1970s: glam rock, punk rock and post-punk

Into the 1970s and musicians produced very strong foundations for gothic rock, which would begin to come to life at the end of the decade. Glam rock became popular during the early part of the '70s; Marc Bolan and T.Rex (whose songs were later played at The Batcave and covered by Bauhaus) were at the forefront of the movement.
David Bowie's 1974 effort - "Diamond Dogs".
David Bowie's 1974 effort - "Diamond Dogs".

Perhaps the most influential of all was David Bowie, both musically and visually. With his character "Ziggy Stardust", Bowie brought in an androgynous look which would later be adopted by many bands. His music around this period was particularly melodramatic and had some dark themes. Bowie described his 1974 album "Diamond Dogs" as "gothic" [citation needed], and the album "Low" has many similarities to the genre. He also produced some albums which would have an effect on the genre such as Lou Reed's Transformer and Iggy Pop's The Idiot and Lust for Life.

In the mid to late 1970s, the genre which gothic rock was directly descended from began to occur: the London punk rock movement, with the Sex Pistols as its most prominent exponent. This was where the first wave of gothic rock musicians who would become associated with the gothic rock genre began to emerge; Siouxsie and the Banshees members were part of the infamous Bromley Contingent and, in fact, the band featured Sid Vicious early on. The Damned also first came to light here, with their frontman Dave Vanian who is largely credited with bringing the gothic image to pop culture.

Members of The Lords of the New Church, fronted by Stiv Bators, played with notable punk rock groups during the 1970s including The Dead Boys, The Damned and Sham 69. Joy Division, themselves largely influenced by the punk rock movement, also appeared during the later part of the 1970s; their two albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer anticipated gothic rock of the 1980s (though Joy Division themselves were a post-punk band). The Psychedelic Furs, in a similar sense to Joy Division, were a post-punk act who significantly influenced and anticipated bands (especially The Sisters of Mercy) who were a part of this genre in the '80s.