… and Rock’n’Roll secretly dominated the Sixties, being a child of Country and Rhythm’n’Blues. It did not take long to develop further, however, and the late Sixties saw Art and Glam Rock emerging. Art Rock was born in the UK. By the way, the German term for it is Krautrock. Both name music that attempts to artificially fuse Rock and Pop, creating classical structures and complex songwriting. Concept albums and extended songs were produced by bands and musicians like YES, Genesis, Cream, Hendrix, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Kraftwerk, Can, Electra and the early Pink Floyd.
Peter Gabriel, singer of Genesis, 1978 in Oslo/ Norway
Parallel to this development – and contrary to Art Rock’s clear concentration on the music itself –Glam or Glitter Rock came into fashion in the UK. This music primarily focused on Rock’n’Roll rhythms, musical opulence and glossy appearance. Sexual aspects became a form of expression and part of the performance. The UK experienced a peroid of cross-dressing and futuristic costumes. Glam Rock was performed among others by David Bowie’s artistic identity Ziggy Stardust (who “died” in 1973, leaving Bowie free to pursue new musical aims), Gary Glitter and T-Rex.
Ziggy Stardust, photo taken by Rik Walton
In contrast to Art and Glam Rock, something entirely different saw the light of day in the late Sixties: Hardrock. In its first phase (roughly 1969 to 1975) bands showed classical and progressive influences (Deep Purple), “bluesy” tones (Led Zeppelin), fantastic lyrics (Uriah Heep) and gloomy riffs (Black Sabbath).
With Black Sabbath turning towards an even harder style, the second phase (approximately 1975 to 1978) witnessed the arrival of the young wild – AC/DC, the Scorpions and KISS – as well as an enormous influence of Led Zeppelin.
In a third phase, the ranks of Hardrock bands were completed by the virtuosic Van Halen, who eagerly stepped into competition with commercial Pop bands, contending for coolness, success and virtuosity. In 1979, Ozzy Osbourne, after years of touring and excessive abuse of drugs and alcohol, had to leave Black Sabbath. The fateful year 1980 brought the Hardrock era to an abrupt end. Both AC/DC’s frontman Bon Scott and John Bonham, Drummer of Led Zeppelin, died. What was left was the undying music of Alice Cooper, Queen, The Who, Aerosmith, Guns’n’Roses, Bon Jovi and countless others.
AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Ozzy Osbourne, however, were far from finished. All three returned on to the stages, Ozzy Osbourne entering a phase of solo production. In 1982, the famous bat incident took place in Iowa. Ozzy’s biting off the head of a bat on stage cemented his madman image around the world. Actually, Ozzy, under the influence of drugs, believed the animal, that was thrown onto the stage by a fan, to be made of rubber…
AC/DC are still alive. Watch them perform “TNT” (from their 1975 album by the same title) live at River Plate (Buenos Aires) in 2009:
I know that I promised to go on to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal today, but I have decided to postpone this topic in favour of a less cramped post.I will tell you all I know about this branch of Metal next Monday.
Heavy Metal Infection 