The Saturday List #216 - My top ten Glam Rock Tracks

Today I had the pleasure of selling an Italia Silver Spangle guitar to a member of Sweet, the iconic 1960' glam rock band. We had  a good old chat about Glam rock and it got me thinking, what's my Top Ten Glam tracks. Glam Rock spanned the 1971-5 period, when I was between the age of 8-12. It started for me with tracks like Telegram Sam from T Rex. I can remember us all singing it at the 240 bus stop on the Ridgeway. My favourites were Bowie ( I loved his obsession with space), T-Rex (The catchy ditties were immense), Suzi Quatro (she was the first female musician I had an obsession with, for not entirely musical reasons), Alice Cooper (expressed sentiments I 100% agreed with) and Mud (great songs and loved the blokey vibe). So what is my top ten? This was hard. Usual music list rules apply, one song per artist (that makes it hard). I also only selected Top of The Pops videos. I was also making the choices based on my preferences at the time. I would probably choose a different playlist today, but these were the songs that blew my mind when I first heard them. Oh and they had to be hit singles.

I must say a few words about the context. Top of the Pops was a massive show at the time. Everyone watched it. Families would sit together, with the older generation often more and more bemused by the sights and sounds of Glam. My Dad was usually still working or having a bath at that time. My Mum would say nothing, but my sisters Val and Caroline would inform me of who was cool (Bowie) and who wasn't (just about everyone else). I realised that if I parroted their opinions, then my mates (who had elder siblings) would be impressed with my knowledge, but this lead to me not buying many a single I really liked.

1. Suzi Quatro - Can The Can.
We all have one song that we saw on Top of the Pops that completely blew our mind and we just had to buy the single. When I saw this, it was like something was switched on in my brain. I just wanted to make Rock and Roll and hang out with girls like Suzi Quatro. I've had the chance to meet her on a couple of occasions and bottled it (which is very out of character), as I doubt I could say anything sane and rational to Suzi. I love her! The song is a great Rock and Roll pop song. This was one of the few records that my sister Caroline decreed uncool that I bought. I'd wait till the house was empty and play it. It was my first guilty pleasure. Funnily enough, my Sister worked as a DJ on an Essex local radio station and interviewed Suzi. She didn't mention how much stick she gave her younger brother for his obsession.



2.  T- Rex - Telegram Sam

This was the song that inspired Pete Conway and myself to want to write songs. It was just such a great number. There was something about Bolan that you just couldn't help loving. These days I'd pick 20th Century Boy as my favourite T  Rex number, but I remember watching this on TOTP and the next day we were all singing it in the playground and at the bus stop. Pete Conway's dad was so horrified that his son liked it that he told Pete that Bolan had fleas. It was one of several rather iffy claims that Mr Conway made. It struck me as rather silly as Bolan was a pop star so could easily afford flea treatment. Mr Conway said he liked having fleas, which was a concept too odd for my brain. I asked my mum if some people liked having fleas, and she asked what had given me such a stupid idea. I didn't press it. After that I took anything Mr Conway said with a pinch of salt.



3. David Bowie - The Jean Genie

Picking the Bowie song was the hardest. My initial pick was Space Oddity, but as this was released in 1969, it was before the Glam Era. I eventually picked this as it was the first Bowie single I bought and I played it so much I wore it out. I loved the Guitar riff and it was one of the first I learned to play. This was one of the few glam singles Caroline liked (or admitted liking). I believe we went 50/50 on the price of the record.




4. Alice Cooper  - Schools Out

It will surprise no one who knows me that this made the cut. I can't possibly understate the impact this song had on me. Wheras all of the previous songs were nice tunes and played by artists I liked, Alice Cooper appeared singing a song that said what I was feeling. I hated school. It was misery and here was the weird yank summing it all up. It hadn't really occurred to me that songs could be vaguely relevant to what was going through your head.



5. Mud - Tiger Feet

I always had a soft spot for Mud. They were more blokey. I also loved the Teddy Boy look. Tiger Feet is a brilliant Pop song. They were never cool and really didn't seem that bothered about it. I imagine that in their heyday they would have been a great live band


6. Slade - Goodbye T' Jane

Slade were a hit machine in the early 1970's . They started out as a Skinhead band, cashing in on the Skinhead boom of the late 1960's, but were always far more comfortable with the glam scene, which suited their personalities far better. Any one of a number of songs could have made the cut, I chose Goodbye T'Jane as it was one the one which was sung most in our playground jukebox sessions. Slade were a band Caroline quite liked. She tried to buy tickets to see them at Olympia, in a concert promoted by The Daily Express, but they sent her tickets to see Rod Stewart and The Faces in error. She went to see Rod and for the next two years, we heard of nothing else. That was the end of her Glam phase!



 7. Roxy Music - Virginia Plain

Up until this point, all of the bands and songs I loved when I first heard them. Roxy Music were a band I just didn't get at all. I've now come to love this song, but I hated it when I heard it on Top of The Pops. The only thing I found in the least bit redeeming was the strange bloke in the corner (Brian Eno) twiddling knobs. The reason why I included it was it provided one of the most memorable moments of my early career as a music pundit. All of my friends at St Vincents would watch Top of The Pops. We'd come in the next day and sing the Bowie, Bolan and Slade. One of my mates said "Did you see Roxy Music on Top of The Pops last night?". I replied "Yes, they were rubbish". He then punched me in the mouth and split my lip. It was a useful life lesson, don't insult people's musical tastes. I reassessed Roxy in the late 1970's when Gary Tibbs, who was the bassplayer with my favourite punk band, the Vibrators, joined them. I realised that they were ok. My sister liked this, but I rebelled on this and hated it.



8. Sweet - Foxy on the run

This is a great track. When I was about 12, I went to a youth disco at the Sacred Heart Church Hall, and whilst this track was playing I started hallucinating. I have no idea why. My parents assumed that someone had slipped me some LSD as a joke. As was the way in the 1970's it was all my fault and I wasn't allowed to go to any more disco's. Given that it has never happened since, I think they were probably right, although that was the reason, I can't for the life of me figure out why someone would want to waste a tab in such a way. I've always been especially fond of the track ever since.


9. Sparks - This Town Ain't big enough for the both of us

When Sparks appeared playing this on Top of The Pops, we were all blown away. It is a great tune, We loved the gun sounds,. The bloke playing keyboards with an Adolf Hitler tache, staring strangely at everyone was bizarre beyond comprehension. There was a long debate about this and we thought they were wonderful, even if they were odd.


10. Wizzard - Ball Park Incident

Researching this article, I read quite a few articles to see if I'd forgotten or missed any of the obvious choices. A bit of homework is always a good thing! To my surprise, my final list was the same as the initial one. But what amazed me was how few Glam Rock lists don't include Wizzard, who for about a year were massive. There first top ten hit was Ball Park Incident, which is a proper chugaluga Glam track. I found one interesting bit of useless information.. There best known track "I wish it could be Christmas every day" broke a run of number one's only reaching number four. Ball Park Incident was definitely voted a hit in the playground at St Vincents. It is my favourite Wizzard Track. A great rock and roll number. The rest of the band look like they had day jobs in the Motor Trade.



That's all folks, hope you enjoyed it