Who do you think was first in Glam, David Bowie or Marc Bolan? They were almost in sync, but not quite. I did a quick scan to see if this was already posted but I didn't see it.
Yeah, I think Marc Bolan was first. He wrote some amazing music but he wasn't a performer like David Bowie. This asset made David Bowie the epitome of Glam which is more than being bi-sexual and a gent with make up. (This is in no way putting Marc Bolan down)
Tanx was pretty much the last half decent T Rex LP. Even that could have been better if Bolan had elected to put a couple of hit singles on it.
Despite Bowie having the bigger earlier hit with Space Oddity in 1969, Marc was definitely the first glam star in Britain.
Bowie formed The Hype in 1970 which apparently was a step towards the creation of the glam scene but they didn't make it big and didn't last long so I don't know if it's that true. The Hype (David Bowie band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia » Mark Bolan renaming his band as T.Rex and a now famous appearance of Hot Love on Top of the Pops in March 1971 helped kicked it all off to the mass public I believe. Who doesn't like a bit of glitter!
I was coming here to say something similar. Bowie formed The Hype with Tony Visconti and Mark Ronson in early 1970, months before the debut of "Ride a White Swan," which fully kicked off Bolan's glam period. The Hype might not have been "glam" in the strictest sense, but they were very theatrical and wore elaborate costumes, which were certainly key elements of glam. I think the question of "who did it first" is a lot murkier than it seems. Bolan may have codified glam, but Bowie, ever the prognosticator, knew he was on to something full of possibility. It just took him a little bit longer to get it together.
Yeah, I know all those points. That's why this is an interesting thread. I think if you mix elements of the Hype and Marc Bolan you'd be close. Any opinions on Tyranasorous(sp.) Rex's music?
Actually think Bowie borrowed a lot of the Ziggy glam looks from Elvis before he went clothes shopping with his pal Marc.
The Beatles, of course--look at the outfits on the Sgt Pepper's album. Seriously though, I'd say Bolan--Ride A White Swan came out while Bowie was playing heavy rock on TMWSTW.
