Alvin Stardust

With a 1950s-style haircut, tight black leather, a permanent scowl, and crouched in a stance midway between a fighting fit boxer and the ghost of Gene Vincent, Alvin Stardust was the most threatening-looking British pop star of the 1970s. Arriving at the height of the glam era, Stardust, like Gary Glitter, took old-fashioned rock & roll and hopped it up with buzzing guitars and synthesizers. Stardust also had a past: Using his real name, Shane Fenton, he scored hits in the early '60s with "I'm a Moody Guy" and "Cindy's Birthday." After reinventing himself as Alvin Stardust, he landed a hit single in late 1973 with "My Coo Ca Choo," and charted with five more singles in two years. He made a second comeback in 1981, when "Pretend" made the Top Ten in the U.K.