Any glam rock fans around here?

[MikeL]

And I'm not talking about 80s hair metal bands, I'm talking about the real thing...T-Rex, David Bowie, Roxie Music, Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, the New York Dolls, etc.

I'm bringing this up because I saw a great glam rock revival band in NYC last weekend called Prima Donna. They're from Los Angeles, and they sound like a cross between the Dolls and Mott. They even have a guy who plays keyboard and sax. They released their debut album, "After Hours," in 2008 on the Acetate label, and Little Steven got me into them late last year when he named "Stray Doll" as the "Coolest Song in the World" (This song sounds like an outtake from the "Rocky Horror" soundtrack). Another song that I love is "Soul Stripper," which is a wonderful rip-off of Alice Cooper's "Under My Wheels."

I just posted a bunch of pictures here from the gig, and I just wanted to know if anyone else here has heard of them, or would like to check them out.

[MikeL]

I love Hanoi Rocks myself:)



The Fnords said:

For the hair metal /glam /punk /surf /etc. mix, might I suggest Hanoi Rocks?

D.

[Chris Henniker]

Shame, I'd like to see it.
MikeL said:

Afraid not:(.



Chris Henniker said:

Did you get any shots of it? I couldn't get any for copyright reasons.

MikeL said:

Since you mention this, I saw Lou Reed's costume from his "Transformer" days at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC during my last trip back in January.  I'll admit it's nothing all that spectacular, but it was still cool to see.

Chris Henniker said:

The other day, I was exploring London and ended up at the V&A In Kensington. I coughed up £12 to go to the exhibition on British design from 1948-2012 and I even got to see the costumes of David Bowie, Brian Ferry & Brian Eno.  The workmanship is incredible on each of them and they still looked amazing, even today.

I also got to see the Factory Records early stuff there, which looks awesome today.  

Talking of hair metal, were there any bands who mixed it with 60's psychedelia, or power pop,  noise rock, punk or R&B?  

[John Battles]

 i WAS THINKING THE SAME THING....Not Metal , but Hard Rock. I'm certainly not a fan (Tho' David Lee's book is HILARIOUS.), But , I'd never call them Glam
.... Glam was over by the time VH's first LP came out (Early '78?). Whoever was still around from that era had moved on to other things , or reworked their sound , drastically ( "Love is Like Oxygen " , while a good song , is miles removed from "Hellraiser" or 'Ballroom Blitz". Of course , David Lee Roth got his schtick from Jim Dandy , so maybe , instead of , or along with , "Butt Rock" , we should call it "Schlong ROCK"..

Joanie Lindstrom said:

Not at all IMHO.  I'd say hard rock.

[John Battles]

I remember when The LA bands started getting more press in the 80's. Bands like Faster Pussycat , Poison , Guns 'n' Roses , and already - old guard bands , like Motley Crue , all that stuff , people were calling it the second coming of The New York Dolls. I still can't get my mind around THAT one. Hanoi Rocks were the only band I could think of that really carried on in the spirit of The Dolls , while maintaining their own unique sound. They got lumped in with Heavy Metal , just because they had long hair and wore makeup. It's true , they were a band that was cool to reference during the LA 80's Metal Scene , but , I did'nt hear their influence in any of those acts , even though Michael Monroe and Sam Yaffa  (Hanoi Rocks' Singer and Bassist.)were based in L.A. at the time (Yaffa joined the locally popular Jet Boy. Their record just scared me.). There may have been lesser known bands that "Got it" , but , when I went to L.A. in '87 , if you were'nt playing BUTT ROCK , you were'nt gigging. The Rockabilly and Garage scenes that city was known for were virtually nonexistent , and ,it only got worse in the ensuing years that I went there.

I mighjt have been able to dig some of that 80's Metal , wherever it was being played , if it had just been RAW....oh , YEAH , AND Heavy. Listen to Killer Kane and Blackie Lawless' band , Killer Kane , or the commercially unsuccessful Stooges/MC5 "Supergroup" , The New Order (Both bands were based in LA) . Even if it's too Metal for YOU , IT WAS RAW.

 I neve really got into Motley Crue at all , but , their first album had that crust....but , only , because it was comprised of demos.

What was being called Glam or even Metal , generally was'nt.....Now there's a name for it , BUTT ROCK , thank you.

 

[The Fnords]

The Stooges/MC5 supergroup was called New Race, and also had members that had been in Radio Birdman.

Hanoi Rocks were ace, but "self-destruction blues" kind of sums up their inevitable demise, sadly.

[John Battles]

The Fnords ,

There were two different groups , The New Order , and , later , The New Race.

      The New Order , based in LA ( With several posthumous releases ) was made up of Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson (Also both in New Race , who were very briefly based in Australia , in the early 80's  , with Deniz Tek , Rob Younger , and , I think , Pip Hoyle(?) from Radio Birdman.) , along with Jimmy Recca and Scott Thurston (Both ex- Stooges), and a couple of different singers , including Warwick Gilbert (sic) from The Amboy Dukes. They formed not long after The Stooges broke up , and even got Iggy to sit in , once . They were being courted for a major record deal , but , the story goes , Gilbert got high on Angel Dust , and blew it ,completely. The other guys , reportedly , beat the crap out of him. I mentioned The New Order in the same breath as these uninspiring LA METAL BANDS (I almost forget L.A. Guns.), because the band was more stripped down Metal - Rock than Proto - Punk , unfortunately , but they had potential. Their other singer was more suited to the band , anyway.

[Babylon Street Radio]

Yes, love glam, and Prima Donna

[The Fnords]

Well, well, you learn something new every day.....!

D.

[RJFait]

Phoenix, AZ band Crash Street Kids are about as good as glam revival gets.

[The Revox]

Bowie, Bowie, Bowie !

[Joanie Lindstrom]

They kind of make me think of Faster Pussycat. More 80's revival than 70's glam.

RJFait said:

Phoenix, AZ band Crash Street Kids are about as good as glam revival gets.

[Fanático De Garaje]

Glam Rocks! Can't forget Sweet. Even the New York Dolls were considered glam.