Introduction

The cast

Oral histories

Cuttings

Links



                   Parish notices

BIBA
Do check out my history of the Biba fashion label/stores that operated 1964-75. More details here.

        let me know if you have anything you'd like me to mention here


INTRODUCTION


The short version:

Glitter Suits & Platform Boots is a website dedicated to British pop in the early- and mid-1970s. There are episodes from the period, told in the words of some of the people involved, there are thumbnail sketches of those people, and there are clippings from the music 'papers of the time, and that's about it. You may wish to check what's new.

Hope you enjoy it.


The longer version:

This project started back in 1997 when I decided to spend the summer wandering around the country talking to anyone I could find who was active in the British music scene of the pre-punk '70s. This was the time of my youth, and the music that was produced then still brings me pleasure - some of it I like purely for nostalgic reasons, but other bits are of inherent artistic value, for which they're not always given credit.

My idea was that I might create an oral history of a period that I think has been unfairly neglected, so my target tended to veer away from the most obvious names towards those that I found interesting. To take just one example: the work of Biddu in laying the foundations of a British disco scene was a story that I wanted to know more about, so I spoke to a selection of people involved.

What we have here are some episodes from the period told - often for the first time - in the words of those who were there: there are more quotes and stories in the thumbnail biographies of the cast and crew. There are also some articles and cuttings from various music 'papers I have lying around.

Originally this was hosted elsewhere, but it fell into disrepair and then fell off the Net altogether. This is the recreated version, though I should warn you that some of the information may be out of date - let me know if there's anything that really jars. I don't know how often I'm going to be able to update it (check here), but there's a fair amount of stuff on the site, and I'd like to share it with you, if you're interested.

I'm very happy to talk about any of this stuff - nothing I like better. Feel free to contact me.

Alwyn W Turner
November 2002


email me on:
alwyn@loadofold.com

What's New?

I had thought that I wasn't going to add anything much to this site for a while, but I've found another few odds and ends stashed down the back of the sofa, which you may want to check out, so here goes:

27 July 2003:  This is a minimal addition, but I just found a picture of Flick & Babs from Pan's People and I'm damn sure you want to see it.

13 July 2003:  As randomly as ever, I've been reading some old copies of Melody Maker from 1971 and wanted to share with you an early piece on the Bay City City Rollers from the time of 'Keep On Dancing', and a piece on the nature of bubblegum, featuring interviews with Nicky Chinn, Brian Connolly and Ian Lewis. And as ever there are some new bits in the Tips for the Top section, taken from the 1971 Melody Maker readers' poll.

8 May 2003:  Apart from adding a few links, I haven't had much time to do anything to this site for a while, but I just included a new section at the top of this page for forthcoming events. Let me know if you want me to put anything there for you (but restricted, I think, to Britain and the Internet).

4 February 2003:  I've had another raid on the Record Mirror and turned up articles on Middle of the Road, Nicky Chinn and Johnny Wakelin. There's also a handful of singles reviews, including the first hits for Slade, the Rollers and Middle of the Road, before we knew who any of 'em were. And finally there's an addition to the Tips for the Top section, culled from the 1971 Record Mirror readers' poll.

4 January 2003:  I've added another four articles from the 'papers of the time, including early pieces on Sunny, Gary Glitter and Hello. There's also a Record Mirror discussion on the state of pop just as the glam tidal wave was about to swamp the charts.



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Super Seventies
Classic Award



Introduction

The cast

Oral histories

Cuttings

Links