| Marc Bolan |
| Background
information |
| Birth name |
Mark Feld |
| Born |
30 September 1947,  Hackney, East
London, England |
| Died |
16 September 1977,
(aged 29)
London,
England |
| Genre(s) |
Glam Rock
Psychedelic folk |
| Instrument(s) |
Guitar
vocals
Bass
Moog synthesizer
Percussion |
| Years active |
1967-1977 |
| Label(s) |
A&M
EMI
Mercury Records |
Associated
acts |
T. Rex
John's Children |
| Website |
Marc Bolan Info Page |
Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld;
30
September 1947
- 16
September 1977),
was an English
singer, songwriter and guitarist whose hit singles, fashion
sensibilities and stage presence with T.
Rex in the early 1970s
helped cultivate the glam rock era and made him one of the most
recognisable stars in British music of the time.
|
Contents
- 1 Early
life and career
- 2 Tyrannosaurus
Rex
- 3 T.
Rex and glam rock
- 4 Decline
- 5 Resurgence
- 6 Death
- 7 Legacy
- 8 Solo
discography
- 9 See
also
- 10 References
- 11 External
links
|
Early life and career
The son of a Jewish van driver and caretaker, Bolan grew
up in post-war Hackney in East
London and later lived in Wimbledon, southwest London. He
fell in love with the rock and roll of Gene
Vincent and Chuck Berry at an early age and became a
Mod,
hanging around coffee bars such as the
2 I's in Soho.
He appeared in an episode of the television show Orlando
as a Mod extra.
At the age of nine, Bolan was given his first guitar and began
a skiffle
band shortly after. At 14, he was expelled from school. His rebellious
streak came out in the wild hair and the often sexual lyrics of the
early 1970s star.
Plaque marking Marc Bolan's childhood home, 25 Stoke Newington Common, Hackney. (November 2005)
He briefly joined a modeling agency and became a "John Temple
Boy". As such he was used as a model for their suits in their
catalogues as well as a model for cardboard cutouts to be displayed in
shop windows.
Mark then shifted his focus back towards music and, at age 17,
made an attempt to kick-start a career in the business. Sporting a
denim cap and playing an acoustic guitar, he decided to try his hand at
the British folk circuit. The sound resembled a Dylan/Donovan mix and,
indeed, his songs consisted of some Dylan covers and a few other folksy
tunes. To complete the new look and sound, Mark even gave himself the
new stage name 'Toby Tyler'.
In early 1967 (after changing his name again to the now famous
Marc Bolan) , he joined the protopunk 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
might have had some chart success but was banned by the BBC for its
line "lift up your skirt and fly". When the band dissolved, Bolan
claimed to have spent time with a wizard
in Paris who allegedly 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.
Bolan's stage name possibly originated as a contraction of Bob Dylan's
name, from an error on a Decca record label, Mark Bowland, or from James
Bolam, the British actor with whom Marc shared a flat in the early
1960s.
Besides Berry, Bolan's influences included Bob Dylan, Cliff
Richard and Elvis Presley. Later influences
included the Rolling Stones, Led
Zeppelin, Syd Barrett era Pink
Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The
Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Having once busked his songs on the streets of London,
earning enough money for the fare home, Bolan wasn't exactly unprepared
when John's Children collapsed (among other problems, the band were
stunned to discover their equipment stolen from a studio, according to
a Bolan biographer). Bolan and John's Children drummer Steve Peregrin Took
created Tyrannosaurus Rex, a psychedelic-folk
rock acoustic duo, playing Bolan's deceptively melodic songs—complete
with J. R. R. Tolkien-influenced
lyrics—with Took playing assorted hand and kit percussives and
occasional bass to Bolan's ringing acoustic guitars and distinctive,
quavery voice.
This edition of Tyrannosaurus Rex released three albums and
four singles, flirting with the charts, getting as high as number
fifteen and getting airplay and support from Radio 1
DJ John
Peel. One of the highlights of this era was playing at the first free Hyde Park
concert in 1968. Took either quit or was fired from the group after
their first American tour over the direction in which Bolan wanted to
take the music. A rock and roller at heart, 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 a song, "Elemental Child",
featuring a long electric guitar break influenced by Jimi
Hendrix.
Then 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, handclapping backbeat, Bolan's fuzzy, spiky electric guitar
and Finn's almost whimsical hand percussives.
T. Rex and glam rock
Bolan and his producer Tony Visconti sorted out the session
for "Ride a White Swan" and the single changed Bolan's career almost
overnight. Recorded on 1 July 1970 and released that autumn, making slow
progress in the UK Top 40, it finally peaked in early 1971 at No.2.
Bolan and Visconti largely (and, in many ways, unwittingly) invented
the style that would become glam rock and helped restore a brash and
exciting feel, when rock bands had grown increasingly self-important.
With his corkscrew hair and boyish good looks, Bolan's emergence
heralded the start of a new era of British music which could be
appreciated by both serious rock fans and pop-loving kids.
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 initially introduced by his PA,
the late 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 just 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 a few early Bowie recordings) and later
bands like Slade
and The
Sweet. Before long, even Mick
Jagger, Rod Stewart and Grand
Funk Railroad dabbed on a little glitter.
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 singalong chorus inspired somewhat by the
Beatles's "Hey Jude". It was No.1 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 No.10 in the States, the only such American hit T. Rex
would enjoy.
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 contact and left to 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 Marc. Despite Bolan's lack of endorsement, "Jeepster" still
peaked at No.2.
In 1972, Bolan achieved two more British No.1s with "Telegram
Sam" and "Metal
Guru"---the latter of which stopped Elton
John getting to the top with "Rocket
Man"---and two more No.2s in "Children Of The Revolution" and "Solid
Gold Easy Action". The total of four No.2 singles particularly galled
his fans as three were held off the top spot 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 the height of
T. Rextasy during 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 super-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% 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
No.1 hit. (Documentation of actual sales has been lost.)
Decline
By 1973,
his star gradually began to wane, even though he achieved a Number 3
hit with arguably his most famous tune to the next generation, "20th
Century Boy". "The Groover" followed it to No.4, to
become arguably Bolan's last hit of significance.
Eventually, the vintage T. Rex line-up disintegrated. Legend
left in 1973 and Finn in 1975 and Bolan's marriage came to an end. He
began an affair with backing singer Gloria Jones and disappeared for much
of the next three years, continuing to release singles and albums less
popular to the masses. However, he managed to score one more UK Top 20
hit per year until 1977. Around this time, Bolan's health began to fail
seriously as he put on weight and became addicted to cocaine.
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 exile in
the U.S. and to the public eye with a low-key summer 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 1976.
In 1977, Granada Television commissioned
Bolan to front a six-part series called Marc,
where he introduced new and established bands and performed his own
songs. Around this time Bolan lost weight, appearing nearly 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. The last episode featured a unique Bolan duet with David
Bowie.
Bolan got a new band together 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.
Death
Bolan died on September 16, 1977, two weeks before
his 30th birthday. He was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275GT
(registration FOX 661L) driven by Gloria as they headed home from
Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkley Square. The speeding
car struck a tree after spinning out of control near Gypsy Lane on
Queens Ride, Barnes,
southwest London. Bolan's home, which was less than a mile away, was
immediately looted.
At Bolan's funeral, attended by the likes of Bowie
and Rod
Stewart, a swan-shaped floral tribute was displayed outside
the service in recognition of his breakthrough hit single. His ashes
lie at Golders Green Crematorium.
Bolan never drove a car or learned to drive, as he feared he
would die driving like James Dean. Despite this, 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.
Some devotees view the sycamore tree that the car crashed into
as a shrine to his memory. The site now forms the Bolan's Rock Shrine
memorial. A bronze bust of Marc Bolan at the site commemorated the 25th
anniversary of his death in 2002. The bust was unveiled by his son
Rolan and the event was attended by fans, friends and colleagues,
including Mickey Finn.
Legacy
In 1980, The Bongos were the first American group
to cover a T.Rex tune, "Mambo Sun" and enter the Billboard
charts. Since then, Bongos frontman Richard
Barone has recorded several other Bolan compositions, is working with
producer Tony Visconti for his forthcoming solo
album and has himself produced tracks for Marc's son Rolan
Bolan.
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, the first cover of a
Bolan song to enter the charts since his death. They also performed the
tune at the U.S. Live Aid concert. "Children Of The
Revolution" was similarly performed by Elton John and Pete
Doherty at Live 8, 20 years later. Bono and Gavin
Friday cover "Children of the Revolution" on the Moulin
Rouge! soundtrack.
"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 and was re-released, reaching the UK Top 20. In every decade
since his death, Bolan has placed a greatest hits compilation in the
top 20 UK albums and periodic boosts in sales have come via cover
versions from artists inspired by Bolan, including Morrissey
and Guns
N' Roses. Similarly, 'I love to Boogie' was briefly used on an advert
for Robinson's soft drink in 2001, bringing Marc's music to a new
generation
His music is still widely used in films, recent notable cases
being Lords of Dogtown,
Billy
Elliot, Jarhead, Moulin
Rouge, Herbie:
Fully Loaded, Breaking-Up
& Hot Fuzz. 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.
- "Bolan used to hang around in our office and sit
on the floor, strumming his guitar, flirting with our secretary, June,
who, of course, he later married. He was a great Syd fan. I was quite
fond of him. He was a big pain in the arse, of course, very full of
himself. I always liked that thing where he called himself the Bolan
child, this magical, mythical name. It was really from his doorbell in
Ladbroke Grove. It had his name and our secretary's surname, Child, so
it read Bolan Child and fans used to think, wow, he is the Bolan Child!"
- Pink
Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.
An altogether less welcome legacy for his friends and family
is the on-going row about his fortune. Bolan had cleverly 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. It is
believed that Rolan Bolan is now benefitting directly from the main
trust (as of 2007).
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.
Bolan's music was a massive influence on punk rock
and the 1990s Britpop
movement. In fact, many acts claim, or are known, to have (allegedly)
taken portions of T. Rex songs for use in "original" compositions.
Notable examples include "Panic" by the
Smiths (credited to Morrissey/Marr;
core of the song is lifted from "Metal Guru"), "Me I Funk" by KMFDM takes the
lyrics from "Telegram Sam" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol" by Oasis
(credited to Noel Gallagher;
plagiarizing "Get It On", to which Gallagher later admitted). Beyond
punk and Britpop, British rock band Def Leppard, despite being known as a heavy
metal outfit in their earliest days, claim to have been influenced more
by T. Rex than any other act.
American acts of the late 1970s punk/New
Wave genres, such as the Ramones ("The KKK Took My Baby Away"
has a slightly similar guitar riff to "Laser Love"), have also cited
Bolan's music as an influence. Punk group Radio
Stars (ironically featuring John's Children vocalist Andy
Ellison) recorded a cover of "Horrible Breath" on the B-side
to their 1978 top 40 song "Nervous Wreck".
There are many tribute bands and artists influenced by Bolan's
music: Danielz and T.Rextasy, the three-piece 'Get It On' and Lady
Stardust and Veloci Raptor.
Bolan was the first member of the T. Rex heyday line-up to
die. Currie and Finn have also since died, leaving Legend as the only
living T. Rex member during the period when they were having hits.
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.
Bolan's son, Rolan Bolan, is an aspiring musician in his own
right; his album is set to be released in September 2007.
Solo discography
- Singles
- "The Wizard" (Bolan) / "Beyond the Risin' Sun" (Bolan)
(Musical Director: Mike Leander, 19 November 1965 Decca F12288)
- "The Third Degree" (Bolan)/ "San Francisco Poet" (Bolan) (3
June 1966, Decca
F12413)
- "Hippy Gumbo" (Bolan)/ "Misfit" (Bolan)1973
- *"Beyond The Sun"(2007)
See also
References
2. Riggs O'Hara interview, Record Collector Magazine,
September 1997
External links
- [1]
- [http://www.marc-bolan.eu/ Online
tribute to Marc Bolan and T.Rex
- Website concerning the Marc Bolan/Ringo Starr
Apple films 1972 movie, Born to Boogie.
- MarcBolan.net Marc Bolan and T-Rex chat room,
lyrics, pictures, forum and more.
- website concerning Marc Bolan's TV and film
appearances.
- Metal Guru.de, A Marc Bolan & T. Rex
Tribute with News, History, Discography and much more...
- Marc-bolan.com, The official Marc Bolan fan
club
- The ULTIMATE Bolan VideoDRAMA #II,Lyrics rare
combination of six various Bolan sites into one
- Till Dawn a Decade on the net-, a place where
the fans are also part of the Bolan community through their Member list
-
- Marc-bolan.org, an extensive fan page
- The
Marc Bolan webring
- Marc
Bolan at Internet Movie database
- T-Rex on Top of The Pops
- Website for the Official Tribute Band for
Marc Bolan & T.Rex
| v • d • e T. Rex |
| Marc
Bolan • Mickey Finn
• Steve Currie • Bill
Legend |
| Steve Peregrin Took • Miller
Anderson • Herbie Flowers • Jack Green
• Gloria
Jones • Davy Lutton • Tony Newman • Dino
Dines |
| Discography |
| As Tyrannosaurus Rex: My
People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content
to Wear Stars on Their Brows | Prophets,
Seers & Sages – The Angels of the Ages | Unicorn
| A Beard of Stars |
| As T. Rex: T.
Rex | Electric Warrior | Bolan
Boogie | The
Slider | Tanx
| Zinc
Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow | Light of Love | Bolan's
Zip Gun | Futuristic Dragon | Dandy in the Underworld |
| Related
articles |
| John's Children • Born
to Boogie • Blackhill Enterprises • Marc
(TV series) • Mickey Finn's T. Rex |
