Those Years of Rock and Glamour

On stage, androgyny and ambiguity were the style of a grand soundtrack featuring stars like David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Grace Jones, Iggy Pop, or Alice Cooper, and bands like Kiss, Queen, or New York Dolls. It was 'glam rock', born from the fusion of guitars with platform shoes, chords with makeup, and aggression with fluid gender. The book 'Glam Rock: The Sequin Revolution' (Ma Non Troppo / Redbook) recounts this "subgenre", which emerged in 1971 when singer Marc Bolan donned women's clothing in London, prioritising aesthetics over the musical virtuosity of sixties psychedelia and rock.

"It destroyed stereotypes," asserts author Noelia Murillo in her essay, which spans from its beginnings to the present day of Eurovision. "It wasn't just the way of dressing, but also the manner in which this duality was staged," with Bowie's "concept to the limit" that "generated desire in both men and women, breaking taboos with impossible poses."

The evolution of the visual gave way to the extravagant, as Kiss did, more sombre than sensual, with faces hidden behind chiaroscuro makeup. The author does not forget 'one-hit wonder' bands, those that brushed success with a single song, only to vanish.

On the flip side are those who continue to triumph, sowing nostalgia with their songs. Like Queen, which combined glam with progressive rock, Murillo explains in another chapter of the book, with a "camp" Freddy Mercury, sporting "black nails and matching eyeliner."

Having conquered the market, other super bands like Roxy Music, from which Bryan Ferry emerged, or Genesis, from the era of a hyper-theatrical Peter Gabriel and conceptual albums, also conquered eternity. And icons, who still endure, like Elton John, whose "performances were filled with tacky outfits, feathers, enormous glasses of all possible shapes, heavy platform shoes, and boots with musical motifs and high doses of glitter."

In the national chapter, the author discusses "gay rock" and mentions Brakaman, Orquesta Mondragón, Sangre Azul, or Nancys Rubias, highlighting the "visual impact" of the Madrid scene, championed by Pedro Almodóvar, Tino Casal, or Paco Clavel. More recently, glam has made a hyperbolic comeback by Eurovision participants, such as Finnish Tomi Putaansuu, Italian Maneskin, and German Lord of the Lost, with another label, 'gothic metal', which will be for another volume.