Stuff Your Dad Likes: British Rock
| Jacob Zinn can’t give you fatherly advice, but he can sneak you into R-rated movies. |
Ever since the British Invasion of the mid-‘60s, rock ‘n’ roll has not been the same. It’s been better.
From Soho down to Brighton, acts like The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Cream crossed the pond to North American airwaves. Beatlemania rolled in like a tsunami of electric guitars, mop tops and reckless, six o’clock newsworthy misbehaviour.
And your dad loved it. Imagine being in high school when “Stairway to Heaven” or “Another Brick in the Wall” was first released. (If you can’t imagine that, ask your dad—he was a teenager once too, you know.)
Maybe your dad was born a bit later and grew up when punk pioneers like The Clash and Sex Pistols were rampaging on London streets. Or maybe he preferred the founding fathers of heavy metal, like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Motörhead. He might’ve even worn a Union Jack shirt with the sleeves cut off, just like Def Leppard.
Whatever the case, Vancouver has several big-name U.K. musicians coming through, and this may be you and your dad’s last chance to see them.
On Oct. 27, Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who, does a solo performance of the band’s 1969 rock opera,
Tommy. The estimated 90-minute set will cover all four sides of the double album, including such classics as “The Acid Queen”, “I’m Free” and “Pinball Wizard”.
On the off-chance that he sings “My Generation”, just remember, he’s talking about baby boomers and flower children.
That same night, renowned instrumental guitarist Jeff Beck plays a sold out Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts, sure to feature “Scatterbrain” and some famous covers of other rock peers and idols.
If your dad grew up in the ‘80s, he might appreciate a little law breaking, after-midnight living heavy metal from Birmingham’s Judas Priest. They perform with Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society on Oct. 30 at Rogers Arena on Priest’s farewell Epitaph World Tour.
British rock ‘n’ roll is arguably the largest influence on American classic rock bands. Your dad surely has a Beatles record in the house somewhere, so ask him how to use the record player and give it a listen.
Top 5 Cock Rock Frontmen
It was the early ’70s. The hippie counter-culture was on its way out and all that was left to do was popularize cock rock for the next several decades.
The name of the genre refers to the bulge in the tight pants of rockstars–a bulge responsible for the bedding of plethoras of groupies. A prominent resurgence three decades ago saw peace, love and music make way for sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll; women walked this way for Steven Tyler and teachers were hot for David Lee Roth.
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While cock rock climaxed in the ’80s, this list looks at the forefathers of the genre, the ground-breaking lyricists who made in-your-face, pelvis-thrusting crotch shots not only mainstream, but the norm.
5. Paul Stanley of KISS
Stanley can be credited with bringing cock rock moves to the oversexed genres of glam rock and hair metal. KISS had always worn tight leather pants, but as the frontman, Stanley was the only member to use it to his advantage. Gene Simmons might’ve had the tongue, but Stanley had the balls… to flash his cod-pieced Love Gun to the crowd.
4. Roger Daltry of The Who
There perhaps is no better a display of cock rock than The Who’s 4:00 a.m. performance from Woodstock ’69. Daltry shakes his wild locks during parts of “My Generation” and “Pinball Wizard”, with low angles complementing his protrusion. Whether it’s real or not, groupies of the time might or might not say they won’t get fooled again.
3. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones
Arguably the first to introduce the moves, Jagger is a prominent sex symbol of the time, known for shuffling his hips during songs like “Honky Tonk Woman”. With allegedly countless love-children, Jagger proved that these moves work, creating a legion of followers who want the same pants as those on the cover of Sticky Fingers.
2. Jim Morrison of The Doors
The Doors’ music may not have been as sexual as their peers, but Morrison’s onstage performances left little to the imagination of fire-lighting gypsies. While Morrison wasn’t as controversial as Oliver Stone made him out to be in the 1991 biopic, The Doors, he was certainly one of the earliest rockers to use the moves, which surely got him more than a few L.A. women.
1. Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin
Anyone who’s seen the 1976 concert film The Song Remains the Same has witnessed one of the originators in all his long-haired, bare-chested, blue-denim bell-bottom jeaned glory. Plant made every woman in Madison Square Garden sweat and groove with the sway of his hips, putting them in a hypnotic trance. His two-sizes-too-small britches that emphasized his trouser snake made him an icon for cock rock, one that both men and women looked up to (figuratively and literally).
Honourable Mentions
- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith
- David Lee Roth of Van Halen
- Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe
- Bret Michaels of Poison
- Sebastian Bach of Skid Row
Jacob Zinn :: journalist + photographer 
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