Gary Glitter - Influence On Other Musicians

Influence On Other Musicians

Gary Glitter was very influential on many musicians and genres from the 1970s onwards, especially British punk, post-punk, new wave, gothic rock, Britpop and hair metal.

• Mark E. Smith was a Glitter fan. "I was really into Gary Glitter, and I used to get bad-mouthed for it. It was like 'You've got to be into David Bowie or Yes – Gary Glitter's just tripe'. And I was going 'It's fuckin' great. It's avant-garde... Well, two drummers and all that – it was really percussive. It was the only decent thing around", the Fall frontman said in 1993, speaking to NME.
• "Glam was fairly good at the time; also it was almost all we had. It could look ridiculous but musically it was often alright. Sometimes when you listen back bits of it sound quite punk. I liked Gary Glitter, Hello, Slade; they were all laying the roots to punk. Some of Bowie and Lou Reed were very good and Bolan of course. I suppose it had a bit of influence, but not a lot." Knox from the Vibrators citing glam rock acts, including Glitter, as an influence on punk.