Noddy Holder’s glam ambition

Serious: Noddy Holder

Former Slade frontman Noddy Holder hopes a new art exhibition will make people take the glam era more seriously.

His Wolverhampton outfit were among the leaders of the early 1970s movement, spearheading experimentation with glitter makeup, high heels and outrageous costumes.

The trend was taken in different directions by artists including David Bowie, T Rex, Roxy Music and The Sweet. Their fashion statements later influenced American rock outfits including Motley Crue, WASP and Twisted Sister.

Now the Tate Liverpool gallery is hosting Glam! The Performance Of Style until May 12, featuring over 100 artworks from big names including Andy Warhol, David Hockney and many others.

Asked if Slade considered what they were doing as art, Holder, 66, tells the BBC: “I think we did.

“People didn’t take it seriously at the time – they thought it was very flippant. People used to scoff at Slade being this happy-go-lucky band that they saw on Top Of The Pops every week.

“They didn’t take us as seriously as we wanted to be taken as musicians.”

Exhibition curator Darren Phi argues: “Glam was more meaningful to more people than something like punk rock.”

The Tate Liverpool website explains: “The exhibition investigates artistic developments in Britain Europe and North America through the prism of glam, examining painting, sculpture, installation art, film, photography and performance.” Themes include “glamour, camp, exaggerated identity, androgyny, eroticism and dandyism.”