Gary Glitter’s Biography, Net Worth, Fact, Career, Awards and Life Story
Glitter was an influence on a number of musicians and genres from the 1970s onwards, especially British punk, post-punk, new wave, gothic rock, Britpop and glam 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 [Marc] 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.
- CeeLo Green has been influenced by Glitter’s music, telling NME in 2014, “I’m very aware of the crimes (Glitter) committed so I would not like to have this misconstrued. But I appreciate the musical contribution and (what he did) sonically.”
- Freddie Mercury performed as Larry Lurex, a name influenced by the name “Gary Glitter”.
- John Eddie was inspired by Glitter and described his first single “Jungle Boy” as “Gary Glitter meets Elvis Presley”.
- Joan Jett was inspired by Glitter’s early 1970s output, and has covered his song “Do You Wanna Touch Me”.
- Gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy have cited Glitter as an influence.
- Kesha has also cited Glitter as an influence.
