MUSICAL MODES: Some Curious and Illuminating Facts about Musicians and Fashion

By Gifford Twang


Clothes were invented by David Bowie, who first wore them on Top Of The Pops in 1971 – much to the outrage of parents across the land, who rightly assumed him to be some kind of homosexual drug addict.



"Kimono My House" was the title of the Sparks 1973 classic album, but not many people know that 5 years earlier it had been the name of their property exterior decoration company. During the summer of 1968 alone, the Maels dressed the exterior of over 200 houses in traditional Japanese clothing. However fashions change, and during the next season Ron and Russell's new foray into couture exterior property design, the very much less successful "Corduroy Waistcoat My Potting Shed", ended up nearly bankrupting them - forcing them to turn to making music for a living.




Gary Glitter's trademark foil suits were acually stuffed full of polaroids of kiddies - the diminutive star would go to the back of the stage and sneak a quick look at them whenever he got a chance (during the guitar solo, for example), cackling gleefully to himself.




Peter Gabriel enjoyed the Sledgehammer video shoot so much that he spent the rest of the 1980s with his face covered in plasticene.




Madonna asserted in her 1985 hit Material Girl that "We are a living in a material world". We aren't. In fact if you add together all the material and fabric that exists in the world it would only cover 3.7% of the surface area of the earth. That 3.7% is made up of Gingham (0.090%), Denim (0.067%) and Brushed Nylon (0.046%) and Others (3.49%). Honestly "a material world" indeed, what a lying bitch.




Chris Rea likes to wear boxer shorts made from cranefly wings - it seems he enjoys the way they crackle when he walks.




Human League’s Phil Oakey famously wore one side of his hair long and the other short. By an amazing coincidence he was the only member of the band who was not a hermaphrodite.



Ronan Keating doesn't believe in using artificial fibres. What looks at first glance like a normal suit is actually woven from his own - still attached - hair. Apparently he has to get in a barber every now and then to stop the trousers and sleeves from getting too long and tripping him up.



Kiss's notorious stage outfits were all designed by by the lead singer in a pathetic attempt to impress Gillian Anderson off the X-files.





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