Also remembered as “the decade that taste forgot”,
the 1970’s brought with it glam, glitter and
stadium rock as well as punk, soul and the dance music
that many (very) secretly loved….disco!
The
70’s began with a major increase in LP sales
from acts such as Led Zeppelin, The Who and Deep Purple.
However, the decade itself also brought with it various
fads, with term “One Hit Wonder” making
its first appearance, with acts including Pilot and
The England World Cup Squad.
In 1971 The Beatles confirmed
the rumours that they were separating. Paul, George
and John all went onto successful careers. Ringo went
on to Thomas The Tank Engine.
The first big new sound of the
decade was “Glam Rock”, the main advocates
of this were Sweet, Slade Marc Bolan’s T-Rex
and of course Gary Glitter. In the bleak political
backdrop, these larger that life British bands and
characters brought a welcome relief with their platform
boots, sequins, nail varnish and colourful hair.
Intellectual artists also emerged,
for example David Bowie. Bowie was a master of reinvention
and is thought of as more vibrant and creative than
the average rock star of this time. In 1972 he achieved
an international breakthrough with “The rise
and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”
about a gender-bending rock star from outer space.
In this decade the first manufactured
British boy-band, the Bay-City Rollers, appeared to
great teenage delight. This tartan-clad Scottish band
generated a massive cult following known as “Rollermania”,
and had many hits, such as “Bye Bye Baby”
in 1975.
Also
in this decade, Elton
John had his first top ten hit with “Your
Song” and the kings of disco, the Bee
Gees spread Saturday Night Fever and
had many successful dancefloor hits. The great rock
band, Queen emerged in the 1970’s and proceeded
to have a number of hits, including the unforgettable
“Bohemian Rhapsody” which was also the
song that launched the pop video. This pioneering
promo only cost £3500 to make and three hours
to shoot, but helped Bohemian Rhapsody reach a worldwide
audience.
Punk-rock
exploded across Britain towards the late 70’s,
spitting in the face of musical trends of the time.
Angry and frustrated young men and women reacted against
the system and rejected almost anything institutional.
Great British bands of this scene were The Sex Pistols
and The Clash. The Sex Pistols caused outrage across
the nation especially when they swore on the Bill
Grundy TV show and a cult was born. The Punk style
of Mohicans, bondage clothes, safety pins, piercings,
bovver boots and sneering attitude was a perfect front
for their rebellion.
Roxy Music, fronted by Bryan
Ferry, was a wildly influential and experimental rock
group at this time. Dressed in bizarre, stylish costumes,
their art-rock with pop undertones produced many hits.
Roxy Music lifted the trend and was to influence the
start of the 1980’s.
Other major British bands/artists of this
decade include:
Pink
Floyd
Rod
Stewart
The
Police
Leo
Sayer
ELO
10CC
Adam
and the Ants
