The Époque of ‘80s’ Glam Rock: Communication Aspects and Elements

Thesis by

Dziyana Kacharhina

State University of New York

Empire State College

2020

Reader: PhDr. Todd Nesbitt, Ph.D.

The Époque of ‘80s’ Glam Rock: Communication Aspects and Elements

Thesis by

Dziyana Kacharhina

Submitted in Partial fulfillment

of the Requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts

In

Communication and Mass Media

State University of New York

Empire State College

2020

Reader: PhDr. Todd Nesbitt, Ph.D.

Statutory Declaration / Čestné prohlášení

I, Dziyana Kacharhina, declare that the paper entitled:

“The Époque of ‘80s’ Glam Rock: Communication Aspects and Elements”

was written by myself independently, using the sources and information listed in the list of references. I am aware that my work will be published in accordance with § 47b of ActNo.

111/1998 Coll., On Higher Education Institutions, as amended, and in accordance with the valid publication guidelines for university graduate theses.

Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto práci vypracoval/a samostatně s použitím uvedené literatury a zdrojů informací. Jsem vědom/a, že moje práce bude zveřejněna v souladu s § 47b zákona č.

111/1998 Sb., o vysokých školách ve znění pozdějších předpisů, a v souladu s platnou

Směrnicí o zveřejňování vysokoškolských závěrečných prací.

In Prague, 07.08.2020 Dziyana Kacharhina Acknowledgment

First of all, I would like to thank my mom for providing me her support and pushing me forward.

Second of all, I would like to thank my mentor – Dr. Todd Nesbitt for his unlimited competence, even though we had some arguments, we still found a way to communicate and made this paper brilliant! And also I would like to thank him for support during hard times in my life. Table of Contents:

I. Introduction 1

II. Origins 3

II.I. Origins of R’N’R 3

II.I.I. African-American Music 4

II.II. Origins of Glam 6

II.II.I. British Invasion 6

II.II.II. The Rise of David Bowie 7

II.II.III. The Beginning of Glam 9

II.III. Influence on Glam From Other Rock-Oriented Genres 10

II.III.I. The U.K.’s Punk 11

II.III.II. Post Punk 12

II.III.III. The Rise of Heavy Metal and Hair 12

III. Insights of Glam 15

III.I. Appeals, Looks and Flair 15

III.I.I. Glam’s Androgyny 16

III.I.II. DIY 17

III.I.III. New York Glam 17

IV. Context: Marketing, PR, Media and the Press 18

IV.I. Way of Communicating 19

IV.I.I. Bridging the Artist and the Audience 20 5

IV.II. The Influence of MTV 22

IV.III. Genre and Lyrics’ Impact on Audiences 27

IV.III.I. Brutality and Females 28

IV.III.II. Girls, Girls, Girls 29

IV.III.III. Worshiping Good or Evil? 31

IV.IV. Portrayal of Bands by the Media 34

IV.IV.I. Music is Commercial 35

IV.IV.II. Entertainment-led Music 36

V. Conclusion 37

V.I. How Is This Paper Important For the World? 39 Abstract

Starting from the early ‘70s well to the late ‘80s there emerged, developed and

“glittered” a distinct genre of music, glam, which comprised the features of pop and rock. The paper discusses the stages of its evolution, the influence of earlier genres on it and its further impact on different music styles, and on the public, predominantly in the UK and the USA.

The paper reveals the important elements of glam and the specific attributes of the glam performers, whose unsurpassable creativity of self-presentation predetermined the popularity of glam for many more decades to come. 1

I. Introduction

Those who are familiar with such words as an album, avant-garde, ballad, beat, bpm, charts, chord, chorus, harmony, riff, set, L.P., gig, label must have a good memory or knowledge of the rock genre that boomed in the ‘70s and the ‘80s. These music terms were part and parcel of everyday lexis of every musician or a music band at the time. In order to succeed professionally and gain popularity with the audience, bands and musicians simply had to create hits. If nowadays some artists become popular by uploading music online, and some – by looking for the best gigs and music labels, old rock commonly started with a

“dialogue” between the musician/band and the viewer or listener, and later continued as lengthy talks with producers, managers, “roadies”, before eventually it reached the whole world.

It makes sense to go back to the ‘50s so as to understand how the shift from traditional music to the new genre occurred and to delineate some specificities of this genre. Rock music stemmed from the blues and rock'n'roll and later, if only a little uncomplimentary, morphed into what was commonly referred to as “sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll”. The waves of rock music reflected on culture and on fashion trends, when refined neat suits were superseded by

“leather pants” and heavy make-up, which afterwards, in their turn, gave way to plain T-shirts with imprinted rock-band names. Quite notable were the changes in music attributes and antics of the performers on stage: these also moved from elegant but unvarnished instruments to guitars as real art-objects, and after a while to “the guitars-to-be-smashed" in a fit of ecstasy and drive.

Attitudes to this music also used to be very different from what we experience now: music today is based not only on audience preferences, but also on government censorship in 2

some cultures, while at the dawn of its emergence it did not need either approval or rejection.

It was made for people and only with the passion to tell about love and hatred, protest and acceptance, liberty and repression.

Despite the fact that it enjoys great spread and popularity in our day, rock did not appear out of the blue, the cradle of this great style was the blues, Afro-American urban folk music. Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King or “the king of the blues”, called the blues

“an expression of anger against shame and humiliation” (Pauly, 2005); this music found a wide audience in the ‘40s, as black people migrated en masse to the cities, and that urban blues gave rise primarily to R&B and rock’n’roll. In the ‘50s people would pay good money to dance or listen to some pleasant music, but not all city dwellers had enough income to afford such a luxurious entertainment. Gradually, though, music became more accessible for all social classes and catered for different tastes: from the classics and elegant riffs music moved to the sounds of faster pulsing beats of the drums with the combination of specific chords and bizarre sounds leaning to high-pitch voices. Even though it evolved from the blues, rock, however, developed into a self-sufficient style, with numerous varieties of its own kind and different sub-genres.

Rock music could expose any problem, that different people have experienced throughout their lives, be that politics, love or freedom. It is possible to write a song about anything in this style, and this is another reason why rock music has become so prevalent and enjoys popularity throughout the globe.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the ‘glam’ genre of rock music, in order to understand the elements of it that have led to its influence on other genres, and perseverance over time. To do this, the paper will provide a historical review of glam rock, covering the period from the early ‘70s to the late ‘80s, as well as highlighting specific 3

characteristics of certain musical genres, by describing significant personas, styles, behaviors, stages, and other essential factors. The thesis also discusses what communicative aspects and theories are related to rock music, focusing on such questions as why rock emerged, what made it popular, how video-clips and performers’ image and behavior on stage affected the audience.

II. Origins

In order to deliberate the origin of glam rock it is essential to get some idea of the foregoing genres of music which initiated its emergence and influenced its further development. These genres were so remarkable and powerful in their own way that their effect has lasted well into the present.

II.I. Origins of R’N’R

As was stated in the introduction, glam rock did not stem from nowhere, the precursors to its appearance were some other musical genres that had conquered the world two decades prior to it. Talking about music of that time, there are names worth mentioning, who have withstood the test of time, and now are thought to be the true masters of the genre.

One of the first bands who craved for and created something new were Bill Haley & His

Comets. In 1954 the band wrote the famous song “Rock Around the Clock”, which hit the top charts (Kallen, 2012) and, at some point, established the growth of rock music. It was all the more amazing, given the non-Afro-American origin of the band members.

In 1956, in his striking pose on tip-toes, Elvis Presley led the hit charts with the songs

“Heartbreak Hotel” (1958), “All Shook Up” (1957), and “Hound Dog”(1953). For his performance, he took the idea of freedom and the rockabilly style (Kallen, 2012). 4

Thick-framed glasses, suits and slim ties were the trademark of the clean-cut Buddy

Holly. This “professor-looking" artist produced a lot of new melodies for the band The

Crickets and it gained acclaim in 1957 with the singles “Rave On” (1958), “That’ll Be the

Day” (1957) and “Not Fade Away” (1957) (Kallen, 2012).

II.I.I. African-American Music

The famous rock-personas of the ‘50s discovered the African American styles for youth and teenagers and, as part of this great change, more and more young people took an interest in those artists.

Undoubtedly, tribute should be paid to native African-American musicians, among whom one of the best was “Little Richard” with his band The Upsetters. This band was also one of those few pioneers who experimented not only with music, but also with makeup and hair. Little Richard created a driving beat and catchy smooth words; his top singles are

“Ready Teddy” (1957), “Tutti Frutti” (1955) and “Good Golly Miss Molly” (1956) (Kallen,

2012).

Another important figure worthy of being placed on the R'N'R pedestal is Chuck Berry.

A hairdresser, who contributed more than "hair" into music. Berry wanted to be the writer of his own songs music, by inserting deep lyrics into the spinning sounds of the guitar, all while dancing his famous “duck dance”. Berry's two best-known hits are “Rock’N’Roll Music”

(1957) and “Roll over Beethoven” (1956) (Kallen, 2012).

Such were the “forefathers” of rock, but music, nonetheless, did not stand still, it was changing, and soon there came the ‘60s, and England took the lead. The Beatles stormed into the world of rock, straight from the working-class UK city, Liverpool. Initially, the Fabulous

Four started as a cover-band, playing the favorite songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bill 5

Haley, and more (Kallen, 2012). Luckily for all, soon after, they undertook writing their own songs, and shortly afterwards they were acknowledged as “kings of rock”. The band, however, did not rest on the laurels of success and went on seeking different sounds and tones.

Such great was the inspiration caused by the Beatles, that it gave a significant impetus to other artists to create. Bob Dylan, who had mostly experimented with country, blues, folk, was one of those who were swayed by the wave of rock. His famous song “Like a Rolling

Stone” (1956) seemed to echo with the name of the well-known British band, The Rolling

Stones, but it was just a song. (Bowie, n.d.). Besides Bob Dylan, there were other “rolling stones that gathered no moss”, such as The Who and The Kinks.

Rock’n’roll music was very simple, all that mattered was the noise it made, the drive it carried to the audience, its aggressiveness, its novelty and lack of taboos. With almost non- existent lyrics, it was a close step from gobbledygook, but it was not because of inability to create something better, it was a specific code language for teens, which made rock totally incomprehensible for boring adults. Yet, it was great in its simplicity, and masterly beyond any doubt!

The ’50s and the ‘60s of the previous century were the big break for music, for until then there had not existed a style of music just for young people. In those years, all of a sudden music became the most important of all arts and the most significant youth cult. As a result, the artists mentioned above became household names in their time, but they are still well recognizable around the world today, and even to those who are very far from the world of music, while for those who appeared on stage after them they were the inspirers. 6

II.II. Origins of Glam

Glam rock, aka glitter rock, is a genre of music, which appeared in the early ‘70s in the UK, but gained greater popularity later in the USA (Walser, 2014). It was a kind of hard rock with a touch of pop, which was characterized by a simplified melody of compositions with an emphasis on the guitar and keyboard instruments, a clearly defined refrain, spectacular arrangements, sparkling, and sometimes extreme exaltation of performance. Glam music was very heterogeneous, which combined rock’n’roll, hard rock, art rock and Estrada.

It was performed by the artists who shocked the audience with abundant makeup, costume jewelry and unthinkable pretentious outfits, high-platform shoes and emphatically mannered behavior (Walser, 2014). Bright texts, costumes and visual shocking style of glam musicians were a theatrical mix of nostalgic reminiscences composed from science fiction and old movies enunciated by a hard guitar pitch. However, under all these “perversions” there was an ironic subtext, a spirit of recklessness and a refined profligacy of life (Moore, 2009).

In terms of the formation of glam rock, it is interesting to trace how it opened up to the world with the emergence of various new groups, how a new way of thinking was created in glam music, as well as its identity, who were the pioneers of this musical genre, who formulated the idea of glam and influenced other progressive glam groups, and rock music in general (Moore, 2009).

II.II.I. British Invasion

The influence on glam was reinforced by the so-called British invasion, a mid-60s musical movement consisting of British rock’n’roll that gained popularity in the United

States. British rock music began to dominate both the national and international charts. 7

The Rolling Stones was one of the “big four” bands of the “British invasion”, who began their creative path in London in 1963, they played traditional Rhythm and Blues at the time, and later came to glam rock. Initially, the band’s style reminded that of the Beatles’, but subsequently they found their own style, which was a way more glamorous. Second in popularity after the Beatles, and in contrast to their “positive” image, The Rolling Stones promoted themselves as a group of “bad guys”. They were uninhibited on stage, primarily due to the vigor and drive of the frontman and vocalist Mick Jagger, who also experimented a lot with makeup, costumes, and stage conduct.

While some of the songs of that time were about love, hatred, and freedom, many music groups were inspired by the movement against the Vietnam War and the spread of the drug culture. The bands were exploring with new sounds, and the era of the ’70s was rather

"acidic". This period was marked by the appearance of such legendary artists as Jimi

Hendrix, who focused more on instrumental performance, giving real “shows-off” with extended guitar solos, spinning tricks, and heavy tapping, i.e. the kind of performance, which soon led to the emergence of other genres.

The psychedelic era did not finish at that, but rather gave birth to more bands. There appeared new trends, and such paraphernalia: tight leather pants, drunk behavior, makeup, heavy music, and long hair were about to conquer the world. The compelling examples of such trend-setters became the UK bands Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

II.II.II. The Rise of David Bowie

In the ‘70s, the androgynous image became largely noticeable in the rock medium

(Ammon, 2016). David Bowie created a new character, who, by his overall appearance sort of

“claimed” to have arrived from space. Along with the release of “The Rise and Fall of 8

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” in 1972, Bowie started wearing colourful, glittering costumes, dyed his hair red, wore platform shoes and put a heavy make-up on his face. And if the image was fabulously extravagant, almost futuristic, his song was still very much in tune with the vibe of the 70s’ (Kallen, 2012). Anyway, it was a rise of glam rock, and its best samples were yet to arrive. Even though later David Bowie renounced this image, others picked it up, with multiple updated personalities, the style took off and more glam bands appeared.

Bowie’s gaming with the diversity of flamboyant costumes was not only a means of self-expression, but also a smart marketing stunt. Besides, Bowie enjoyed being the pioneer and inspirer of this creative process (Ammon, 2016). Bowie’s world thrived on style, and overtime, the reflection of his stylistics would become essential for the world of fashion, visual arts and design, but also for other glam bands. Bowie’s attitude was not sham, his flair was real and earnest, and it was more than an attitude. In Bowie’s music and characters, he was always leaning toward punk, feminine gender, and, oddly enough, towards the ideas of fascism, communism and revolutionary symbols. He was idealizing post-political time from the perspective of aesthetics.

As American and British cultures altered, in the ‘80s rock itself moved to the era of glorious and resplendent glam rock.

Rock is the music of great volatility and contrast. The new styles, inspired by glam rock, were metal and punk, followed by different sub-genres that, in their turn, sprang from the bigger ones. The importance of knowing the roots of glam cannot be overestimated, since when watching the Rolling Stones video of the song "Red Little Rooster" (1964), one can’t help noticing the young Rolling Stones look very much like the Beatles band, standing there in neat suits, singing to the crowd, all their movements elegant and pleasant to the eye. 9

However, in another video clip of the song "Silver Train" (1973), the band already wear long hair, the lead singer, Mick Jagger, eyes shadowed with blue, glamorously clad in a sparkling blue jumpsuit. This time he does not stand still, but is dancing and spinning around the stage while singing. Many bands were influenced by different genres coming in their way; these genres mingled, one borrowing something from another, passing something over to the next, thus creating a mish-mash of styles and sub-cultures.

II.II.III. The Beginning of Glam

Glam or glitter rock, or hair metal – all those names were felt under the category labeled as GLAM in rock music. The beginners of the glam rock may well have been David Bowie,

Kiss, Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, Sweet, T. Rex, Slade, Aerosmith, Roxy Music, but the bands who continued and upgraded it were Motley Crue, Poison, Cinderella, Def Leppard,

Queen, Twisted Sister, Warrant, Dokken, White Lion, W.A.S.P., Faster Pussycat, The

Runaways, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bon Jovi and more (Klosterman, 2001). Throughout their careers, at some point of time, they could be described as either glam, or metal, or both at once.

Sometimes it was hard to tell the genres apart by the music alone, therefore the essential part of glam are costumes, makeup, and long fluffy “manes” of hair, hence another name for it – “hair metal”, because such hairdos were easily recognizable and, sort of sent a clear message “it’s glam!”. And glam metal had one sort of appeal: it was all about the unspoken lifestyle (Klosterman, 2001). 10

II.III. Influence on Glam From Other Rock-Oriented Genres

Rock' n' roll in general incorporates a lot more sub-genres. And different bands were impelled by rock' n' roll to enliven their own music. Punk and heavy metal were close to rock, nevertheless, they elaborated distinctive motifs in their music. Glam rock, punk and heavy metal were developing at the same period of time. And while going hand in hand, yet being quite different in the policy of their music, they complemented each other. It is important to regard the proliferation of other genres in music that benefited glam, such as punk and heavy metal, by introducing some popular bands and their vision and delivery of music.

In spite of the appealing look of the “glamorous” boys and girls, some musicians were against such a grandstanding, and some said that it should be more about protest and anger rather than about the looks (Robb, 2012). Punk rock was such kind of anti-glamorous self- presentation. At some point, punk was very different from glam, posing itself as a secret protesting society within another underground world, and punk did not want to come out into masses. If the audience could not understand them, punk artists were not supposed to make it easy for them. Taken from the prison slang, “punk” was used first time in a musical context in the early ‘70s in the compilation of albums such as “Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the

First Psychedelic Era” by Lenny Kaye’s, which is a compilation album of American psychedelic and garage rock singles (1972) (Ray, 2012). Punk was evolving in the UK in the late ‘70s as an underground music, while on the surface, pretty guys were shaking their long hair (Robb, 2012). Sex Pistols established the ground for punk with straightforward lyrics and noisy guitar distortion and screamings. 11

II.III.I. The U.K.’s Punk

The UK's punk was an anti-governmental, revolutionary freedom fighter, an original black-coated “bitter pill” that was to be served to the authorities at that time, but the government preferred to take the sugar-coated one, and throw the bitter away. The times in politics for the UK were complicated, and that it is why the business for the independent labels anticipated the extremist economic policies of Margaret Thatcher. After the collapse of the long-standing conventional British imperial stance, London morphed into a cosmopolitan city. From the late ‘50s, the influence of the Caribbean immigration led to the existing of its own types of music, clubs and labels. America, too, was influenced by the British punk as well and inspired many more bands (Ray, 2012). There were some songs in glam against the ruling order, for instance, the hits of Twisted Sister “You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll” (1983) and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (1984), David Bowie’s “China Girl”(1977), Living Colour

“Cult of Personality”(1988), Extreme’s “Rest in Peace” (1992), T. Rex’s “Children of

Revolution” (1972) and many more.

Punk had its own fashion, which later on inspired by a plethora of fashion designers: clothing was based on the downright provocative look, such as ripped t-shirts with imprinted anti-establishment slogans, black leather pants and the elements of sadomasochistic paraphernalia, all with the only purpose to shock and outrage the public. Speaking of the cultish groups of that period, there stood out two most prominent and significant for the punk following: The Clash with their famous song “London Calling”(1979) and Sex Pistols with their song “God Save the Queen” (1977). The former is a reference to the BBC, WWII, flooded London and animalistic howling highlighting the sick minds and the agony (Robb, 12

2012), the latter is a sort of mockery of the eponymous national anthem, a rebellion against the ruling powers and politics.

II.III.II. Post Punk

Besides The Clash and Sex Pistols, another famous British band was born – Joy

Division – which, to a greater extent, leaned towards another subgenre – post punk. The band was focusing more on the texture, rhythm, and lyrics, that gave some ideas for glam too.

Along with these groups, there existed such punk bands as The Slits (UK), The Ramones

(USA), The Cramps (USA), Velvet Underground (USA) (Robb, 2012).

What some punk and glam bands had in common was that having their own distinct style, they mixed and intertwined with each other, so that their music was different and similar at the same time.

II.III.III. The Rise of Heavy Metal and Hair

People are insatiable in their lust for new experiences and sensations, so whether rock music was soft or psychedelic, lyrical or obscene, the audience wanted something heavier, they needed metal, in other words, heavy, solid, decent sound, heavy metal. It formed in the

‘70s, but acknowledgement came in the ‘80s. In the USA. heavy metal was the number one rock trend, and it was another “baby” of rock’n’roll.

Glam was also referred to as glam metal or glam rock, but the most conventional name for it was hair metal,as an allusion to the musicians’ disheveled hair (Popoff, 2014). In a perfect combination, it was a sort of “a marriage” between masculine and feminine sounds and voices, which in turn played into the androgynous images of the artists. Guitars and drums sounded “masculine”, singers were brash and flamboyant, yet, at the same time 13

there was openness of melody (Popoff, 2014).Consequently, the very best glam metal found that perfect balance between riffs and melody.

Some glam and punk bands during the ‘70s and ‘80s could be regarded as heavy, but nowadays, the audience sophisticated with metal might label them just as “rock”. After the

‘90s, a diversity of subgenres of metal came to living, such as Swedish metal, goth metal,

Mexican death metal, etc. (Ray, 2012, p.42), and they caused a new wave of controversial debate of what metal actually was. A few bands worth mentioning within the scope of these varieties are AC/DC, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Slayer, Metallica, and Ozzy Osbourne. Likewise, some glam bands also fall into this category, most famous of them are Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Tesla, Scorpions, Ratt, Poison, Cinderella,

Kiss, W.A.S.P and a lot more (Klosterman, 2001, p.28).

Heavy metal became one of the mainstreams in rock music. One of the best-known bands who accentuated the lead role of the guitars and the idea of making the music heavy was Led Zeppelin. Without exaggeration, this group became a role model for every group emerging at that time. Led Zeppelin was renowned for their long concerts, which could last for hours, while the band was jamming and improvising their long guitar solos right on stage

(Farseth, 2012). All that also reflected on glam. In 1969, the British band Black Sabbath formed, and they played loud and heavy, experimenting with the sound. The guitarist Tony

Lommi tuned his guitar strings lower, for a much deeper effect and more sinister sounds.

According to their frontman Ozzy Osbourne, known as” King of darkness", he was so overwhelmed with how much money people were willing to pay to watch horror movies that he decided to create an analogy to such movies in music, and under this impression the band started writing “horror songs” (Farseth, 2012). 14

Like the Black Sabbath band, Alice Cooper was already ahead of their time. Vincent

Damon Fournier came up with the name for the band after encountering the supernatural through an Ouija Board. During the ritual the board “told” him that he was the re- embodiment of the witch, who lived in the seventeenth century and whose name was Alice

Cooper. And ever since, each time he performs on stage, Vincent Fournier passes himself as

Alice Cooper. There are different wild rumors about him, that once he bit off the head of a chicken right on stage, but he argues that it is not true (Farseth, 2012). Both his mysterious personality and the shows of the band are beyond explanation. The shows are half concerts and half theatre plays: a witch character, a zombie makeup with dark circles around the eyes, the stage in creepy shadows, and the dark outfits of the artists. The combination of theatrical elements, gloomy makeup and a scary phantasmagoria of a show gave even more space for inspiration for glam rockers.

Due to such a scary entourage, so appealing to the public, glam artists embarked to apply it too in their music, outfits and performance. For instance, the band Kiss adopted the looks from heavy metal, along with the costumes and the stories behind them. All of them had unique characters: Catman (Peter Criss), Spaceman (Ace Frehley), Starchild (Paul

Stanley), Demon (Gene Simmons). Kiss concerts were massive extravagant performances.

Nevertheless, when they reached the peak of fame in the ‘80s, the band decided to remove the masks. In their true images they were still very popular, but they were and always will be remembered for their startling characters and costumes (Farseth, 2012). Even in the ‘80s, as was mentioned earlier, glam and metal were mostly combined and it was hard to tell one genre from the other. Yet, among all those mixed styles, makeup and distorted sounds, there was budding a new genre, grunge (Farseth, 2012). 15

Given all the above, it is possible to say that different genres of rock affected glam a lot, in terms of clothing, stage behaviour and ideas. Even so, glam was still very peculiar and had its own attitudes, beliefs, appeals and a different sound of music, which made it really special in that vast domain of music.

III. Insights of Glam

If everything was on display and crystal clear, was there anything hidden behind the bright " cover” of these glamorous bands and musicians? And did they promote the idea of glam because it was their lifestyle and inner belief, or because it was a new wave of business?

Oddly enough, both. In-depth analysis of important constituent elements of glam rock, such as hairstyles, makeup and personal aspects, namely, androgyny and a feminine behavior might shed more light on this style, because they make glam what it is: a colorful, excited and visually appealing performance.

III.I. Appeals, Looks and Flair

There were many artists who stood out for their specific zest: it could be a special dance, appearance, stage behaviour and so on. It commonly started with minutiae that made each musician or a band so unique, not only in terms of their music, but also in terms of their extraordinary personalities.

A compelling example of such uniqueness is the frontman of Led Zeppelin. The unforgettable impression is left by the signature look of Robert Plant in a relaxed pose, leaning a bit to the side, holding the microphone in one hand and the mike wire in the other.

He is wearing tight jeans, an unbuttoned floral-print T-shirt, exposing his bare torso, and as a final touch, his hairstyle – a wild mane of hair! And, as with many other vocalists, the 16

microphone was not only a tool for amplifying sound, but also part of a stage prop to enhance the power of self-expression on stage. Some other performers, e.g. Freddie Mercury (Queen),

Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), also used their microphones in an unusual manner, dancing with them, spinning them, holding them in such a way as to show explicit sexuality.

In many cases, physical appearance also mattered. It was very noticeable in David

Bowie’s image, who was known for his good looks: pale skin, delicate features and flashy blond hair, which he later dyed all possible colors, though glam rock itself was a kitsch luxuriating in purple, metallic, lime green, orange colors. In “Space Oddity” (1969) Bowie added a new touch – a futuristic kitsch (Ammon,2016). What became exotic in this “science- fiction music” was not the special effects, but the shiny space suits, the rockets painted in dark-red, the glaring galaxies. Those items were the inherent symbols of the “odd” during that “space age” of glam rock. This inspired all glam musicians to experiment with costumes, stage decorations, so as to make them an integral part of the whole show.

III.I.I. Glam’s Androgyny

As was previously noted, another distinctive feature of glam singers was their androgynous looks and voices. Such a combination of masculine and feminine was a kind of their calling card, a flashy unsurpassable touch that made them so recognizable.

In continuation of the discussion of the specific looks of glam singers of the ‘80s, the first thing that leapt to the eye was long-haired musicians on the LP covers, posters, in magazine photographs. It was another calling card and a kind of reference to the androgyny of the glam performers. David Bowie is known to have been the role moment of this androgynous experimentation, which is often seen as foreshadowing glam rock. 17

However, Bowie’s vision of this idea was spreading beyond the costumes and outward looks. He rebelled against the conventions of the time, against the traditional norms of sexuality and self-identity, given that at that time homosexuality was perceived as a mental illness. Bowie strongly emphasized the point in the “Lady Stardust” (1972), where the musician called for changes and finding one’s own personality instead of blindly copying his image. Luckily, most bands followed his advice, which made them unique in their own way.

III.I.II. DIY

In the wake of David Bowie’s glam, there emerged another response to the pop- culture – DIY (do-it-yourself). DIY, as the name suggests, was the intention to create something with your own hands, caused by the necessity rather than a will at that time, since it was expensive for many musicians to afford some luxury costumes, and they had to design them themselves. A very vivid example of DIY process was revealed in the film “the Dirt”, in which for their first gig the Motley Crue band were shown designing their costumes, creating the logo of the band and the drawings on the drums, and painting the head of a mannequin torso red. In another case, they made a real show of a spinning carousel or a roller-coaster with the drummer playing upside down. Nevertheless, Motley Crue were not the only ones to make shows, it was a popular activity and even a must for the budding bands if they wanted to make it to the top.

III.I.III. New York Glam

In terms of appeals, looks and flair, it is important to refer to the 1970s’ New York glam scene, where boiled down to “getting noticed.” By and large, it was a “living performance” (e.g. New York Dolls), while the music itself was a far cry from what 18

conventionally was perceived as glam. The New York generation of singers had different ideas of success and they were more about creating a buzz and getting money. Style outshadowed the musical part, and this time it was on purpose, it was all about show biz. The media adored the New York Dolls, and at the same time they were a shockingly entertaining spectacle for the public. Therefore, the glam bands of that period took the most stunning idea: make everything bigger, including the mass of hair (Klosterman, 2001).

The bands associated with this variety of fabulous glam style were Nitro, Faster

Pussycat, Dokken, Ratt, Lita Ford, W.A.S.P., Pretty Boy Floyd, Britny Fox, L.A. Guns,

Warrant, Black’n Blue, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Winger, Hanoi Rocks, ICON, Steel

Panther. As for Motley Crue, Cinderella and Poison, they were probably the first 3 who brought the mid ‘80’ to the new level of “hair and glam”. Other groups, whose volume of hair and the craziness of outfits beat many, were considered glam as well.

All those minute particulars such as hair, androgyny, makeup and costumes, made a holistic picture of glam. They had a powerful non-verbal impact, which mostly referred to visual part, while the other essential part of glam undoubtedly was music, lyrics and messages.

IV. Context: Marketing, PR, Media and the Press

Glam rock was not only a magnificent music product, but also a mass product, a nice catch for the mass media, making their business, even more lucrative. By and large, this collaboration was mutually beneficial: on the one hand, glam artists got promotion and broad recognition, on the other hand, the media got better ratings. 19

IV.I. Way of Communicating

However captivating might be one or another genre of music, however extraordinary and outstanding might be the singers, their longevity would be doubtful but for the permanent spread of information about them and maintained connection with the masses.

Glam musicians may have needed this popularity more than anyone else, because it was the intrinsic value of their entire existence: an innate desire to impress, shock the audience, to lure them into their improbable fantasy worlds, to make them part of their show.

In “A Theory of Mass Culture”, Dwight MacDonald emphasizes that the meaning of

“popular culture” is its distinctive point as a chewing gum for a mass consumption

(MacDonald, 1953).Mass culture for MacDonald is related to the nature of culture in modern societies and he sees modern society as one, where traditional social structures, such as a community, crashed only to be replaced by a mass society of commonly estranged individuals or, as he mentioned, “the lonely crowd”. The author mentions that the culture of mass society is identified by standardization, vulgarity, tawdriness and uniformity

(Macdonald, 1953).These attributes threaten high culture which cannot compete with mass culture’s popularity.

Rock music in general, and glam in particular, did not belong to a high culture, but it belonged to the masses who accepted it, understood it, and shared it. You cannot fool the public, people know how to cull, and if you are being phoney, the people will spot it a mile away, therefore the dialogue between glam artists and their fans was honest and open.

That was the popularity of the music in the ‘80s, because it was massive and all- pervasive. Music was not only an entertainment, but it was also a means of communication with the audience. As such, it sent hidden message in the lyrics or showed 20

new events happening in the world of music via video clips or reflected some ideas of the band, thus shifting the perceptions of the public.

In the ‘80s, the rise of new music and art was part of the jig-saw of information, later provided through the Internet. However, in the beginning this information was collected by bits and pieces from the interviews with the artists, gig guides and PR to be later shared with the fans (Sennett & Groth, 1999).The people working for the press or other forms of the media during that period could only expect a 30-minute conversation on the phone with national or international artists. Usually such conversations concerned the issues of releasing a new album, LP or a single. Undoubtedly and flawlessly, flyers, word-of-mouth and the radio worked, but people wanted to get to know more about the artists and their personal lives and about their ideas on music and art. The press eventually managed to connect with record companies and publishers and started to fill the journals with the “hard-to-get” interviews

(Sennett & Groth, 1999). The fax machine soon became an essential tool for writing and spreading the information.

Also a huge role of the press was to follow what was going on in clubs, on stage, on campus, on the street. Besides the press, the importance of the TV was growing and diverse programs about music, like MTV, began to appear.

IV.I.I. Bridging the Artist and the Audience

There was another side of communication between the media consultant or a reporter and the artist or a band itself. In the beginning, artists might have been shunning the interviews, calls and meetings, but gradually they came to understand that it was an important part of communicating with their fans and letting them know more about themselves and the music they created. Today, the situation with the media has changed drastically, and with the 21

advent of the Internet the media are no longer limited by the frames of TV, the printed press or the radio. Moreover, even these conventional means of information have become more open and accessible to the artists and their audiences. Therefore, it has become much easier for reporters to get in contact with musicians, likewise, for the fans to find the information about them. It should also be noted that the opportunities for the musicians have greatly extended and now they can afford to have their own YouTube channels and other social media. However, in the early ‘80s, due to the lack of access to official recordings, live concerts, and to the information about such events, this was the era of cassette recordings, which were rewritten hundreds of times and passed from hand to hand, and the era of the word of mouth, which "transmitted" the latest news.

As was stated above, for most reporters it was hard enough to get an interview with rock bands. For example, the very first interviews with the band Motley Crue were filmed right after the concert or during the breaks, as if in passing, while the subsequent ones would film their personal and rich lives in a lengthy format. For example, at one of the interviews, called

“Motley Crue 1983 Interview”, the viewer could see them tired, coked-up after the concert, barely talking; on the other hand, that was a typical image of this band, during any interviews or shows they looked either drunk or drugged (Musicians Channel, 2018). Another type of live interviews became documentaries of celebrities and their lives, such as, for instance,

“The Fabulous Life of Motley Crue”, “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal

Years” (1988).

There exists another type of communication, aimed at establishing a fan base. It is a sort of direct interaction between the artists and their following. Obviously, the former need such interaction, because fans sustain and feed popularity and fame, and the latter need it to feel involved in the life of their idols, a sense of belonging. This “communication” begins from 22

the stage, when the performers occasionally throw personal items into the crowd, and continues after the concert, at press conferences, where the fans, along with the media people, are free to ask questions, followed by taking photographs, signing posters, and so on.

IV.II. The Influence of MTV

Music cannot exist without an audience. You can arrange live concerts and gather thousands of people, but, first, it is difficult to do on a regular basis, and, secondly, it is not enough to win the hearts of millions. Therefore, only television could become such a kind of

“door to the world” and the creation of a specialized music channel would help musicians to gain even greater popularity. Moreover, it should be noted that this was a mutually beneficial enterprise, since television also received its own audience and benefits. Thus, the creation of a popular music television, MTV, became a new milestone in the popularization of music, and many glam artists received a launching pad to develop their careers and gain even more fame.

MTV, Music Television is the US first 24-hour all-music television network, which started broadcasting since August 1981. The main idea of MTV was to highlight new relations between popular music and the mass media (Goodwin, 1992).And it was a different kind of television, which tried to show different aspects of rock music aesthetics.Moreover, in the ‘80s it gained the popularity with rock bands and was a favorite of all young rockers who wanted to enjoy the rock bands’ music and video clips. It was a sort of trend in

American television towards producing new appeals to younger audiences and to the “baby boomers”. The advantage of MTV was that it included television and stereo and it was the first one to combine those components, which made it a unique novelty at that time. 23

According to Goodwin it is possible to divide the success of MTV into three stages.

The first one lasted from 1981 till 1983, which was all about expressive visual clips made in

Britain. It was mostly about “New Pop'', which included different genres of music, but not very much rock-oriented, mostly the so-called British Invasion pioneers of pop music, such as Duran Duran, ABC, the Human League. During this phase, all musicians were Caucasian and after the first seventeen months of MTV’s broadcasting music and clips, it was accused of racism. Admittedly, MTV perceived rock as a form of music which excluded Afro-

Americans, and even though MTV denied racism, the company kept working with the so-called “white rock” (Goodwin, 1992).Besides the music, there were also separated program slots with interviews and concert specials. MTV demanded from the musicians that they should make their narratives or performance clips minimally realistic, which predetermined all music clips at the time and encouraged musicians to create more and more grotesque music clips.

The second stage of MTV continued from 1983 till 1985, which shifted from New

Pop and extended from the main urban centers of the US to the smallest towns, because it wanted to appeal to everyone and reach a bigger audience (Goodwin, 1992).During this stage, MTV promoted new heavy metal, which developed in the ‘80s, and was mostly glam metal. MTV programming policy changed from the “flow”, or a hodgepodge of music and shows, to the separated program slots. The company started to produce pseudo documentaries of rock concerts, coverage of the lives of rock stars and their travels, known as “on the road” and “off the stage” rubrics.

In 1986 there began the third stage of MTV. It was a shift from the stream-like broadcast of music events towards a more traditional television format. While heavy metal 24

shows are still the hottest ones, MTV now exposes a wider variety of rock and pop music than ever before. The company resolved the accusations of racism by showing crossover songs and video clips with Afro-Americans and white performers. This was featured in songs in such blends as the Run DMC with Aerosmith “Walk This Way”, Public Enemy with

Anthrax’s “Bring the Noise” and also showing the African-American heavy metal band

Living Color.

By 1989 MTV established an MTV Record Club, selling music, videos and the merchandise with their logos. Additionally, they moved to a televisual Rolling Stone (or Q) magazine that kept viewers up to date about all the current trends in music, alternating this information with discussions about popular culture, like TV, cinema, news about celebrities, as well as some occasional “hard news” about abortion, environmental and political issues

(Goodwin, 1992).At the same time, the network provides information about concert sponsorship, tour dates and footages of small live concerts.

There is also a block, called MTV News, which highlights the news in the music sphere. Musicians are featured there talking about their own music or even squabbling over occasional incidents with their colleagues. There are many examples, but the most famous of them was an argument between two glam lead vocalists, Vince Neil (Motley Crue) and Axl

Rose (Guns N’ Roses), caused by the disgusting act of the Guns N’ Roses guitarist (Izzy

Stradlin) who had allegedly punched Neil's pregnant girlfriend (Lee, & Neil, 2001). In the

“best” traditions of tabloid journalism, MTV relished this conflict for two years, showing the squabbles live, or, just to add fuel to the fire, would by all means ask the musicians about the development of things during live interviews; in one of these interviews Vince Neil even challenged Axl Rose to a fight. It was a new phenomenon for a music program, and it was 25

very exciting for the audience to follow the scandal, so they kept watching MTV to know what would happen next. There were many similar conflicts, and the viewers enjoyed them, it was like peeping through a keyhole: always up to date and aware of what was going on in the private lives of musicians (Goodwin, 1992).This was what differs high culture from popular or mass culture: while the former would never stoop to the level of mundane squabbling, the latter made use of such human-interest stories to raise the ratings position.

Another novelty which appealed to the viewers and listeners was oral “support” of music behind the scenes, a voiceover. VJs (video jockeys), who were mostly heard, but not seen, introduced and endorsed music videos and live performances on music channels and stations, discussed information or gossip about video clips or stars. They did it with humor, appraisal, irony or sarcasm, in other words, they were free to display their personal attitude and witticisms, which added to the show greater vitality and drive, as well as personal approach. VJs had to be very eloquent, able to think on their feet, and make appropriate comments that would hit the bull’s eye, and by doing so, they could either “make you” or

“kill you” as rock singers. The advantage of such comments and talk was to influence the audience both visually and verbally. The VJ directed the viewer’s focus to the screen by having previewed the images that were about to be shown. According to Robert Pittman, a cofounder of MTV, a VJ “should be the one who can guide and sublimate the egos of rock stars and should be the human face the viewer could relate to” (Goodwin, 1992).

Due to VJs, the schedule and the format of music TV has become very multifarious.

As MTV has incorporated more and more non-music programming and founded regular slots for different genres of music, it has totally moved from 7/24 all-music radio format to a traditional way of networking. In 1988 MTV started to use two broadcast media scheduling:

“dayparting” and “stripping”. Both were altered to make the schedule of programs more 26

predictable and to grasp the audience’s attention so that the viewers could tune in at the same time every day. Dayparting is the way of scheduling different kinds of music within separate blocks of each day’s TV programming. Stripping is a practice derived from independent TV stations in the US, where episodes of the same TV cycles are screened at the same time each day of the week. Thus, with the rise of non-musical programming, it is becoming harder to distinguish MTV from other entertainment US networks.

In the ‘80s, MTV completely typifies the political trajectory of rock and pop with the documentary “Decade”, which used interviews, news segments, songs and video clips to collect a liberal critique of the Reagan years (Goodwin, 1992).In the 80s, MTV completely typifies the political trajectory of rock and pop with the documentary Decade, which used interviews, news segments, songs and video clips to collect a liberal critique of the Reagan years. It is important to stress out this commitment to the liberal/progressive politics in the music and video clips of such bands and musicians as U2, Metallica, Living Colour, Don

Henley, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Oasis, Lenny Kravitz, John Lennon, Michael Jackson.

Nor did glam rockers stay silent, they also expressed their craving to politics, which was visible in the creative work of such performers as Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, David Bowie,

Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, Cinderella, Slade, Iggy Pop. All those musicians were featured heavily on MTV playlists in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s in order to expose the problems and instability in the politics and postmodern way of living.

MTV’s sales pitch is seen in connection with the ideology or rock as well as postmodernism. The 80s rock’s countercultural ideology transforms into a discourse that includes traditional notions of rebellion and romantic rejection of everyday life with a new feeling of social responsibility and philanthropic concern. 27

It is abundantly clear, that in addition to commercialization of music, MTV played a huge role in spreading it, became a kind of communication bridge between musicians and their audience, and greatly facilitated the way the artists wanted to convey their ideas and messages to the public. Besides, MTV made glam rock artists more recognizable, which actually was what they aspired to: to be seen, heard and admired.

IV.III. Genre and Lyrics’ Impact on Audiences

In the ‘70s, the streets of the United Kingdom were full of fashionistas wearing cropped hair and rough Dr. Martens boots, boys and girls in vests - English counterparts of

American hippies, and in the ports grew up a generation of “casuals”, who believed in utility and wear of their clothes, but all such looks were somewhat grayish. Suddenly, in 1971, the street scene and moods began to change. Glam rock, the perfect quintessence of pop and rock culture, began hovering over cities in a cloud of stardust.

The name of this phenomenon was androgyny, and it was David Bowie who introduced it to the youth. His tight or overly voluminous plastic-cotton jumpsuits sewn by

Kansai Yamamoto, space make-up, eccentric behavior and performances beyond the limits of human consciousness zombified and delighted the youth.

The ‘80’s glam bands expressed their aesthetics so as to manifest that glam style differs from the downright homosexuality. They gained it by showing the domineering role of a man over a woman in the realm of their creativity: in song lyrics, video clips, on stage and at the live concerts as well as in their own images on album covers. There are some examples of the ‘80’s glam bands who expressed antagonism towards women by fooling around, whereas other bands resorted to creative approaches (Moore, 2009). Speaking of the appearance of glam musicians, it should be noted that although men wore heels, applied 28

bright makeup, grew long hair and even wore pink or leopard leggings, they did not forget about their masculinity, which they expressed in their lyrics. Some groups, such as Motley

Crue and Guns N’ Roses, demonstrated examples of their male brutality, albeit not brutal abuse, in their songs and at live concerts. This chapter is focusing on glam lyrics’ impact on audiences.

IV.III.I. Brutality and Females

Glam rock is unimaginable without feminine expressiveness. The female image was cultivated in everything, in appearance, psychotype, in clothing, which is understandable, since the female image is not banal, it delights, attracts attention, and arouses imagination.

The archetype and one of the most successful representations of a woman in glam is the

“femme fatale” (Walser, 2014).The femme fatale, a fatal woman, who is very playful, dominant, intelligent, seductive and in charge of her own sexuality. She is an insidious seductress, luring her lovers into deadly traps, a skilled manipulator, a meeting with whom can turn your life upside down. Being bright, independent, and confident, she can all at once be fragile, tender and feminine. For instance, such a representation well seen in the lyrics from Motley Crue’s “Looks That Kill” (1984) or Whitesnake’s “Still of the Night” (1987).

The lyrics of the former song unambiguously reveal the image of such a vamp fatale woman(Crue, 1984):

” Now listen up,

She’s razor sharp,

If she don’t get her way, 29

She’ll slice you apart...”

In the latter song it is emphasized how a man cannot wait for the night with such a woman, so they can make love(Whitesnake, 1987):

” In the shadow of night,

I see the full moon rise,

Telling me what's in store,

My heart start aching,

My body start a shaking,

And I can't take no more, no, no…”

Another example is the band Dokken, who in their lyrics and video clips are accentuating the male victimization. Their best-known songs, such as “Heaven Sent” (1987),

“Just Got Lucky” (1984), “Kiss of Death” (1987) have the same pattern of story of how the man is trapped, destroyed or betrayed by the woman. The song “Heaven Sent” (1987) by

Dokken illustrates a woman as a source of pleasure and fear for a man. Their video clip shows the same woman, as young and beautiful, old and overweight, as a witch and an angel; she never speaks, just walks alone. In this video clip the woman is presented as mysterious and dangerous, as she harms simply by being (Walser, 2014).

IV.III.II. Girls, Girls, Girls

The word “girl” is highly overused in popular lyrics. While this term involves a heterosexual mode of address within popular music, so emphasizing that there is a significant 30

difference between men and women and that there is a specifically female culture and way of being in the world. It is quite evident that the term “girl” has particular emphasis within the masculinity of rock (Whiteley, 2005). Many glam bands expressed their macho behaviour and hackneyed attitudes towards women in their songs. For instance, the album “Some Girls” by Rolling Stones (1978) is a stereotypical listing of women as “girls”, French, American,

“black”, “white”, Chinese, English, Italian(Stones, 1978):

...White girls they're pretty funny

Sometimes they drive me mad

Black girls just wanna get fucked all night

I just don't have that much jam

Chinese girls are so gentle

They're really such a tease

You never know quite what they're cooking

Inside those silky sleeves...

Also in earlier songs, the “girl” is objectified as a sexual toy for pleasure of a man.

Here is another example of rather derogatory misogynistic treatment of “girls” by the band

Great White, in the song “On Your Knees” (1984), as expressed in the lyrics(White, 1984):

Takin’ what I please

Fallin’ on your knees

You need me, yes you do 31

From the moment I take over

You're gonna call me back for more

Down on your knees…

Glam bands emphasized the role of women in different forms: “the woman we want you to be”, “the desirable woman you are”, and “the woman, who is playing with my feelings and tricking my mind” (Walser, 2014). Undoubtedly, the relationship between a man and a woman, as well as a woman herself, was an important theme in glam.

Yet, even though it was one of the major leitmotifs of the genre, rock musicians did not shun different other issues. According to Joe Stuessy, a professor of music, most successful heavy metal projects follow the basic themes: rebellion, violence, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, Satanism (Stuessy, 2012). Thus, the songs are grouped thematically: assertion or longing for intensity, lust, loneliness, victimization, self-pity, love, anger, rebellion, madness, anti-drug/anti-TV/anti-Devil propaganda (Walser, 2014).

IV.III.III. Worshiping Good or Evil?

Rock and metal are said to be the music of the Devil which has changed the perception of the young audience. In the ‘80s the influence of church was very significant, and there were numerous restrictions imposed on the young, if they were supposed to follow the behaviour of “good Christians”. It is true that many heavy metal bands had songs against

Christianity, to show their attitude to religious zealotry, sanctimony and obscurantism.

However, among glam bands there was no much emphasis on anti-church movement, quite on the contrary, there were even some songs in support of church and against Satanism.

Yet, a very popular glam band that was highly prohibited by the Christians for their allegedly 32

anti-religious lyrics was Twisted Sister. It was all the more unfair, however, because Dee

Snider, a very religious man himself, who used to sing in a Protestant Church choir, in his interviews denied all such allegations. After he got familiar with rock n roll, he fell for it, let his hair grow long, began wearing fancy costumes and a heavy makeup and worked his way with different bands before eventually joining the band Twisted Sister in 1976. Their third album “Stay Hungry” (1984), featuring the biggest hits “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (1984) and “I Wanna Rock” (1984) mostly focused on the message that you should do what you want and get away with it. In most of their video clips, they would send the same message, a teacher or a parent spotting the kids listening to rock music, specifically the band Twisted

Sister, would scream at the recalcitrant teenager “What do you wanna do with your life?”, to which the latter would shout back “I wanna rock!” (Twisted, 2010) Following those words, the band (Twisted Sister) would appear, as large as life, singing their song, and very angry with the mentor. Sure enough, on hearing such a song most young audience clearly would get the message and the call for rebel, which they inwardly wanted to hear, and along with it they accepted the shocking appearance of the members of the band, and their glam and glitter.

Snider, the lead singer, further permeated the cultural landscape when he testified in

Senate hearings in 1985 locked by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which wanted to introduce a parental warning system that would label all albums containing offensive material (Schonfeld, 2015; Busey 2018) .Some other glam groups also experienced a change of heart, when it came to either the content or the names of their songs. For instance, regarding Satanism and the Devil, the most “outrageous” glam band, Motley Crue, in their book “Dirt”, recall the process of writing a song called “Shout with the Devil” (1983), but shortly after experiencing a mysterious attack of some evil spirit, and renamed it to “Shout at the Devil” (1983), which sent a clear message that you should not worship Satan, 33

but at all costs be against him. A similar message was expressed in Twisted Sister’s song

“Burn in Hell” (1984), emphasizing that it is “better to turn your life around” and stop playing with evil before you “die and burn in hell” (Twisted, 1984).

“Welcome to the abandoned land

Come on in child, take my hand

Here there’s no work or play

Only one bill to pay

There’s just five words to say

As you go down, down, down

You’re gonna burn in hell

Oh, burn in hell ”

Thus, despite endless laments whether glam songs were for or against evil, their lyrics unequivocally prove that they were against. However, in the ‘80s the religious sentiment of the adult population was very strong. This caused a kind of confrontation between adults and children, when religious fanatics, not really listening to the words, but only catching some, such as “hell”, “devil”, “blade”, “burn”, with all their religious zeal branded rock as demonic music. And given the outrageously shocking appearance of the performers, this was enough to draw the wrong conclusions.

The themes of the songs, such as worshiping of femme fatales and subjugation of women, resistance to social dogmas, defiance of evil, along with the sparkling self- presentation and the ambience, largely determined the formation and development of other styles of rock for years to come. Glam rock challenged the religious sanctimonious society, and not only, thus having a strong impact on young people, causing a change of 34

moods, tastes, the destruction of traditions and attitudes. It greatly shattered the established foundations of life and principles and gave impetus to the emergence of new trends and values, which have survived to this day.

IV.IV. Portrayal of Bands by the Media

Music and society are linked phenomena; music is a type of social activity that molds tastes, views, moods and behavior. Its potential to create new meanings for listeners was accomplished through the mass media. It would not be an exaggeration to say that glam rock was a favourite of TV, because it was not boring, and very much appealing to the audience.

Glam rock was all about “unspoken lifestyle” appeal (Klosterman, 2001). It is a feeling that cannot be explained or quantified, but it absolutely exists. One of the amazing things about the ‘80s’ glam rock is that it was the most influential at that time in the multimedia context and the first popular genre to survive today. Glam rock was as a “chief support” of album- oriented FM outlets (cable radio), so it could be heard over the populist medium of radio, and unlike punk or the late 60s music it was not recorded underground (Klosterman, 2001). It was a product very attractive to the media, as it created a rating and enjoyed mass popularity. For glam rock, this was a mutually beneficial alliance, as the media, in turn, advertised and promoted it well.

The image of glam singers was being popularized and TV showed various video clips that did the job perfectly well. A perfect case in point was the video clip “Nothin’ but a Good

Time” (1988) by Poison (Poison, 2007).The opening scene shows a long-haired young man washing the dishes in the back of the restaurant, his boss yelling at him, while on the radio the song of the band is playing. The young man kicks the door open and the band Poison appears as large as life, and the real world with the yelling boss and the dirty dishes vanishes 35

into thin air giving way to the glittering fantasy world. Combined with the song’s lyrics, the video’s message seems fairly self-promoting, as though good times and fantasy dreams could be achieved through their music, whatever the reality. Thus, the media saw glam as the product of selling and showed more and more video clips of glam bands, thus providing a higher demand for watching and following the latest news about them, which was also an advantage for artists.

IV.IV.I. Music is Commercial

It is universally known that music has always been commercial; it has always been supported by the interests and sponsorship of particular social groups and embroiled in institutional politics, mechanisms of distribution and strategies of promotion.

The debate over the liberatory possibilities of mass culture mostly proceeds in terms that neglect the gendered character of all social experience. Yet, popular music’s politics are tightly united with gender, dance, pleasure, sexuality, romance, and power.

According to Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist and cultural theorist, in postmodern media and consumer society, everything becomes an image, a sign, a spectacle, a trans- aesthetic object-just as everything becomes trans-economic, political, and sexual. This

“materialization of aesthetics” is accompanied by a desperate attempt to imitate art, reproduce and mix former artistic forms and styles, create new images and artistic objects. But this

“dizzying eclecticism” of forms and pleasures creates a situation in which art ceases to be art in the classical or modernist sense and becomes simply an image, an artifact, an object, a simulation, or a commodity. (Baudrillard, 1985). Postmodern analyses present an idea of postmodern culture, where “simulations” have replaced the real, via a one-dimensional chronicle of changing notions of the history of pop music (Christian, 2010). 36

Looking at glam rock video clips, the concept of “pastiche” becomes vivid in a variety of way of how different bands “quote” from other artists, or from texts or even from art. This idea became popular in music television and video clips and was described by Frederic Jameson

(1984) as “blank parody”. For example, taking the video clip “Radio Ga Ga” (1984) by

Queen, where the idea was taken from Fritz Lang’s movie “Metropolis” (1927), and also an inspiration for some parts was taken from the film “The Triumph of the Will” (1935)

(Jameson, 1984).Within the frames of the “pastiche” concept, video clips must sell films, as well as records. Def Leppard’s “Rockit” (1989) , for instance, paid credit to rock culture and the artists, such as T.Rex, Elton John and Sweet, whose images influenced them(Whiteley,

2005).

In the 1980s television broke with the traditions of “public service broadcasting”, whose ideals could be succinctly described as “no profit motive”, “national service”, and

“centralized control”.

IV.IV.II. Entertainment-led Music

The new television marketplace was designed as a package of “entertainment-led” cultural enterprises and mostly emphasized with public service ideals (Jameson, 1984) .Thus, if the band was so appealing that the viewer would not stop watching their video clip till the end, then this clip would be probably shown more times than others. So, as glam bands were trying to get as much attention as possible, the media were promoting them and their video clips were vastly broadcast on TV, which moved them to the top of hit charts.

The economic context is extremely important in music television. This is especially important for advertising companies, where the viewer is perceived as a potential consumer.

In “free” television, the important part of entertainment is offered in exchange for the 37

willingness of the audience to be subjected to view something specific, like the objects displayed in ads (Browne, 1987).

The success of music videos to a certain extent has something to do with the looks of the musicians, but far more it depends on the budget available, the mastery of the video director, and so on. There is no denying that handsome looks are important, when representing any band on television. This rather biased and cult attitude to appearance was only to the advantage of glam groups, since this was exactly what they themselves positioned.

However, there was some internal conflict in this fusion of “looks” and “video clips”: MTV showed the videos, which were based on physical “perfection”, but at the same time, this mass-oriented construct restricted musical diversity.

V. Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to study the nature of glam rock so as to realise which elements of it have caused impact on the development on other genres, to understand how it communicated its messages to the audience and how it has managed to survive over time.

This research paper provided an insight into the history of glam rock, starting from as early a genre as rock’n’roll, which was the precursor of glam. It was important to track the processes of transition of one genre into the other, which elements were preserved and which altered, how they crossed over and fell apart.

The importance of rock music as such cannot be overestimated, because it has persevered and withstood the test of time, therefore, glam, being a distinctive and very bright version of it, had a huge impact on several generations of musicians, as well as on the minds of its followers. Glam artists inspired masses of their fans, who were by far and large, young 38

people, to rebel against the dullness of reality, the harshness of religious dogmas, yet, they did not call to deny God or virtuous acts.

In the course of the research there came up astonishing facts, concerning stage behaviour, appearance and attitudes of glam artists that made them so strikingly appealing and scandalous. This was manifested in the unusual costumes, androgynous looks and the lyrics of songs.

The stage costumes of glam musicians made their way to everyday life and revealed the inner spirit of this genre: freedom, fantasy, craze.

Androgyny became a totally new challenge to society, an enigma, because it did not give a direct indication to sexual orientation, but raised more questions and did not provide direct answers. The ambiguity of androgynous appearance of male artists was all the more perplexing, as they both worshiped and cursed women in their lyrics, emulated the style of

“femme fatale”, and overpowered “girls” by their masculinity.

Apart from being a unique creative project, glam turned out to be a very successful mass market product that grew into a vast commercial mass media output.

The sustainability of glam can be felt today primarily in fashion styles and the resulting behaviour, in art and in music. Given that glam initially was geared to masses and had nothing to do with high culture, nowadays this style has become part and parcel of

“haute-couture”, has conquered the showrooms of the most renowned fashion houses of the world. In terms of music, modern rock performers emulate the style of dress, performance and instrumental sound, if only in modern arrangement. 39

V.I. How Is This Paper Important For the World?

This paper is likely to find its readership and give impetus to further research of this music genre, which might spark a new interest among young people. All this will be a step to its spread at all fronts. It is obvious that this genre is too bright and exciting to consign into oblivion, however, it will not be superfluous to promote and maintain it in the future. 40

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