While glam rock was conquering Britain, most of America was oblivious to the movement. But then something remarkable happened. A little red-headed character called David Bowie struck a chord (or two or three) and invaded the States, becoming an extremely popular attraction. He was either loved or hated, but always awe inspiring and his relationship with American music fans became a strong one. One American in particular was Lou Reed. Recently split from his ground-breaking Velvet Underground, Reed and Bowie became fast friends and colleages, working together on several projects.

Lou Reed

Iggy Pop

Another Bowie friend was Iggy Pop, out-of-control frontman of The Stooges. Many people flocked to his concerts to see what his next move would be, whether it would be cutting himself to bloody bits of simply seeing him drop trough (on that one, he rarely disappointed). The New York Dolls gained a cult following in The Big Apple, but were little known outside the city at the time. So, they joined forces with manager Malcolm McLaren who convinced the Dolls that wearing red leather outfits and pretending to be communists would make them stars (it didn't). Then there was Alice Cooper. His evil clown eye make-up and outrageous stage antics (like the infamous "chicken incident") are the stuff of future legends.

For a millisecond, it looked as though glam just might become, dare we say, popular in the US as other UK acts besides Bowie were reaching American ears. T.Rex's "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" became their identifying song while Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" was somewhat of a glitter rock staple. Even Gary Glitter saw some chart-action with "Rock and Roll, Part II" (which is still being played in sports arenas across the country). Glam bands began to spring up on both coasts, though very few made any much of an impact.

New York Dolls

Alice Cooper

Little did the critics know how important this genre would be. The look and sound influenced everything from new wave to punk rock, from romanticism to goth. Even today there are prominent bands looking to glam for guidance. Placebo's Brian Molko could be the modern day Bolan: small, dress-lovin',and lipstick wearing. Spacehog donned the glitter before Urban Decay made a mint from it and sold a million copies of their debut album (which was chock full of starry-eyed songs). And who can forget Marilyn Manson. He traded the darkness of goth for the colors of glam and continued to scare parents. Pulp, Suede, Orgy, Stabbing Westward...all have used glam elements within their music and appearence to create an identifying package of their own. And already most of these acts have lasted longer than the entire glitter movement of the seventies.