Marc Bolan
Encyclopedia
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex
, but also a successful solo artist. His music, as well as his highly original sense of style and extraordinary stage presence, helped create the glam rock
era which made him one of the most recognisable stars in British rock music.
Bolan grew up in post-war Hackney
, northeast London, the son of Phyllis Winifred (née Atkins) and Simeon Feld, a lorry driver. His father was of Polish
-Russian
Jewish descent. Later moving to Wimbledon
, southwest London, he fell in love with the rock and roll of Gene Vincent
, Eddie Cochran
, Arthur Crudup
and Chuck Berry
and became a mod, hanging around coffee bars such as the 2 I's in Soho
. He appeared as an extra in an episode of the television show Orlando
, dressed as a mod. At the age of nine, Bolan was given his first guitar and began a skiffle
band. While at school, he played guitar in "Susie and the Hoops," a trio whose vocalist was a 12-year old Helen Shapiro
. At 15, he left school "by mutual consent".
He briefly joined a modelling agency and became a "John Temple Boy", appearing in a clothing catalogue for the menswear store. He was a model for the suits in their catalogues as well as for cardboard cut-outs to be displayed in shop windows. "TOWN" magazine featured him as an early example of the mod movement in a photo spread with two other models. Mark Feld had changed his stage-name to Toby Tyler when he met and moved in with child actor Allan Warren
, who was to become his first manager. This fortuitous encounter afforded Bolan a lifeline to the heart of show-business, as Warren saw Toby Tyler's potential whilst the latter spent hours sitting cross-legged on Warren's floor playing his acoustic guitar. A series of photographs was to be commissioned with photographer Michael McGrath, who later recalls that Bolan "left no impression" on him. Warren also hired a recording studio and had Bolan's first acetates
cut. One track was the Bob Dylan
song "Blowin' in the Wind
". A version of Betty Everett
's "You're No Good" was later submitted to EMI for a test screening but was turned down. Warren later sold Bolan's contract and recordings for £200 to his landlord, property mogul David Kirch, in lieu of three months' back rent. Kirch was too busy with his property empire to do anything for him. A year or so later, Bolan's mother pushed into Kirch's office and shouted at him that he had done nothing for her son. She demanded he tear up the contract and willingly he complied. The tapes produced during the Toby Tyler recording session vanished for over 25 years before resurfacing in 1991 and selling for nearly $8,000. Their eventual release on CD in 1993 made available the earliest of Marc's known recordings.
According to Danny Baker
speaking on QI
Series G, episode 15
on BBC television
, Bolan is a contraction of Bob Dylan
. After changing his name again to Marc Bolan (via Mark Bowland) while with Decca Records he released his first single "The Wizard". In early 1967, manager Simon Napier-Bell
added him to the pop art/mod band John's Children
, which achieved some success as a live band but sold few records. A John's Children single written by Marc Bolan called "Desdemona" was banned by the BBC for its line "lift up your skirt and fly." His tenure with the band was brief. Bolan claimed to have spent time with a wizard in Paris who gave him secret knowledge and could levitate. The time spent with him was often alluded to but remained "mythical"; in reality the wizard was probably U.S. actor Riggs O'Hara with whom Bolan made a trip to Paris in 1965. His song-writing took off and he began writing many of the neo-romantic
songs that would appear on his first albums with Tyrannosaurus Rex
.
created Tyrannosaurus Rex, a psychedelic
-folk rock acoustic duo, playing Bolan's songs, with Took playing assorted hand and kit percussion and occasional bass to Bolan's acoustic guitars and voice.
This version of Tyrannosaurus Rex released four albums and four singles, flirting with the charts, reaching as high as number fifteen and supported with airplay by Radio 1
DJ John Peel
. One of the highlights of this era was when the duo played at the first free Hyde Park concert in 1968. Although the free-spirited, drug-taking Took was fired from the group after their first American tour, they were a force to be reckoned within the hippy underground scene while they lasted. Their music was filled with Marc's otherworldly poetry, a book of which he published in 1969, 'The Warlock Of Love'. In keeping with his early rock and roll interests, Bolan began bringing amplified guitar lines into the duo's music, buying a vintage Gibson
Les Paul
guitar (later featured on the cover of the album T. Rex
in 1970). After replacing Took with Mickey Finn
, he let the electric influences come forward even further on A Beard of Stars, the final album to be credited to Tyrannosaurus Rex. It closed with the song "Elemental Child," featuring a long electric guitar break influenced by Jimi Hendrix
.
Bolan, by now married to his girlfriend June Child (a former secretary to the manager of another of his heroes, Syd Barrett
), shortened the group's name to T. Rex and wrote and recorded "Ride a White Swan", dominated by a rolling, hand clapping back-beat, Bolan's electric guitar and Finn's percussion.
oversaw the session for "Ride a White Swan", the single that changed Bolan's career. Recorded on 1 July 1970 and released later that year, it made slow progress in the UK Top 40
, until it finally peaked in early 1971 at number two.
Bolan took to wearing top hats and feather boas on stage as well as putting drops of glitter on each of his cheekbones. Stories are conflicting about his inspiration for this—some say it was introduced by his personal assistant
, Chelita Secunda, although Bolan told John Pidgeon in a 1974 interview on Radio 1
that he noticed the glitter on his wife's dressing table prior to a photo session and casually daubed some on his face there and then. Other performers—and their fans—soon took up variations on the idea.
The glam era also saw the rise of Bolan's friend David Bowie
, whom Bolan had come to know in the underground days (Bolan had played guitar on Bowie's 1970 single "Prettiest Star").
Bolan followed "Ride a White Swan" and T. Rex by expanding the group to a quartet with bassist Steve Currie
and drummer Bill Legend
, and cutting a five-minute single, "Hot Love", with a rollicking rhythm, string accents and an extended sing-along chorus inspired somewhat by "Hey Jude
". It was number one for six weeks and was quickly followed by "Get It On
", a grittier, more adult tune that spent four weeks in the top spot. The song was renamed "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" when released in the United States, to avoid confusion with another song of the same name by the American band Chase
. The song reached #10 in the United States in early 1972, the only top 40 single the band ever had in America.
In November 1971, the band's record label, Fly
, released the Electric Warrior
track "Jeepster
" without Bolan's permission. Outraged, Bolan took advantage of the timely lapsing of his Fly Records contract and left for EMI
, who gave him his own record label, the T. Rex Wax Co. Its bag and label featured an iconic head-and-shoulders image of Bolan. Despite the lack of Bolan's endorsement, "Jeepster" peaked at number two.
In 1972, Bolan achieved two more British number ones with "Telegram Sam
" and "Metal Guru
" (the latter of which stopped Elton John
getting to the top with "Rocket Man") and two more number twos in "Children Of The Revolution" and "Solid Gold Easy Action". Bolan told Gloria Jones
the track "Metal Guru
" would be "the smoothest song in history".
The total of four number two singles (the top spot held by novelty singles recorded by Clive Dunn
, Benny Hill
and Little Jimmy Osmond
). In the same year he appeared in Ringo Starr
's film Born to Boogie
, a documentary showing a concert at Wembley Empire Pool on 18 March 1972. Mixed in were surreal scenes shot at John Lennon
's mansion in Ascot and a session with T. Rex joined by Ringo Starr on second drum kit and Elton John on piano. At this time T. Rex record sales accounted for about 6 percent of total British domestic record sales. The band was reportedly selling 100,000 records a day; however, no T. Rex single ever became a million-seller in the UK, despite many gold discs and an average of four weeks at the top per number one hit; documentation of actual sales has been lost.
In 1973, Bolan played twin lead guitar alongside his friend Jeff Lynne
on the Electric Light Orchestra
songs "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
" and "Dreaming of 4000" (originally uncredited) from On the Third Day
, as well as on "Everyone's Born To Die", which was not released at the time but appears as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster.
Bolan played guitar in Ringo Starr's Ringo album on the track "Have you seen my baby (hold on)".
By late 1973, his pop star fame gradually began to wane, even though he achieved a number three hit, "20th Century Boy
", in February and mid-year "The Groover" followed it to number four. "Truck On (Tyke)" missed the UK Top 10 reaching only number twelve in December. However, "Teenage Dream
" from the 1974 album Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders of Tomorrow showed that Bolan was attempting to create richer, more involved music than he had previously attempted with T. Rex. He expanded the line up of the band to include a second guitarist, Jack Green, and other studio musicians, and began to take more control over the sound and production of his records.
In 1974, Bolan played guitar for Ike & Tina Turner
. He appeared on "Nutbush City Limits", "Sexy Ida (Part II)", and "Baby Get It On". Tina Turner confirmed this in a BBC Radio 1 interview.
Eventually, the vintage T. Rex line-up disintegrated. Legend left in 1973 and Finn in 1975 and Bolan's marriage came to an end because of his affair with backing singer Gloria Jones. He spent a good deal of his time in the U.S. for much of the next three years, continuing to release singles and albums which, while less popular to the masses, were full of unusual lyrics and sometimes eccentric musical experiments. Although Bolan's health began to fail as he put on weight, the former glam rock icon cleaned up and continued working, producing at least one UK chart hit every year until his death in 1977.
in the U.S. and Monaco
and to the public eye with a low-key tour. Bolan made regular appearances on the LWT pop show Supersonic, directed by his old friend Mike Mansfield and released a succession of singles, but he never regained the success of his glory days of the early 1970s. The last remaining member of Bolan's halcyon era T. Rex, Currie, left the group in late 1976.
In early 1977, Bolan got a new band together, released a new album, Dandy in the Underworld, and set out on a fresh UK tour, taking along punk
band The Damned as support to entice a young audience who did not remember his heyday. Granada Television
commissioned Bolan to front a six-part series called Marc
, where he introduced new and established bands and performed his own songs. By this time Bolan had lost weight, appearing as trim as he had during T. Rex's earlier heyday. The show was broadcast during the post-school half-hour on ITV
earmarked for children and teenagers; it was a big success. One episode reunited Bolan with his former John's Children
-bandmate Andy Ellison
, then fronting the band Radio Stars. The last episode featured a unique Bolan "duet" with David Bowie
during which Bolan fell off the stage just as the singing was commencing. With no time for a retake, this occurrence was aired and Bowie's amusement was clearly visible.
Bolan died on 16 September 1977, two weeks before his 30th birthday. He was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275GT (registration FOX 661L) driven by Gloria Jones
as they headed home from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square. Jones lost control of the car and it struck a sycamore tree
after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge
near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London.
Bolan died instantly, while Jones suffered a broken arm and broken jaw and spent time in hospital; she did not learn of Bolan's death until the day of his funeral. Bolan's home, which was less than a mile away at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen
, was quickly looted. Fans quickly turned the site of the crash into a shrine and in 2007 the site was officially recognised as Bolan's Rock Shrine
.
At Bolan's funeral, attended by James Stroud
, David Bowie
, Paul Davis and Rod Stewart
, a swan-shaped floral tribute was displayed outside the service in recognition of his breakthrough hit single. His funeral service was at the Golders Green Crematorium
which is a secular provision in North London. Bolan himself stated that he was Jewish, the religion of his father. However, because his mother was not a Jew he would be considered a gentile under Orthodox Jewish law (Halakha
). His ashes were buried at Golders Green Crematorium
.
Bolan never learned to drive, fearing a premature death. Despite this fear, cars or automotive components are at least mentioned in, if not the subject of, many of his songs. He also owned a number of vehicles, including a famed white Rolls-Royce
, which had been lent by his management to Hawkwind
on the night of his death.
Fellow T. Rex member Steve Currie
also died in a car crash less than four years later.
Electric: Marc Bolan was mostly seen playing Gibson Les Paul
s. His main guitar, a Les Paul Standard (fitted with a Les Paul Custom replacement neck after the original neck was broken) was refinished in a translucent orange to resemble Gretsch
guitars played by his hero Eddie Cochran
. He was also seen playing a black Gibson Flying V
with tremolo and a late 1960s model Olympic White Fender Stratocaster
. One with both an eye and ear for the unusual, Bolan also played various models of visually striking guitars from smaller independent companies, among them a Veleno
aluminium guitar, and the Burns Flyte.
Acoustic: Bolan favoured the Epiphone
and Gibson
brands. Most notably the Gibson Hummingbird
and Gibson J-160E
models.
In 2011, Gibson Guitar Corporation
issued a specification-correct model of his main Gibson Les Paul
guitar as part of their Signature series.
Amplification
While Bolan was known to use makes as diverse as Vox
, Orange, HH Electronics
and Marshall
, he is perhaps most associated with the short-lived Vampower line of British amplifiers. Used through 1970–1973, the model MK1A Vampower 100 watt stack was present and utilised on the T. Rex
tours and recordings of that period.
Signal Processors
Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, Electro-Harmonix
Screaming Tree, MXR
Blue Box, Vox
wah.
" as the b-side to the single "The Staircase (Mystery)
".
In December 1980, "Telegram Sam" was the fourth single released by British gothic rock band Bauhaus
.
Also in 1980, The Bongos
were the first American group, with "Mambo Sun," to enter the Billboard charts with a T.Rex cover. Since then, Bongos frontman Richard Barone
has recorded several other Bolan compositions ("The Visit," "Ballrooms of Mars"), worked with T.Rex producer Tony Visconti
for his current solo album, Glow (2010, Bar/None Records
) that includes a remake of Bolan's "Girl" from Electric Warrior, and has himself produced tracks for Bolan's son Rolan.
In 1981, Department S
released a cover of "Solid Gold Easy Action
" as the b-side to the single "Is Vic There?".
In 1984, The Replacements released a cover of "20th Century Boy
" as a B-side to the single "I Will Dare
"; it is also included on the reissue version of their album Let It Be
. In 1993, Adam Ant
covered the track live on the Limed Edition live disc of his Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant
collection.
In 1985, Duran Duran
splinter band Power Station
, with Robert Palmer as vocalist, took a version of "Get It On" into the UK Top 40 and to US #6, the first cover of a Bolan song to enter the charts since his death. They also performed the tune (with Michael Des Barres
replacing Palmer) at the U.S. Live Aid
concert.
In 1986, the Violent Femmes
performed "Children of the Revolution" on their third album The Blind Leading the Naked
, for which they also recorded a music video.
In 1989, X
released a live cover of "20th Century Boy" as the b-side to the single "Kurenai
".
In 1990, Baby Ford
did a cover of "Children of the Revolution" that appeared on the album Oooh, The World of Baby Ford.
In 1993, Guns N' Roses
covered "Buick MacKane" on 'The Spaghetti Incident?" but it was mislabelled on the album as "Buick Makane".
In 1994, Billy Idol
wore a t-shirt reproducing The Slider album cover in his popular video supporting the song "Speed". That was a clear homage to Marc Bolan, who helped Generation X
to rise at the very beginning of their career.
Also in 1994, A House
covered "Children of the Revolution" as a B-side on their "Here Come the Good Times
" single alongside tracks originally by Bolan's erstwhile support band, The Damned, and by Donna Summer
!
In 1995 Darryl Read
released "Teenage Dream" as a single and Bill Legend
of T. Rex drums on this version - for the second time round. This single was reissued in 2009 along with a promotional video filmed at the Roundhouse London - featuring Read and Legend with T. Rex fans.
In 2003 Depeche Mode
's Martin Gore
recorded a cover of "Life Is Strange", and included it as a b-side of the single "Stardust"..
In 2006 Def Leppard
released their album Yeah which contains covers of their favourite bands while growing up, the first song on this album is "20th Century Boy". Joe Elliott wanted to sing "Metal Guru" while Vivian Campbell wanted "Telegram Sam" but end up agreeing to "20th Century Boy". It's not the first time that Def Leppard has sung a T.Rex song; there is a live version of Get It On.
"Children of the Revolution" was similarly performed by Elton John
and Pete Doherty
of The Libertines
at Live 8
, 20 years later. U2
's Bono
and Gavin Friday
also covered "Children of the Revolution" on the Moulin Rouge!
soundtrack.
In 2000, Naoki Urasawa
created a Japanese manga
entitled 20th Century Boys
that was inspired by Marc Bolan's song, "20th Century Boy
". The series is a multiple award-winner, and has also been released in North America. The story was adopted into three successful live-action movies from 2008 to 2009, which were also released in the US, Canada and the UK.
"20th Century Boy" introduced a new generation of devotees to Bolan's work in 1991 when it was featured on a Levi
's jeans TV commercial featuring Brad Pitt
, and was re-released, reaching the UK Top 20. The song was performed by the fictional band The Flaming Creatures (performed by Placebo
, reprised by Placebo and David Bowie at the 1999 BRIT Awards
) in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine
. In every decade since his death, a Bolan greatest hits compilation has placed in the top 20 UK albums and periodic boosts in sales have come via cover versions from artists inspired by Bolan, including Morrissey
and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Similarly, "I Love to Boogie" was briefly used on an advert for Robinson's soft drink in 2001, bringing Bolan's music to a new generation. Mitsubishi
also featured "20th Century Boy" in a 2002 car commercial, prompting Hip-O Records to release a best-of collection CD titled 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection.
His music is still widely used in films, recent notable cases being Breakfast on Pluto
, Death Proof
, Lords of Dogtown
, Billy Elliot
, Jarhead
, Moulin Rouge!
, Herbie: Fully Loaded
, Breaking-Up, Hot Fuzz
, Click, School of Rock
& Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
. Bolan is still cited by many guitar-centric bands as a huge influence (Joy Division
/New Order
's Bernard Sumner
has said that the first single he owned was "Ride a White Swan".) However, he always maintained he was a poet who put lyrics to music. The tunes were never as important as the words.
An altogether less welcome legacy for his friends and family is the ongoing row about his fortune. Bolan had arranged a discretionary trust
to safeguard his money. His death left the fortune beyond the reach of those closest to him and both his family and journalists have taken an active interest in investigating the situation, so far with little result other than bringing the story to wider attention. A small, separate Jersey
-based trust fund has allowed his son to receive some income. However, the bulk of Bolan's fortune, variously estimated at between £20 and £30 million pounds (approx $38 – $57 million), remains in trust. As of 2007, Bolan's family is supposed to have a house paid for by the trust, and Rolan is supposed to receive an allowance.
Bolan returned to the top of the UK charts in 2005 when the remastered, expanded Born to Boogie DVD hit No. 1 in the Music DVD charts.
Steve Kilbey
– a self-confessed Marc Bolan fan and singer for renowned Australian art-rock group The Church
– performed Bolan's "One Inch Rock" on the Steve Kilbey Live DVD, released in January 2008.
In 2006, it was revealed that English Heritage
had refused to commission a blue plaque
to commemorate Bolan, as they believed him to be of "insufficient stature or historical significance". There is, however, an existing plaque dedicated to Bolan at his childhood home, put there by Hackney Council.
There are also two plaques dedicated to his memory at Golders Green Crematorium
in North London
. The second one to be displayed was placed there by the official Marc Bolan fan club and fellow fans in September 2002, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his passing. The inscription on the stone, which also bears his image, reads '25 years on – his light of love still shines brightly'. Placed beneath the plaque there is an appropriate ceramic figure of a white swan.
In 2006, TV series Life on Mars
, William Matheson portrays Marc Bolan, circa 1973, in a bar in Manchester
. Time-travelling Sam Tyler
recognises him, has a fan boy moment, and warns him to be careful of riding in Minis. In the American version of the series
, the character is replaced by that of Jim Croce
, who died later that year in a plane crash, and Sam warns him. However, the T. Rex version of "Get It On" is played in the New York dance club in that scene.
One of Bolan's guitars, a Gibson Flying V
, recently turned up on Antiques Roadshow
in the hands of a private collector. The appraiser estimated the value of the guitar to be approximately £50,000–60,000.
A school is planned in his honour, to be built in Sierra Leone: The Marc Bolan School of Music and Film.
The Cameron Crowe-created movie "Almost Famous" features a scene where a Black Sabbath groupie is telling aspiring journalist William Miller (said to be created in Crowe's own image) about how, "Marc Bolan broke her heart, man. It's famous," regarding the character of Penny Lane, played by Kate Hudson.
My Chemical Romance's song 'Vampire Money' taken from their album 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys' released on 22 November 2010 features the lyric 'glimmer like Bolan in the morning sun', referencing Marc Bolan.
A musical, 20th Century Boy, based on Bolan's life, and featuring his music, premiered at the New Wolsey Theatre
in Ipswich
. in 2011.
John's Children:
Tyrannosaurus Rex:
Dib Cochran And The Earwigs:
T. Rex
:
Electric Light Orchestra
:
Big Carrot:
T. Rex:
Marc Bolan:
T. Rex:
Marc Bolan and Gloria Jones
:
T. Rex:
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
, but also a successful solo artist. His music, as well as his highly original sense of style and extraordinary stage presence, helped create the glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
era which made him one of the most recognisable stars in British rock music.
Early life and career
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, northeast London, the son of Phyllis Winifred (née Atkins) and Simeon Feld, a lorry driver. His father was of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
-Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
Jewish descent. Later moving to Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, southwest London, he fell in love with the rock and roll of Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
, Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
, Arthur Crudup
Arthur Crudup
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.-Career:Arthur Crudup...
and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and became a mod, hanging around coffee bars such as the 2 I's in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
. He appeared as an extra in an episode of the television show Orlando
Orlando (TV series)
Orlando is a British television thriller series for young adults which ran for four series between 1965 and 1968. Made by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network, it stars Sam Kydd as Orlando O'Connor, the character he had played in the adult television series Crane.-Cast:-External links:* at...
, dressed as a mod. At the age of nine, Bolan was given his first guitar and began a skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
band. While at school, he played guitar in "Susie and the Hoops," a trio whose vocalist was a 12-year old Helen Shapiro
Helen Shapiro
Helen Kate Shapiro is an English singer and actress. She is best known for her 1960s UK chart toppers, "You Don't Know" and "Walkin' Back to Happiness".-Early life:...
. At 15, he left school "by mutual consent".
He briefly joined a modelling agency and became a "John Temple Boy", appearing in a clothing catalogue for the menswear store. He was a model for the suits in their catalogues as well as for cardboard cut-outs to be displayed in shop windows. "TOWN" magazine featured him as an early example of the mod movement in a photo spread with two other models. Mark Feld had changed his stage-name to Toby Tyler when he met and moved in with child actor Allan Warren
Allan Warren
Michael Allan Warren is an English society-photographer, writer and former actor. His work encompasses works of many celebrities during the late 1960s, 70s and into the 80s, such as members of the British Royal Family, influential politicians and artists in both music and literature as well as...
, who was to become his first manager. This fortuitous encounter afforded Bolan a lifeline to the heart of show-business, as Warren saw Toby Tyler's potential whilst the latter spent hours sitting cross-legged on Warren's floor playing his acoustic guitar. A series of photographs was to be commissioned with photographer Michael McGrath, who later recalls that Bolan "left no impression" on him. Warren also hired a recording studio and had Bolan's first acetates
Acetate disc
An acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
cut. One track was the Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
song "Blowin' in the Wind
Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
". A version of Betty Everett
Betty Everett
Betty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...
's "You're No Good" was later submitted to EMI for a test screening but was turned down. Warren later sold Bolan's contract and recordings for £200 to his landlord, property mogul David Kirch, in lieu of three months' back rent. Kirch was too busy with his property empire to do anything for him. A year or so later, Bolan's mother pushed into Kirch's office and shouted at him that he had done nothing for her son. She demanded he tear up the contract and willingly he complied. The tapes produced during the Toby Tyler recording session vanished for over 25 years before resurfacing in 1991 and selling for nearly $8,000. Their eventual release on CD in 1993 made available the earliest of Marc's known recordings.
According to Danny Baker
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
speaking on QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
Series G, episode 15
QI (G series)
This is a list of episodes of QI, the BBC comedy panel game television programme hosted by Stephen Fry. Series G was the first in the show's history to be aired in its entirety on BBC One, beginning its run on 26 November 2009.- Episodes :...
on BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
, Bolan is a contraction of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. After changing his name again to Marc Bolan (via Mark Bowland) while with Decca Records he released his first single "The Wizard". In early 1967, manager Simon Napier-Bell
Simon Napier-Bell
Simon Napier-Bell has undertaken many jobs in the music industry, including bandboy, manager, producer, songwriter, journalist and author and gourmet...
added him to the pop art/mod band John's Children
John's Children
John's Children were a 1960s pop art/mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with The Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners...
, which achieved some success as a live band but sold few records. A John's Children single written by Marc Bolan called "Desdemona" was banned by the BBC for its line "lift up your skirt and fly." His tenure with the band was brief. Bolan claimed to have spent time with a wizard in Paris who gave him secret knowledge and could levitate. The time spent with him was often alluded to but remained "mythical"; in reality the wizard was probably U.S. actor Riggs O'Hara with whom Bolan made a trip to Paris in 1965. His song-writing took off and he began writing many of the neo-romantic
Neo-romanticism
The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. It has been used with reference to very late 19th century and early 20th century composers such as Gustav Mahler particularly by Carl Dahlhaus who uses it as synonymous with late Romanticism...
songs that would appear on his first albums with Tyrannosaurus Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
When John's Children collapsed (amongst other problems, the band were stunned to discover their equipment had been stolen from a studio, according to a Bolan biographer), Bolan and Steve Peregrin TookSteve Peregrin Took
Steve Peregrin Took was an English musician. He is best known for his membership of the duo Tyrannosaurus Rex with Marc Bolan...
created Tyrannosaurus Rex, a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
-folk rock acoustic duo, playing Bolan's songs, with Took playing assorted hand and kit percussion and occasional bass to Bolan's acoustic guitars and voice.
This version of Tyrannosaurus Rex released four albums and four singles, flirting with the charts, reaching as high as number fifteen and supported with airplay by Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. One of the highlights of this era was when the duo played at the first free Hyde Park concert in 1968. Although the free-spirited, drug-taking Took was fired from the group after their first American tour, they were a force to be reckoned within the hippy underground scene while they lasted. Their music was filled with Marc's otherworldly poetry, a book of which he published in 1969, 'The Warlock Of Love'. In keeping with his early rock and roll interests, Bolan began bringing amplified guitar lines into the duo's music, buying a vintage Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
guitar (later featured on the cover of the album T. Rex
T. Rex (album)
T. Rex is an album by British rock band T. Rex, released in 1970. It was the first record under their abbreviated band name, following four albums as 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'....
in 1970). After replacing Took with Mickey Finn
Mickey Finn (musician)
Mickey Finn or occasionally Micky Finn , was the percussionist and sideman to Marc Bolan in his band Tyrannosaurus Rex , and later, the 1970s glam rock group, T.Rex...
, he let the electric influences come forward even further on A Beard of Stars, the final album to be credited to Tyrannosaurus Rex. It closed with the song "Elemental Child," featuring a long electric guitar break influenced by Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
Bolan, by now married to his girlfriend June Child (a former secretary to the manager of another of his heroes, Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
), shortened the group's name to T. Rex and wrote and recorded "Ride a White Swan", dominated by a rolling, hand clapping back-beat, Bolan's electric guitar and Finn's percussion.
T. Rex and glam rock
Bolan and his producer Tony ViscontiTony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
oversaw the session for "Ride a White Swan", the single that changed Bolan's career. Recorded on 1 July 1970 and released later that year, it made slow progress in the UK Top 40
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, until it finally peaked in early 1971 at number two.
Bolan took to wearing top hats and feather boas on stage as well as putting drops of glitter on each of his cheekbones. Stories are conflicting about his inspiration for this—some say it was introduced by his personal assistant
Personal assistant
A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
, Chelita Secunda, although Bolan told John Pidgeon in a 1974 interview on Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
that he noticed the glitter on his wife's dressing table prior to a photo session and casually daubed some on his face there and then. Other performers—and their fans—soon took up variations on the idea.
The glam era also saw the rise of Bolan's friend David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, whom Bolan had come to know in the underground days (Bolan had played guitar on Bowie's 1970 single "Prettiest Star").
Bolan followed "Ride a White Swan" and T. Rex by expanding the group to a quartet with bassist Steve Currie
Steve Currie
Steve Currie was born in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. He was best known as the bass player and long term member of the English glam rock band T.Rex....
and drummer Bill Legend
Bill Legend
Bill Legend was the drummer for glam rock band T.Rex during their most successful period....
, and cutting a five-minute single, "Hot Love", with a rollicking rhythm, string accents and an extended sing-along chorus inspired somewhat by "Hey Jude
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...
". It was number one for six weeks and was quickly followed by "Get It On
Get It On (T. Rex song)
"Get It On" was covered by the Power Station in 1985. Their version – titled "Get It On " – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a hit in both the UK, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and the U.S., where the song peaked at number nine on the...
", a grittier, more adult tune that spent four weeks in the top spot. The song was renamed "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" when released in the United States, to avoid confusion with another song of the same name by the American band Chase
Chase (band)
The band Chase was created in 1970 by Bill Chase, Ted Piercefield, Alan Ware, and Jerry Van Blair, all veteran jazz trumpeters who were also adept at vocals and arranging. They were backed up by a rhythm section consisting of Phil Porter on keyboards, Angel South on guitar, Dennis Johnson on bass,...
. The song reached #10 in the United States in early 1972, the only top 40 single the band ever had in America.
In November 1971, the band's record label, Fly
Fly Records
Fly Records is a British independent record label, established in 1970 by the independent music publisher David Platz, and initially managed by Malcolm Jones from the offices of Essex Music in London.-History:...
, released the Electric Warrior
Electric Warrior
Electric Warrior is the sixth album by British rock group T. Rex, and is widely considered to be one of the quintessential glam rock releases. Electric Warrior reached number thirty-two in the US; it went to number one for several weeks in the UK, becoming the biggest album of 1971...
track "Jeepster
Jeepster (song)
"Jeepster" was a 1971 single by the British glam rock band T. Rex, both taken from the group's second album, Electric Warrior....
" without Bolan's permission. Outraged, Bolan took advantage of the timely lapsing of his Fly Records contract and left for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, who gave him his own record label, the T. Rex Wax Co. Its bag and label featured an iconic head-and-shoulders image of Bolan. Despite the lack of Bolan's endorsement, "Jeepster" peaked at number two.
In 1972, Bolan achieved two more British number ones with "Telegram Sam
Telegram Sam
Telegram Sam was the third UK number one single for the British rock group T. Rex. The song also appeared on their 1972 album The Slider.Perhaps best known for bringing the term "main man" into popular culture, it was number one for two weeks, before being knocked off the top by "Son of My Father"...
" and "Metal Guru
Metal Guru
"Metal Guru" is a song by the British rock band T.Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was the band's fourth number one on the UK Singles Chart when it topped the chart for four weeks in May-June 1972. It was also included on the album The Slider in 1972.Despite coming only ten months after the success...
" (the latter of which stopped Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
getting to the top with "Rocket Man") and two more number twos in "Children Of The Revolution" and "Solid Gold Easy Action". Bolan told Gloria Jones
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...
the track "Metal Guru
Metal Guru
"Metal Guru" is a song by the British rock band T.Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was the band's fourth number one on the UK Singles Chart when it topped the chart for four weeks in May-June 1972. It was also included on the album The Slider in 1972.Despite coming only ten months after the success...
" would be "the smoothest song in history".
The total of four number two singles (the top spot held by novelty singles recorded by Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...
, Benny Hill
Benny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
and Little Jimmy Osmond
Jimmy Osmond
James Arthur "Jimmy" Osmond is an American singer, actor, and businessman.-Biography:Jimmy Osmond is the youngest of his siblings and an occasional member of their musical group, The Osmonds. He is the ninth and last child of George and Olive Osmond, and his siblings are Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne,...
). In the same year he appeared in Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's film Born to Boogie
Born to Boogie
Born to Boogie is a 1972 concert film based around a concert at Wembley Empire Pool starring Marc Bolan and T. Rex. Directed by Ringo Starr, the movie was released on The Beatles' Apple Films label...
, a documentary showing a concert at Wembley Empire Pool on 18 March 1972. Mixed in were surreal scenes shot at John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's mansion in Ascot and a session with T. Rex joined by Ringo Starr on second drum kit and Elton John on piano. At this time T. Rex record sales accounted for about 6 percent of total British domestic record sales. The band was reportedly selling 100,000 records a day; however, no T. Rex single ever became a million-seller in the UK, despite many gold discs and an average of four weeks at the top per number one hit; documentation of actual sales has been lost.
In 1973, Bolan played twin lead guitar alongside his friend Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
on the Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
songs "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is a song recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra.It was taken from the 1973 album On the Third Day. In the UK, the single version had a slightly different mix from the album original featuring a descending string crescendo and was edited in length.Marc Bolan plays twin lead...
" and "Dreaming of 4000" (originally uncredited) from On the Third Day
On the Third Day
On the Third Day is the third studio LP by Electric Light Orchestra and the first to be recorded without any input from Roy Wood.-Overview:...
, as well as on "Everyone's Born To Die", which was not released at the time but appears as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster.
Bolan played guitar in Ringo Starr's Ringo album on the track "Have you seen my baby (hold on)".
By late 1973, his pop star fame gradually began to wane, even though he achieved a number three hit, "20th Century Boy
20th Century Boy
"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
", in February and mid-year "The Groover" followed it to number four. "Truck On (Tyke)" missed the UK Top 10 reaching only number twelve in December. However, "Teenage Dream
Teenage Dream (Marc Bolan song)
"Teenage Dream" is a 1974 single by Marc Bolan and T. Rex, taken from the album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow.-Background and recording:...
" from the 1974 album Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders of Tomorrow showed that Bolan was attempting to create richer, more involved music than he had previously attempted with T. Rex. He expanded the line up of the band to include a second guitarist, Jack Green, and other studio musicians, and began to take more control over the sound and production of his records.
In 1974, Bolan played guitar for Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
. He appeared on "Nutbush City Limits", "Sexy Ida (Part II)", and "Baby Get It On". Tina Turner confirmed this in a BBC Radio 1 interview.
Eventually, the vintage T. Rex line-up disintegrated. Legend left in 1973 and Finn in 1975 and Bolan's marriage came to an end because of his affair with backing singer Gloria Jones. He spent a good deal of his time in the U.S. for much of the next three years, continuing to release singles and albums which, while less popular to the masses, were full of unusual lyrics and sometimes eccentric musical experiments. Although Bolan's health began to fail as he put on weight, the former glam rock icon cleaned up and continued working, producing at least one UK chart hit every year until his death in 1977.
Resurgence
Gloria Jones gave birth to Bolan's son in September 1975, whom they named Rolan Bolan (although his birth certificate lists him as 'Rolan Seymour Feld'; compare David Bowie's son Zowie Bowie). That same year, Bolan returned to the UK from tax exileTax exile
A tax exile is one who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead to reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance.-Legal status:...
in the U.S. and Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
and to the public eye with a low-key tour. Bolan made regular appearances on the LWT pop show Supersonic, directed by his old friend Mike Mansfield and released a succession of singles, but he never regained the success of his glory days of the early 1970s. The last remaining member of Bolan's halcyon era T. Rex, Currie, left the group in late 1976.
In early 1977, Bolan got a new band together, released a new album, Dandy in the Underworld, and set out on a fresh UK tour, taking along punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Damned as support to entice a young audience who did not remember his heyday. Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
commissioned Bolan to front a six-part series called Marc
Marc (TV series)
Marc is a British television series presented by T. Rex lead singer Marc Bolan. It was produced in Manchester by Granada Television for the ITV network....
, where he introduced new and established bands and performed his own songs. By this time Bolan had lost weight, appearing as trim as he had during T. Rex's earlier heyday. The show was broadcast during the post-school half-hour on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
earmarked for children and teenagers; it was a big success. One episode reunited Bolan with his former John's Children
John's Children
John's Children were a 1960s pop art/mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with The Who in Germany in 1967 when they upstaged the headliners...
-bandmate Andy Ellison
Andy Ellison
Andrew "Andy" Ellison is a musician and vocalist best known as the frontman in John's Children, Jet and Radio Stars....
, then fronting the band Radio Stars. The last episode featured a unique Bolan "duet" with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
during which Bolan fell off the stage just as the singing was commencing. With no time for a retake, this occurrence was aired and Bowie's amusement was clearly visible.
Death
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...
as they headed home from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square. Jones lost control of the car and it struck a sycamore tree
Sycamore Maple
Acer pseudoplatanus, the sycamore maple, is a species of maple native to central Europe and southwestern Asia, from France east to Ukraine, and south in mountains to northern Spain, northern Turkey, and the Caucasus. It is not related to other trees called sycamore or plane tree in the Platanus...
after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge
Humpback bridge
A humpback bridge is a name for a type of bridge, specifically an arch bridge, where the span is higher than the ramps on either side, forming a hump-like arrangement. Examples include Chinese and Japanese moon bridges and the Humpback Covered Bridge in the United States....
near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London.
Bolan died instantly, while Jones suffered a broken arm and broken jaw and spent time in hospital; she did not learn of Bolan's death until the day of his funeral. Bolan's home, which was less than a mile away at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen
East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as 'Sheen', is an affluent suburb of London, England in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It forms part of the London post town in the SW postcode area....
, was quickly looted. Fans quickly turned the site of the crash into a shrine and in 2007 the site was officially recognised as Bolan's Rock Shrine
Bolan's Rock Shrine
Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine is the memorial to Marc Bolan where he died when the car in which he was a passenger hit a sycamore tree on Queen's Ride in Barnes, London on September 16, 1977.-Origins:...
.
At Bolan's funeral, attended by James Stroud
James Stroud
James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in pop, rock, and country music. In the 1990s he was the president of Giant Records and held several credits as a session drummer...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Paul Davis and Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, a swan-shaped floral tribute was displayed outside the service in recognition of his breakthrough hit single. His funeral service was at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
which is a secular provision in North London. Bolan himself stated that he was Jewish, the religion of his father. However, because his mother was not a Jew he would be considered a gentile under Orthodox Jewish law (Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
). His ashes were buried at Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
.
Bolan never learned to drive, fearing a premature death. Despite this fear, cars or automotive components are at least mentioned in, if not the subject of, many of his songs. He also owned a number of vehicles, including a famed white Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
, which had been lent by his management to Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
on the night of his death.
Fellow T. Rex member Steve Currie
Steve Currie
Steve Currie was born in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. He was best known as the bass player and long term member of the English glam rock band T.Rex....
also died in a car crash less than four years later.
Equipment
GuitarsElectric: Marc Bolan was mostly seen playing Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
s. His main guitar, a Les Paul Standard (fitted with a Les Paul Custom replacement neck after the original neck was broken) was refinished in a translucent orange to resemble Gretsch
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
guitars played by his hero Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
. He was also seen playing a black Gibson Flying V
Gibson Flying V
-External links:*, , , , and , from the Gibson website*, a June 2001 article from Guitar Collector magazine*, a tribute site that lists all models and re-issues and most notable players**...
with tremolo and a late 1960s model Olympic White Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
. One with both an eye and ear for the unusual, Bolan also played various models of visually striking guitars from smaller independent companies, among them a Veleno
Veleno (guitar)
The Veleno guitar is a highly-regarded series of aluminum guitars built by metal craftsman John Veleno. The first guitars were built in 1972. Veleno guitars are known for their unique sound quality. Public Image Ltd...
aluminium guitar, and the Burns Flyte.
Acoustic: Bolan favoured the Epiphone
Epiphone
The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market...
and Gibson
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:* Gibson Amphitheatre* Gibson Appliance* Gibson Girl* Gibson Guitar Corporation* Gibson * Gibson Generating Station-Places:In the United States:* Gibson, Arkansas* Gibson, Georgia* Gibson, Iowa* Gibson, Louisiana...
brands. Most notably the Gibson Hummingbird
Gibson Hummingbird
The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model/series produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.Unlike the other flat-top Gibson acoustics, the Hummingbird was Gibson's first square-shoulder dreadnought, similar to the dreadnoughts produced by C.F. Martin & Company...
and Gibson J-160E
Gibson J-160E
The Gibson J-160E is one of the first acoustic-electric guitar models produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.A major problem with playing an acoustic guitar in live settings is that it is often quite difficult to hear...
models.
In 2011, Gibson Guitar Corporation
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
issued a specification-correct model of his main Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
guitar as part of their Signature series.
Amplification
While Bolan was known to use makes as diverse as Vox
Vox (musical equipment)
Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer which is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, the Vox Continental electric organ, and a series of innovative but commercially unsuccessful electric guitars and bass guitars...
, Orange, HH Electronics
HH Electronics
HH Electronics is a British amplifier manufacturer that was founded in 1968 by Mike Harrison, Malcolm Green and Graham Lowes in Harston near Cambridge, England, where its first solid state TPA Amplifier and other sound equipment were designed and produced...
and Marshall
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
, he is perhaps most associated with the short-lived Vampower line of British amplifiers. Used through 1970–1973, the model MK1A Vampower 100 watt stack was present and utilised on the T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
tours and recordings of that period.
Signal Processors
Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix is a New York-based company that makes high-end electronic audio processors. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. They are most famous for a series of popular guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s....
Screaming Tree, MXR
MXR
MXR, also known as MXR Innovations, was a manufacturer of guitar effects units, co-founded in 1973 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood . MXR was based in the United States in Rochester, New York. MXR Innovations, Inc. was incorporated in 1974...
Blue Box, Vox
Vox (musical equipment)
Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer which is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, the Vox Continental electric organ, and a series of innovative but commercially unsuccessful electric guitars and bass guitars...
wah.
Legacy
In 1979, Siouxsie and the Banshees released a cover of "20th Century Boy20th Century Boy
"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
" as the b-side to the single "The Staircase (Mystery)
The Staircase (Mystery)
"The Staircase " is the second single released by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Issued in the UK by Polydor Records in 1979, the track was written by Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin, John McKay and Kenny Morris and produced by Nils Stevenson. The B-side of the single...
".
In December 1980, "Telegram Sam" was the fourth single released by British gothic rock band Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
.
Also in 1980, The Bongos
The Bongos
The Bongos were a rock band from Hoboken, New Jersey, primarily active in the 1980s. With a unique blend of British Invasion-flavored power pop, jangly guitars, and dance beats they made the leap to national recognition with the advent of MTV.-Biography:...
were the first American group, with "Mambo Sun," to enter the Billboard charts with a T.Rex cover. Since then, Bongos frontman Richard Barone
Richard Barone
Richard Barone is a rock musician born in Tampa, Florida who gained attention as frontman for The Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created major concert events at Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl and New York's...
has recorded several other Bolan compositions ("The Visit," "Ballrooms of Mars"), worked with T.Rex producer Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
for his current solo album, Glow (2010, Bar/None Records
Bar/None Records
Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey.-Early history:Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his native Ireland, Prendergast moved to Hoboken in 1982 and started Pier Platters...
) that includes a remake of Bolan's "Girl" from Electric Warrior, and has himself produced tracks for Bolan's son Rolan.
In 1981, Department S
Department S (band)
Department S were a British new wave band formed in 1980, who took their stage name from the 1960s TV series Department S. They are best known for their debut single, "Is Vic There?", which was originally released in December 1980.-1980s:...
released a cover of "Solid Gold Easy Action
Solid Gold Easy Action
-External links:* at LyricWiki...
" as the b-side to the single "Is Vic There?".
In 1984, The Replacements released a cover of "20th Century Boy
20th Century Boy
"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
" as a B-side to the single "I Will Dare
I Will Dare
"I Will Dare" is a song by American alternative rock band The Replacements, written by Paul Westerberg. The song was released as a single on independent record label Twin/Tone Records in July 1984, shortly before the release of the band's album Let It Be that October, on which the song served as...
"; it is also included on the reissue version of their album Let It Be
Let It Be (Replacements album)
Let It Be is the third studio album from the American rock band The Replacements, released in October 1984 on Twin/Tone Records. By 1983's Hootenanny, the band had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively and decided to write songs that were, according to vocalist Paul Westerberg, "a little...
. In 1993, Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
covered the track live on the Limed Edition live disc of his Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant
Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant
Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant is a greatest hits compilation album. It includes songs from Adam and the Ants & Adam Ant's solo work. The first CD covers all top 100 UK hits from Adam Ant's career from 1980–1990, beginning with the earliest Dirk Wears White Sox singles ,...
collection.
In 1985, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
splinter band Power Station
Power Station (band)
Power Station was a 1980s supergroup made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor and Andy Taylor . Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved on the studio side as recording producer. For a short time he also functioned as Power...
, with Robert Palmer as vocalist, took a version of "Get It On" into the UK Top 40 and to US #6, the first cover of a Bolan song to enter the charts since his death. They also performed the tune (with Michael Des Barres
Michael Des Barres
Lord Michael Philip Des Barres is a British actor and rock singer. He is known for playing the recurring role of Murdoc on the television show MacGyver and for replacing the late Robert Palmer in the band Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert...
replacing Palmer) at the U.S. Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert.
In 1986, the Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
performed "Children of the Revolution" on their third album The Blind Leading the Naked
The Blind Leading the Naked
The Blind Leading the Naked is the third album by Violent Femmes. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and released in 1986. The title is a play on the title of the famous Bruegel painting "The Blind Leading the Blind".-Track listing:All songs written by Gordon Gano except as...
, for which they also recorded a music video.
In 1989, X
X Japan
is a Japanese heavy metal band founded in 1982 by Yoshiki and Toshi. Originally named X , the group achieved their breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood...
released a live cover of "20th Century Boy" as the b-side to the single "Kurenai
Kurenai
Kurenai is a Japanese word meaning crimson and is sometimes used as a name. It may refer to the following:*"Kurenai" , a song by the metal band X Japan.*Kurenai Yuhi, a fictional character from the anime and manga series Naruto....
".
In 1990, Baby Ford
Baby Ford
Peter Ford, better known as Baby Ford, is a British electronic music record producer, known particularly for his contributions to the birth of acid house...
did a cover of "Children of the Revolution" that appeared on the album Oooh, The World of Baby Ford.
In 1993, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
covered "Buick MacKane" on 'The Spaghetti Incident?" but it was mislabelled on the album as "Buick Makane".
In 1994, Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
wore a t-shirt reproducing The Slider album cover in his popular video supporting the song "Speed". That was a clear homage to Marc Bolan, who helped Generation X
Generation X (band)
Generation X was a British punk rock band, formed on 21 November 1976 by Billy Idol, Tony James and John Towe.-History:...
to rise at the very beginning of their career.
Also in 1994, A House
A House
A House was an Irish band from the 1980s to the 1990s, recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of [frontman] Dave Couse ... bolstered by the [band's] seemingly effortless musicality". The single "Endless Art" is one of their best known charting successes. A House were managed...
covered "Children of the Revolution" as a B-side on their "Here Come the Good Times
Here Come the Good Times
"Here Come the Good Times" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released as a single from their 1994 album Wide-Eyed and Ignorant. It is the only single by A House to reach the UK charts, reaching number 40....
" single alongside tracks originally by Bolan's erstwhile support band, The Damned, and by Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
!
In 1995 Darryl Read
Darryl Read
Darryl Read is a British poet, singer, guitarist, drummer, actor, and writer. Read is among the forerunners of punk rock...
released "Teenage Dream" as a single and Bill Legend
Bill Legend
Bill Legend was the drummer for glam rock band T.Rex during their most successful period....
of T. Rex drums on this version - for the second time round. This single was reissued in 2009 along with a promotional video filmed at the Roundhouse London - featuring Read and Legend with T. Rex fans.
In 2003 Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
's Martin Gore
Martin Gore
Martin Lee Gore is an English songwriter, lyricist, singer, guitarist, keyboardist, remixer and DJ. He is a founding member of Depeche Mode and has written the vast majority of their songs...
recorded a cover of "Life Is Strange", and included it as a b-side of the single "Stardust"..
In 2006 Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
released their album Yeah which contains covers of their favourite bands while growing up, the first song on this album is "20th Century Boy". Joe Elliott wanted to sing "Metal Guru" while Vivian Campbell wanted "Telegram Sam" but end up agreeing to "20th Century Boy". It's not the first time that Def Leppard has sung a T.Rex song; there is a live version of Get It On.
"Children of the Revolution" was similarly performed by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
of The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
at Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
, 20 years later. U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
and Gavin Friday
Gavin Friday
Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
also covered "Children of the Revolution" on the Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
soundtrack.
In 2000, Naoki Urasawa
Naoki Urasawa
is a Japanese manga artist.-Early life:He graduated from Meisei University with a degree in economics. In 2008, Urasawa had a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he taught classes on manga.-Manga career:...
created a Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
entitled 20th Century Boys
20th Century Boys
is a science fiction-mystery manga created by Naoki Urasawa. It won the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the General category, an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival, and the 2003 Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category. The last two volumes of the story were serialized under...
that was inspired by Marc Bolan's song, "20th Century Boy
20th Century Boy
"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
". The series is a multiple award-winner, and has also been released in North America. The story was adopted into three successful live-action movies from 2008 to 2009, which were also released in the US, Canada and the UK.
"20th Century Boy" introduced a new generation of devotees to Bolan's work in 1991 when it was featured on a Levi
Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss was a German-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.-Origins:...
's jeans TV commercial featuring Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, and was re-released, reaching the UK Top 20. The song was performed by the fictional band The Flaming Creatures (performed by Placebo
Placebo (band)
Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
, reprised by Placebo and David Bowie at the 1999 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
) in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine
Velvet Goldmine
Velvet Goldmine is a 1998 British/American drama film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes. The film tells the story of a pop star based mainly on David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' character and is set in Britain during the days of glam rock in the early 1970s.Sandy Powell received another Academy...
. In every decade since his death, a Bolan greatest hits compilation has placed in the top 20 UK albums and periodic boosts in sales have come via cover versions from artists inspired by Bolan, including Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Similarly, "I Love to Boogie" was briefly used on an advert for Robinson's soft drink in 2001, bringing Bolan's music to a new generation. Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
also featured "20th Century Boy" in a 2002 car commercial, prompting Hip-O Records to release a best-of collection CD titled 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection.
His music is still widely used in films, recent notable cases being Breakfast on Pluto
Breakfast on Pluto
Breakfast on Pluto is a 1998 novel by Patrick McCabe. The book was shortlisted for the 1998 Booker Prize, and was adapted for the screen by McCabe and Neil Jordan; Jordan directed the 2005 film.-Plot summary:...
, Death Proof
Death Proof
Death Proof is a 2007 American action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women before murdering them in staged car accidents using his "death-proof" stunt car...
, Lords of Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 biographical film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, written by Stacy Peralta. The film is based on the story of "The Z-Boys", an influential group of skateboarders who revolutionized the sport...
, Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
, Jarhead
Jarhead (film)
Jarhead is a 2005 biographical drama war film based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 1991 Gulf War memoir of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with co-stars Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, and Chris Cooper. The title comes from the slang term used to refer to...
, Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
, Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Angela Robinson and produced by Robert Simonds for Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Lindsay Lohan as the youngest member of an automobile-racing family, Michael Keaton as her father, Matt Dillon as a competing racer, Breckin Meyer as...
, Breaking-Up, Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action dark comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead as well as the television series Spaced...
, Click, School of Rock
School of Rock
School of Rock, also called The School of Rock, is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black...
& Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...
. Bolan is still cited by many guitar-centric bands as a huge influence (Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
/New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
's Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner , also known as Bernard Dickin, Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrecht is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer....
has said that the first single he owned was "Ride a White Swan".) However, he always maintained he was a poet who put lyrics to music. The tunes were never as important as the words.
An altogether less welcome legacy for his friends and family is the ongoing row about his fortune. Bolan had arranged a discretionary trust
Trust law
In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another...
to safeguard his money. His death left the fortune beyond the reach of those closest to him and both his family and journalists have taken an active interest in investigating the situation, so far with little result other than bringing the story to wider attention. A small, separate Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
-based trust fund has allowed his son to receive some income. However, the bulk of Bolan's fortune, variously estimated at between £20 and £30 million pounds (approx $38 – $57 million), remains in trust. As of 2007, Bolan's family is supposed to have a house paid for by the trust, and Rolan is supposed to receive an allowance.
Bolan returned to the top of the UK charts in 2005 when the remastered, expanded Born to Boogie DVD hit No. 1 in the Music DVD charts.
Steve Kilbey
Steve Kilbey
Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....
– a self-confessed Marc Bolan fan and singer for renowned Australian art-rock group The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
– performed Bolan's "One Inch Rock" on the Steve Kilbey Live DVD, released in January 2008.
In 2006, it was revealed that English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
had refused to commission a blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
to commemorate Bolan, as they believed him to be of "insufficient stature or historical significance". There is, however, an existing plaque dedicated to Bolan at his childhood home, put there by Hackney Council.
There are also two plaques dedicated to his memory at Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. The second one to be displayed was placed there by the official Marc Bolan fan club and fellow fans in September 2002, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his passing. The inscription on the stone, which also bears his image, reads '25 years on – his light of love still shines brightly'. Placed beneath the plaque there is an appropriate ceramic figure of a white swan.
In 2006, TV series Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, William Matheson portrays Marc Bolan, circa 1973, in a bar in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Time-travelling Sam Tyler
Sam Tyler
DCI/DI Sam Tyler is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars.In the original British version of Life on Mars, Tyler is played by John Simm and in the American version he is played by Jason O'Mara....
recognises him, has a fan boy moment, and warns him to be careful of riding in Minis. In the American version of the series
Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
Life on Mars was a science fiction crime drama television series which originally aired on ABC from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. It is an adaptation of the BAFTA-winning original UK series of the same name produced by the BBC...
, the character is replaced by that of Jim Croce
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
, who died later that year in a plane crash, and Sam warns him. However, the T. Rex version of "Get It On" is played in the New York dance club in that scene.
One of Bolan's guitars, a Gibson Flying V
Gibson Flying V
-External links:*, , , , and , from the Gibson website*, a June 2001 article from Guitar Collector magazine*, a tribute site that lists all models and re-issues and most notable players**...
, recently turned up on Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979...
in the hands of a private collector. The appraiser estimated the value of the guitar to be approximately £50,000–60,000.
A school is planned in his honour, to be built in Sierra Leone: The Marc Bolan School of Music and Film.
The Cameron Crowe-created movie "Almost Famous" features a scene where a Black Sabbath groupie is telling aspiring journalist William Miller (said to be created in Crowe's own image) about how, "Marc Bolan broke her heart, man. It's famous," regarding the character of Penny Lane, played by Kate Hudson.
My Chemical Romance's song 'Vampire Money' taken from their album 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys' released on 22 November 2010 features the lyric 'glimmer like Bolan in the morning sun', referencing Marc Bolan.
A musical, 20th Century Boy, based on Bolan's life, and featuring his music, premiered at the New Wolsey Theatre
New Wolsey Theatre
A 400-seat theatre in the heart of Ipswich, Suffolk's county town, The was established in 2000, building on the foundations of the regional repertory company that had opened the theatre in the late 1970s....
in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
. in 2011.
Discography
Singles- Nov. 1965 The Wizard/Beyond The Rising Sun. Decca F 12288.
- June 1966. The Third Degree/San Francisco Poet. Decca F 12413.
- Dec. 1966. Hippy Gumbo/Misfit. Parlophone R 5539.
John's Children:
- May 1967. Desdemona/Remember Thomas A Beckett. Track 604 003.
- July 1967. Midsummer's Night Scene/Sara Crazy Child. (Track 604 005, withdrawn; very few copies exist)
- Aug. 1967. Come And Play With Me In The Garden/Sara Crazy Child. Track 604 005.
Tyrannosaurus Rex:
- April 1968. Debora/Child Star.(34). Regal Zono RZ 3008.
- Aug. 1968. One Inch Rock/Salamada Palaganda.(28). Regal Zono RZ 3011.
- Jan. 1969. Pewtor Suitor/Warlord Of The Royal Crocodiles. Regal Zono RZ 3016.
- July 1969. King Of The Rumbling Spires/Do You Remember.(44). Regal Zono RZ 3022.
- Jan. 1970. By The Light Of A Magical Moon/Find A Little Wood. Regal Zono RZ 3025.
- March 1970. Debora/One Inch Rock/Woodland Bop/Seal Of Seasons.(7). Magnifly ECHO 102.
Dib Cochran And The Earwigs:
- 1970. Oh Baby/Universal Love/Deep Summer. Bell 1121.
T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
:
- Oct. 1970. Ride a White Swan/Is It Love/Summertime BluesSummertime Blues"Summertime Blues" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran. It was written in the late 1950s by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
. Fly BUG 1. - Feb. 1971. Hot Love/Woodland Rock/King Of The Mountain Cometh. Fly BUG 6.
- July 1971. Get It On (Bang a Gong)/There Was A Time/Raw Ramp. Fly BUG 10.
- Nov. 1971. JeepsterJeepster (song)"Jeepster" was a 1971 single by the British glam rock band T. Rex, both taken from the group's second album, Electric Warrior....
/Life's A Gas. Fly BUG 16. - Jan. 1972. Telegram SamTelegram SamTelegram Sam was the third UK number one single for the British rock group T. Rex. The song also appeared on their 1972 album The Slider.Perhaps best known for bringing the term "main man" into popular culture, it was number one for two weeks, before being knocked off the top by "Son of My Father"...
/Cadillac/Baby Strange. T.Rex Wax 101. - May 1972. Metal GuruMetal Guru"Metal Guru" is a song by the British rock band T.Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was the band's fourth number one on the UK Singles Chart when it topped the chart for four weeks in May-June 1972. It was also included on the album The Slider in 1972.Despite coming only ten months after the success...
/Thunderwing/Lady. EMI Marc 1. - Sept. 1972. Children of the Revolution/Jitterbug Love/Sunken Rags. EMI Marc 2.
- Dec. 1972. Solid Gold Easy ActionSolid Gold Easy Action-External links:* at LyricWiki...
/Born To Boogie. EMI Marc 3. - March 1973. 20th Century Boy20th Century Boy"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
/Free Angel. EMI Marc 4. - June 1973. The Groover/Midnight. EMI Marc 5.
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
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- Jan. 1973. On the Third DayOn the Third DayOn the Third Day is the third studio LP by Electric Light Orchestra and the first to be recorded without any input from Roy Wood.-Overview:...
– Marc Bolan played twin lead guitar on the track "Ma-Ma-Ma BelleMa-Ma-Ma Belle"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is a song recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra.It was taken from the 1973 album On the Third Day. In the UK, the single version had a slightly different mix from the album original featuring a descending string crescendo and was edited in length.Marc Bolan plays twin lead...
" and 5 other songs.
Big Carrot:
- Aug. 1973. Blackjack/Squint Eye Mangle. EMI 2047.
T. Rex:
- Nov. 1973. Truck On (Tyke)/Sitting Here.(12). EMI Marc 6.
- Jan. 1974. "Teenage DreamTeenage Dream (Marc Bolan song)"Teenage Dream" is a 1974 single by Marc Bolan and T. Rex, taken from the album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow.-Background and recording:...
"/"Satisfaction Pony".(13). EMI Marc 7.
Marc Bolan:
- June 1974. Jasper C. Debussy/Hippy Gumbo/The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith. Track 2094 013.
T. Rex:
- July 1974. Light Of Love/Explosive Mouth.(22). EMI Marc 8.
- Nov. 1974. Zip Gun Boogie/Space Boogie.(41). EMI Marc 9.
- July 1975. New York City/Chrome Sitar.(15). EMI Marc 10.
- Sept. 1975. Dreamy Lady/Do You Wanna Dance?Do You Wanna Dance?"Do You Wanna Dance?" is a song written by Bobby Freeman , and recorded by him in 1958. It is also popular in a version performed by the Beach Boys, which was released in 1965, and in a version recorded by Bette Midler in 1972...
/Dock Of The Bay(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous number-one single in U.S...
.(30). EMI Marc 11. - Nov. 1975. Christmas Bop/Telegram Sam/Metal Guru.(Scheduled for release but cancelled). EMI Marc 12.
- Feb. 1976. London Boys/Solid Baby.(40). EMI Marc 13.
- April 1976. Hot Love/Get It On. Cube BUG 66.
- June 1976. I Love To Boogie/Baby Boomerang.(13). EMI Marc 14.
- Sept. 1976. Laser Love/Life's An Elevator.(41). EMI Marc 15.
Marc Bolan and Gloria Jones
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...
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- Jan. 1977. To Know Him Is To Love HimTo Know Him Is to Love Him"To Know Him Is to Love Him" is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father's tombstone. It was first recorded by his first vocal group, the only one of which he was a member, the Teddy Bears. Their recording went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1958...
/City Port. EMI 2572.
T. Rex:
- March 1977. The Soul Of My Suit/All Alone.(42). EMI Marc 16.
- May 1977. Dandy In The Underworld/Groove A Little/Tame My Tiger. EMI Marc 17.
- Aug. 1977. Celebrate Summer/Ride My Wheels. EMI Marc 18.
External links
- Marc Bolan Signature Les Paul from Gibson
- Born to Boogie: a site dedicated to Marc Bolan and T.Rex in the Ringo Starr-produced film and its redux release in 2005
- Marc Bolan and T. Rex information website
- Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film
- Marc Bolan Myspace
- Marc Bolan and T. Rex information website
- Morton's Club, Berekeley Square, London W1J