Glam rock made image, costume, theatricality and sexual ambiguity central to rock culture. The music could be simple and riff-driven or highly artful, but the visual presentation was never accidental.
Bowie, T. Rex and beyond
David Bowie used character and narrative, T. Rex emphasized compact electric boogie, and Roxy Music added art-school sophistication and electronic texture.
Why it mattered
Glam helped create a more self-conscious visual language for rock and strongly influenced punk, new wave, glam metal and later art-pop performers.