GLAMADA! (Pan-American Glam, part 1)

While wondering why glam wasn't as big in the US as it was in Europe, it occurred to me to look into whether other countries on this side of the Atlantic "got" glam better than we Yanks did.  

I'm no expert on glam, or on the music of our neighbor to the north.  But I've been a fan of "S'cool Days" (Stanley Frank's 1976 single) and "Backstreet Noize" (the b-side of Nick Gilder's 1978 hit, "Hot Child In The City") since my teens.  There had to be more Canadian glam.

In a recent piece about Canadian band Max Webster at The Major's Hole (which any major dude will tell you is a major music blog), I wrote about accidentally finding Max Webster's music while looking for something else. I was searching for Canadian glam, and was led astray by the cover photo of High Class In Borrowed Shoes, with band members in heels, makeup, flares and sashes.  The music inside that unfortunate sleeve isn't glam -- but it's great stuff.

The history of Canadian glam is yet to be told, but you can help this guy write it by supporting his Patreon! The Museum of Canadian Music and Canadianbands.com were helpful in my own investigations, as was Robin Wills' Purepop blog (Barracudas member and avid record collector).

Many of the artists on today's compilation aren't really glam.  For some, the trappings of glam (such as its androgyny and theatricality) helped to get press and sell tickets.  This may have been true for Justin Paige and Lewis Furey, who took a walk on the wild side with kinky tales of queens, hustlers, and leather daddies.

Other artists (such as Thundermug and Wenzday) were pressured to sound glam by record companies that wanted hits.  Some may have been casting about for a new sound, and others borrowed the visual and sonic signifiers of glam as a tribute to their inspirations.

Today's share isn't a history of glam in Canada, or a "junkshop glam" comp.  It's just a collection of songs from various artists during the glam era (which peaked between 1972 and 1976) that seemed to be glam-influenced in one way or another (at least to my ears).

Pictured are a detail from the front cover of the Justin Paige album; the pyjamarama that poor Thundermug was convinced to wear for their third LP; a b&w Brutus photoshoot (or perhaps a scene from their annual Halloween costume party); and the fabulous inner gatefold of that Justin Paige album.  The inner sleeve slid in and out of a pair of low cut studded briefs!  

The Justin Paige song "Rough Trade" features Dick Wagner and a young Rik Emmett on guitars, plus bassist Prakash John (who played with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, and P-Funk!)

Today's set ends with Bob Segarini (of The Wackers and The Dudes) covering a Slade song, and a version of "Science Fiction Double Feature" by Ontario punks The Forgotten Rebels (whose website lists their primary influences as Bowie, The Sweet, T.Rex, and Gary Glitter).