Glitter Balls & Lip Gloss

Kipper ties, platform heels and all those psychedelic shirts - yes, that was the seventies and defined as much by the music as by iconic fashion trends. It was the era of boybands before Westlife and Take That. This was the time of glam rock. Pilot, Sailor, Paper Lace, Sweet, and of course the Bay City Rollers, were full of talent for the ladies and maybe even some guys, with Sweet unashamedly pouting and posing in front of the camera and really camping it up. Sailor's 'Girls, girls, girls' single was definitely optimistic, while Sweet provided music like 'Teenage Rampage' and 'Ballroom Blitz' - glitzy, fun sounds for teenagers.

Guys could probably get away with admitting to liking Paper Lace, and their singles 'The Night Chicago Died', 'Billy Don't Be a Hero' and 'Black-eyed Boys' had just a hint of sleazy, macho gangsterism. The Bay City Rollers with 'Bye Bye Baby' and 'Shangalang', not to mention their 'Give it to me now' single which went 'Baby I'm a ram give it to me now', had plenty of female followers as did David Cassidy and David Essex. The latter's hits 'Stardust' and 'Gonna Make you a Star' reached the very top of the hit parade.

It was a time of glamour: sunglasses, fur coats and lip gloss abounded, and that was just the men. Gary Glitter sparkled too and was suitably named before all the scandal that was to come out later in his career. His 'I Love You Love Me Love' was an appealing hit if a little saccharine. David Bowie and Marc Bolan with their sexual ambiguity were big names too and proved very popular. A boy band with beard was Wizard. They were a bit alternative and not obviously playing up to the glam rock image.

Mud with their hit 'Tiger Feet' would have you rocking the night away. It was the Bee Gees however who provided a bit of class and they were in the charts throughout the decade. Their close harmonies and beautiful sound proved good music was not dead and 'Saturday Night Fever' was a great success and to become a big film for John Travolta, dancing his way to stardom.

As for boys and girls together, there were rather less of them, but of course Abba was the biggest with their first rather more naive hits just emerging. 'Nina, Pretty Ballerina' and 'Hasta Manana' started the ball rolling. Bucks Fizz were popular in Britain and 'Making your Mind up' was a big hit for them.

Olivia Newton John or Neutron Bomb as she was nicknamed was a sensation. Her clear girly voice was a welcome change to all those boys. Her single 'Long Live Love' didn't win Eurovision but with hits like 'Have you Never Been Mellow?' and 'Physical' she established herself as a solo artist of great talent.

You cannot talk of the seventies without of course mentioning the Osmonds from America. They were a runaway success with numbers like the raunchy 'Crazy Horses' and Marie Osmond had a hit with the sugary 'Paper Roses'. Little Jimmy's 'Long Haired Lover from Liverpool' was a great novelty record. And those boy bands, well, none of them really lasted, did they?