 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Iron Virgin were a Scottish glam rock band of the 1970s. Their early stage garb has been compared to A Clockwork Orange , with their later stage costumes similar to American football uniforms, but with added iron chastity belts. [1]
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diverse sources across music and throwaway pop culture, ranging from bubblegum pop and 1950s rock and roll to cabaret, science fiction, and complex art rock. The flamboyant clothing and visual styles of performers were often camp or androgynous, and have been described as playing with nontraditional gender roles. "Glitter rock" was another term used to refer to a more extreme version of glam.
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 dystopian crime film adapted, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange. It employs disturbing, violent images to comment on psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs, and other social, political, and economic subjects in a dystopian near-future Britain.
Contents
The band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1972 where they were discovered by Decca Records producer Nick Tauber and signed to the label's "progressive" offshoot, Deram. Their first single was "Jet", a cover from Paul McCartney's Band on the Run album. Recorded in December 1973, the song was released in February 1974. It was getting exposure until McCartney himself issued his version as a single, effectively smothering Iron Virgin's recording.
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian, it is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore.
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, along with American Decca's first president Jack Kapp and later American Decca president Milton Rackmil. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca and the link between the UK and U.S. Decca labels was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group, which is owned by Vivendi, a media conglomerate headquartered in Paris, France. The US Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG.
Nick Tauber is a British record producer best known for his work with Thin Lizzy, Toyah and Marillion in the 1970s and 1980s. Nick Tauber continues to manage, produce, and consult with acts/artists/and producers. In the late 1990s, Tauber was involved with British pop/punk act Kowloon, guiding them through several UK, and European tours. In the early 2000s, he managed British rock act Nine Miles Wide, UK bands Freak, The Conerstones, Girlband "Blush", and The Revenge.
Their second, and best known single was "Rebels Rule", from their 1974 album of the same name. It scored reasonable reviews and a variation called "Stand Up for Kenny Everett" was often played on the BBC by the DJ of the title. The song has been described as "A brilliantly bombastic ode to teenage anarchy; the single's commercial failure is one of the great mysteries of its era". [1] "Rebels Rule" was influential on the all-girl glam punk band The Runaways when they made their song "California Paradise" from their 1977 album Queens of Noise. [2]
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London, and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.
Kenny Everett was a British comedian and radio disc jockey known for his irreverent, offbeat comedic style and easy-going personality. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid 1960s, he was one of the first DJs to join BBC radio's newly-created Radio 1 in 1967. It was here he developed his trademark voices and surreal characters which he later adapted for TV.
Glam punk is a term used retrospectively to describe a short lived trend for bands which produced a form of proto-punk that incorporated elements of glam rock, initially in the early to mid-1970s. Acts included New York Dolls and Harlots of 42nd Street.
Iron Virgin's music has been re-released on compilation CDs such as the 2003 album Velvet Tinmine , part of the 'Junkshop' collection of discs released by RPM Records that focused on glam bands from the early 1970s whose output never, or barely, charted.
Velvet Tinmine is a compilation album consisting of 20 obscure, yet high quality, British pop rock tracks from the glam rock era. Composed of forgotten album tracks and almost hit singles, most of these songs have not been released outside of the UK prior to this 2003 compellation.
