In 1974 glam was still alive and kicking - Sweet, Slate, Mud, T Rex and Alice Cooper were continuing to put the fear of God into our parents every Thursday evening. Top of the Pops was still very much the launch pad that could jettison your latest single from the lower reaches of the charts one week to Top 5 the next. There was no other show quite like it. Or was there? Many European countries had similar shows that showcased indigenous and imported chart sounds. Holland for example had TopPop which ran from 1970-1988.
I'm not 100% sure if this lot ever made an appearance on the show. Their name was short-lived (as probably was this 1974 single) - Heart in America were just becoming a thing. But their Dutch namesake sure made a splendid racket.
Heart - Lovemaker (1974)
Glamtastic!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're referring to the record or the show, or both. Either way, you're right. Those crazy Dutch, eh?
DeleteVery Quatroesque.
ReplyDeleteIt is! Certainly some Anglo-Dutch cross pollination going on. I once wrote about the most important percussive 'instrument' in Glam: the foot-stomp. Impossible to listen to any record between '71 & '75 and not hear the size 9s in the background keeping the beat.
DeleteDiscovering TopPop is one reason to be grateful for the internet. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteEvery day's a school day. 'Beat Club' from Germany is another one worth seeking out if you haven't already.
DeleteMuzikladen was another. Unbeknownst to us at the time, but when our favourite 70s bands were not performing on TOTP they could generally be found on these sorts of European shows. And it's only recently, as you say, thanks to YouTube, that all these amazing clips can be viewed years and years later.
DeleteAh - another Namesake to add to the ever-growing list!
ReplyDeleteYes, I can imagine there being one or two Hearts knocking about over the years.
DeleteJust finished a book about the Sing-along of the 1970s and discovered a new musical sub-genre - Brickie Glam. Slade and Sweet were head boys and Dave Hill was SuperYob.
ReplyDeleteIf we were to continue with that analogy, where does it leave the artist formerly known as Paul Gadd, I wonder?
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