The Oxfam Glamour Models

The Oxfam Glamour Models

The Oxfam Glamour Models are a rock and roll group from Teesside. Their music is described in relation to British indie punk, with clear influences from Suede’s debut album and The Fall’s back catalogue. The group is associated with a loud, confrontational live style and a direct, abrasive sound.

Style and live performance

The group plays short, high-energy sets, usually around half an hour, and their performances are marked by chaotic stage behaviour. They climb on the bar, throw instruments at each other and into the audience, and deliver what is presented as a rough-edged indie punk sound. Their image is set against a local backdrop of laddism, heroin use and casual racism in Teesside, which forms part of the context for their attitude and lyrics.

Debut single

The Oxfam Glamour Models release a debut single through Marquis cha cha Kick out the grams. The song is described as an attack on teenage cocaine culture and weekend behaviour associated with that scene.

Identity and references

The group is presented as explicitly not fitting certain stereotypes linked to other British indie acts: they do not come from Sheffield, do not smoke crack, do not wear “silly hats”, do not love New York, do not listen to Duran Duran, and do not make disco music for Topshop changing rooms. Their references instead point to British post-punk and indie rock, and their own description frames them as loud, sarcastic and anti-glamour.