock was marginalized in Canada. In fact, RCA almost didn't release the 1973 Bowie-produced Lou Reed album "Transformer" in Canada because they didn't see a market for it. Of course, they were wrong! Cold Glitter gets at the reasons why: nature vs. artifice, old world values vs. new freedoms, and how transgressive actions--including gender play, as well as intense stories from these top acts on how they were run out of town for appearing outrageous.

Filled with stories from musicians about what they did to build a career and fight against the old guard controlling the airwaves and stages. Readers everywhere will find solidarity with the all-too-familiar story of artists who were attacked for appearing outrageous and daring to be different. Within the struggle to be fabulous are anecdotes of fun and mayhem. Readers will be taken back to the seventies as they meet the unknown and infamous musicians and artists who dared to be glamorous. Familiar names like magician Doug Henning, Vancouver band Sweeney Todd and their lead singer Nick Gilder, and his replacement, Bryan Adams, to underground heroes like The Dishes, to hundreds of musicians who put away their mascara and left their glamorous wild days behind.

Cold Glitter is filled with rare (and sometimes outrageous) images throughout and additional chapters on glam fashion, film, and comedy in Canada. You'll be amazed to discover how many of their favorite artists were and are secretly Canadian.

"Dayton's deep plunge into the crystalline depths of Canadian Glam is a strange swim indeed, something only an author this obsessive could provide -- a mirror ball's worth of wild reflections on an ice-cracked world long gone. No need to know anything beforehand about Canada or its music to be thoroughly dazzled by this scintillant dip! C'mon, shoot the boots!" Guy Maddin, director of Rumours (2024), My Winnipeg (2007), and The Saddest Music in the World (2003) among many.

About the Author

Originally from Fort St. John, British Columbia, Robert Dayton
is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, performer, and comedian. His writings
and visual artwork have appeared in numerous publications, books, and
exhibits. His next book Cold Glitter: The Untold Story of Canadian Glam, will
be published by Feral House in 2024. His previous book, The Empty Bed,
published by Impulse[b] is a pen-and-ink humor book about heartbreak. Dayton
has performed across North America and Australia as The Canadian Romantic, where
he manifests as a series of videos, live performances, a doll, an art book
published by PITT Projects, and a winking photo to make people everywhere feel
more attractive. He has acted in independent and art movies, including one
called "Male Fantasy." His collaborative musical performance and recording
projects include song-and-dance duo Canned Hamm, the 'no two shows the same'
multi-piece July Fourth Toilet, acid-downer-folk group Points Gray, and
Romantic Glam band Hallmark. Besides these projects, he has also released solo
material, including an EP called "Someone Is Out to Kill Me." He has
been a muse to such diverse artists as Destroyer and Tonetta, who have each
written songs about him with such titles as "Canadian Lover." Dayton
holds an MFA from the University of Waterloo.