‘What are you doing, Lady Gaga?’

The album Quatro was released in 1974.

The album Quatro was released in 1974.

Published Nov 20, 2012

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London - Suzi Quatro inspired a generation of women to break into the male-dominated world rock and roll.

But the singer and guitarist has a message for the women pop stars of today: You’re letting the side down.

Now 62, she says modern female artists dress themselves like “sex objects” and produce music videos that are “borderline pornography”.

Of course, many will recall that Quatro was famed for her skin-tight leathers and jumpsuits.

But she insisted her clothes were not as sexualised as those worn today. She said: “I may have been sexy, but I was covered up total. There was something left to the imagination.”

The bass guitarist, whose hits include Can The Can and Devil Gate Drive, singled out Lady Gaga for particular criticism.

She said: “It’s not that the women in today’s pop and rock world are being treated like sex objects; it’s that they are choosing to do it to themselves, which is strange to me.

“Now they seem to be nearly nude, and I think that the videos are borderline pornography. I can’t even pick one out; they’re all like soft porn now.

“I don’t understand it. I don’t get it. I don’t agree with it, otherwise I would have done it. It’s a shame. It’s horrible and I don’t like it.”

She added: “I haven’t talked to any young artists for a long time. But if we did sit down I’d definitely tell them my viewpoint.

“If it was Lady Gaga, I’d say ‘You’re very talented and you’ve obviously got the goods…what the hell are you doing with your image? How can anybody take you serious?’”

Quatro, who is currently playing concerts across Europe, added: “I refused to wear makeup on TV. I wanted my music to be heard.”

Her comments were backed by fellow 1970s star Kiki Dee, 65, who said she found performances by today’s female artists “dull”.

The singer – who appeared naked on the cover of her 1995 album Almost Naked – said: “I don’t think it’s sexy. I find it obvious – dull and not sexy. It’s like soft porn.

“I watch the music channels occasionally to see what’s going on, and those kind of performances leave me cold. That whole gyrating sexual bit I find dull.” She added: “Lady Gaga has a certain charm and kind of gets away with it, but it remains to be seen whether she’ll end up like Madonna and always be like that.”

In her autobiography Unzipped, recalling her rise to fame in England, Quatro said: “Girl singers at the time were sweet and feminine, like Lynsey de Paul and Olivia Newton John, but I wore a black leather jacket, played bass guitar and belted out rock and roll with the boys.”

She added: “My first appearance on Top Of The Pops was like a shot of pure adrenalin. I stared into the camera, screaming, hair flying, a lone girl in leather with three heavy-looking “hooligans” backing me. It was a huge shock for the audience.

“No one had seen a female performer like this before.

“The record began to race up the charts and suddenly, in June 1973, at the age of 23, I found myself at Number One. Can The Can went on to sell two and a half million records around the world.” - Daily Mail

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