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T Rex
 Marc
Bolan was the elfin prince of Glam. He'd tried being a Mod,
he'd tried being a Hippie,
he'd tried being a model, but he was ultimately Born to Boogie.
RIP
Bolan was brought up in Stamford Hill, London. His first band -
the mid-Sixties psychedelic outfit John's Children - overdressed
sufficiently for him to talk about them later as the first ever Glam
act.
But the sensitive artist side came to light when, as half of
acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, he made albums with mystical
titles like My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair . . .
But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows, and
topped off the gentle folkie music with lyrics centring on
mythology, magic and mumbo jumbo in general.
The hippies
loved it, but when Bolan went all electric in 1971 he found a new
teenage following attracted to his pumping rock, coy sexuality and
cheeky good looks. He was possibly the first performer to publicly
make the transition from dirty hippy to Electric Warrior - the
watershed moment being the time Marc thought "I wonder what
this would look like" and smeared a load of glitter
underneath his eyes.
For Marc Bolan, glitter was a definite decision - a uniform, a
look that defined him. Some eyeliner, a bit of something to make
him stand out, something that made him sparkle. Like glitter. It
worked a treat. Bolan hit upon something that inspired an army of
clones who revelled in his success. He shone a light in the hearts
of kids who were being brought up in a gray world. It was escapism
and realism combined. He had the hair, the stare and the flares.
Hell, Marc Bolan WAS Glam as he minced
around (banging his gong) singing Ride a White Swan.
Parents didn't particularly like him (which made him even more
appealing), but he was flamboyant and sexy - he was the ultimate
Rock & Roll superstar. After an all-too-brief period though
the record reviews started to criticise Bolan, claiming all T-Rex
singles sounded the same . . . and 15 year old girls are a very
fickle audience.
By 1974 Marc had gained a lot of weight, left his wife, sacked
band members, baited the press, gone into tax exile in Monte Carlo
and stopped having hits. He was also awash in cocaine and cognac.
He weathered the dark period though and settled down with American
soul singer Gloria Jones. They had a son and Marc seemed to have
settled down.
On September 16 1977, Marc was killed when the mini driven by
Gloria hit a tree in Barnes, South West London. He was just 29
when he died. A few days after the crash fans broke into Bolan's
home and stole most of his possessions. Gloria Jones went back to
America after recovering from the accident. She was later
summonsed to appear in court in London on charges of being unfit
to drive and driving a car in a dangerous condition, but she never
returned to face the allegations.
The couple's son Rolan Bolan settled in Los Angeles and became
a musician and model for clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger.
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Marc Bolan
Vocals, guitar
Steve Peregrine Took
Percussion
Micky Finn
Drums
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