Mick O'Shea

Glamrock begon in het Verenigd Koninkrijk in het begin van de jaren 70, uitgevoerd door muzikanten met buitensporige kostuums, make-up en kapsels, platformschoenen en glitter. De flamboyante kleding en visuele stijlen van artiesten werden beschreven als spelen met andere genderrollen. Britse glamrockartiesten zijn onder meer David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade en Roxy Music. Degenen die niet centraal staan ​​in het genre, zoals Elton John, Rod Stewart en Freddie Mercury of Queen, namen ook glamourstijlen over. Amerikaanse glamourartiesten waren onder meer The New York Dolls, Sparks, Suzi Quatro en Iggy Pop… (meer)

If there’s one criticism I could level against Mick O’Shea’s Pocket Guide to Glam Rock (Red Planet, 2022), it is that the author must have impressively large pockets. He covers this genre of music, which had its heyday in 1970s Britain, in impressive detail. I’m used to ‘pocket guides’ being short monographs that will fit in a jacket pocket but you’re going need a trench coat (optionally bedecked with sequins and certainly in something more colourful than beige) to have a hope of pocketing this one.

If you can bear that burden, then O’Shea provides an impressive amount of detail on many of the major players at the glam rock end of the pool during that period, including extensive material on their back stories and how they influenced other acts.

What it fails to do, because of its size, is to give an easily digested overview of glam rock. However, it has plenty of detail if you are willing to dig in deeper and there’s always the list of 100 top tracks to listen to if you need some musical inspiration to support you. You’ll find that starting on page 437, which is almost at the end of the book.… (meer)

I'll start off by saying that I loved this book: loads of interesting information and fantastic photos. That said, I'm going to nitpick.

Now - the proof reading leaves something to be desired; not horrendous but enough errors to be distracting, and the editing likewise needed at least one more pass. I'd guess that the author wrote the draft in chunks as he considered each of his sources, and the seams between them are all too clear all too often.

As for the substance of the text, rather than a guide to Glam Rock it reads as a history of the bands on which the author focuses. There's not much analysis, and while it chronicles the rise and fall of the genre, it has little to say about the cultural currents behind it, which I'd been hoping for.

Also, no mention of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel! 🤷🏻‍♂️

So, having seemingly trashed the book, I feel I need to repeat that I loved it and have been inspired to fill out some gaps in my music collection. If you're of an age to have grown up listening to and appreciating Glam Rock, O'Shea's guide will definitely take you on a nostalgia trip 🙂… (meer)