Combine extravagant, flamboyant, androgynous costuming and makeup with teenage bubblegum pop melodies or stomping rhythms from early rock & roll and you will have a pretty good idea of what Glam Rock is (a.k.a. Glitter Rock). 
Marc Bolan would not only inspire a myriad of artists with his perverted pop/rock formula but also with his visual style. Wearing glittery high heels, eyeliner, top hat, feather boa, his androgynous futuristic look would set the visual standards for this musical genre.
Although Glam Rock was almost exclusively an English phenomenon, U.S. artists like Lou Reed and Iggy Pop flirted with the genre, while artists & bands like Alice Cooper & the New York Dolls can be seen as true U.S. based glam groups with their history of transvestism, loud guitars and theatrical performance outrage.
Glam Rock would fall by the mid-'70s, but its sound and aesthetic would deeply influence several subsequent musical genres during the new three decades, starting with punk & post-punk bands such as The Heartbreakers, The Ramones & later Joy Division, the Cure or Gary Numan in the late 1970’s. In the early 80’s, Glam Rock’s glitz would resurface in the U.S. in Heavy Metal, Arena Rock as well as in Hair Metal groups like Kiss, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot or Poison. In the U.K., heavily inspired by David Bowie & Roxy Music, Gothic Rock, Synth Pop & New Wave bands like Bauhaus, Siouxie & the Banshees, Adam & the Ants, ABC, Depeche Mode, Japan, Ultravox or Soft Cell took Glam music or image best hooks. 
