Glam Rock - (Tempo: A Rowman & Littlefield Music Rock, Pop, and Culture) by Simon Philo (Hardcover)

About the Book

Glam Rock investigates the origins, development, and impact of an often under-valued and misunderstood musical genre. Exploring artistic, political, psychological, sexual, and commercial contexts, this book brings a fresh perspective to the transatlantic cultural history of th...

Book Synopsis

Glam Rock investigates the origins, development, and impact of an often under-valued and misunderstood musical genre. Exploring artistic, political, psychological, sexual, and commercial contexts, this book brings a fresh perspective to the transatlantic cultural history of this unique movement in popular music.

Review Quotes

A forensic and thorough analysis of Glam in all its manifestations, from its origins to its legacy - a detailed book that washes away the glitter and mascara and peers deep into the soul of this colourful, joyous genre of music.

Rowman & Littlefield adds to its eclectic Tempo Music Series a deep dive into the glam-rock scene

of the late 1960s and its influence on present-day performers. Music academic Philo takes on David

Bowie, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music, and Marc Bolan of T. Rex in an entertaining yet scholarly approach.

peeling back the curtain on what motivated each performer to glam it up in their very popular music,

personae, and performances. Among many insights, Philo makes a key point that Bolan strived for top hits

that seemed contrary to the arching album concepts that Bowie constructed, yet both exalted in a similar

embrace of outlandish fashion to provoke as well as entertain. The bending of gender roles and sexual

orientation is carefully explored, especially in light of the easing of strict laws against homosexuality in the

UK in 1967. An immense glam-rock time line is included, listing major global events alongside recording

history to provide historical context. Philo's well-researched study is a shining primer of the glam side of

rock and roll.

Simon Philo's comprehensive knowledge of glam rock is unrivaled. As a fellow fan-scholar, I read Glam Rock with admiration, appreciation, and excitement--Philo authoritatively details how Bowie and Roxy's Bryan Ferry became the most influential musicians in the history of British rock and roll.

The book's seven chapters abound with quotations and contemporaneous accounts, and Philo's expertise and subtle understanding of this unique substyle of rock music is exhibited throughout. He is painstaking in accounting for glam's evolution, from its roots in the early 1970s, through its proliferation, to its influence on future generations--with specific mention of artists such as Nirvana, Oasis, and Lady Gaga. The opening time line--which begins with the birth of Bryan Ferry and ends with the death of David Bowie--adds substance, as do a copious selection of further reading and an even more voluminous list of suggested listening.

About the Author

Simon Philo is head of Liberal Arts and American Studies at the University of Derby. He is the author of British Invasion: The Crosscurrents of Musical Influence in the Tempo Series and has published extensively on transatlantic popular culture. For more than twenty years at Derby, he has been instrumental in working popular music studies into the very heart of the curriculum. In addition to teaching the intermediate class Audible Republic: American Music and Society, he delivers sessions on music and protest, gospel, soul and civil rights, punk, and Brit pop. A true "child of the revolution," the first single he bought was Sweet's "Teenage Rampage."