About the Book
Cold Glitter: The Untold Story of Canadian Glam uncovers
a forgotten yet fascinating chapter on glam rock music and culture...from Canada.
Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary artist Robert Dayton
taps his Canadian roots to reveal mind-blowing stories of musicians fighting to
be heard. It's a universal story of determined creators striving to make their voices heard. Dayton has spent years researching and interviewing these
ground-breaking musicians trapped by geography, colonial mindsets, and the
cultural behemoth that is the United States.
There's no denying that glam rock was marginalized in
Canada. In fact, RCA almost didn't release the 1973 Bowie-produced Lou Reed album
"Transformer" in Canada because they didn't see a market for it. Of course,
they were wrong! Young Canadians, like youth around the world, were rebelling
against the oppressive conservative mainstream culture and saw themselves in
the anything-goes freedom of glam rock.
Cold Glitter gets at the reasons
why: nature vs. artifice, old world values vs. new freedoms, and how transgressive
actions--including gender play--shook the Canadian art establishment to its
core.
Filled with stories from musicians about what they did to
build a career and fight against the old guard controlling the airwaves and
stages. Readers everywhere will find solidarity with the all-too-familiar story
of artists who were attacked for appearing outrageous and daring to be different.
Within the struggle to be fabulous are mind-blowing anecdotes of fun and mayhem.
Readers will be taken back to the seventies as they meet the
unknown and infamous musicians and artists who dared to be glamorous. Familiar names like magician
Doug Henning, Vancouver band Sweeney Todd and their lead singer and
one-hit-wonder, Nik Gilder, and his replacement, Bryan Adams, to underground
heroes like the Hollywood Brats to hundreds of musicians who put away their mascara
and left their glamorous wild days behind.
Cold Glitter is filled with rare (and sometimes
outrageous) images throughout and additional chapters on glam fashion, film,
and comedy in Canada.
