Marc Bolan

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Mark Feld (September 30, 1947 – September 16, 1977), better known as Marc Bolan, was a singer and songwriter for the band Tyrannosaurus Rex (later called T. Rex), from 1967 until his death in a car crash in 1977. He is credited by many as having invented glam rock. Bolan's stage name possibly originated as a contraction of Bob Dylan's name or from an error on a Decca record label Mark Bowland. It is as likely to have been taken from James Bolam, the British actor with whom Marc shared a flat in the early 1960s. Known for his distinctive catlike wail and cascades of dark corkscrew hair, his influence on subsequent groups is incalculable, but still underrated.

The son of a Jewish van driver/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, which was featured in an early 1960s BBC documentary about Mods. He appeared in an episode of the television show Orlando as a mod extra.

From an early age, Marc was a rebel. He developed his famous love for Chuck Berry very early on, and was expelled from school at the age of 14. His rebellious streak came out in the wild hair and the often sexual lyrics of the early 1970s superstar.

Plaque marking Marc Bolan's childhood home, 25 Stoke Newington Common, Hackney. (November 2005)

He briefly became a model, then in early 1967 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 US actor Riggs O'Hara, with whom Bolan made a trip to Paris in 1965. His songwriting took off, and he began writing many of the neo-romantic songs that would appear on his first albums with Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Bolan used to busk his songs on the streets of London, earning enough money for the fare home. Eventually, he formed Tyrannosaurus Rex with percussionist Steve Peregrin Took and released four albums and five singles. Although commercial acclaim eluded them, the duo's early work received airplay and support from Radio 1 DJ John Peel. One of the highlights of this period was playing at the first free Hyde Park concert in 1968.

Musical and ethical differences led to Bolan sacking Took during their first US tour. Took, however, was contractually obliged to go through with the tour. Bolan replaced him with bongos player Mickey Finn, releasing one album before shortening the band's name to T. Rex and replacing his acoustic guitar with an electric model in the process. Bolan married girlfriend June Child (former secretary to the manager of one of Bolan's idols, Syd Barrett) and was writing songs at home, hoping to find that first hit.

This he did when, in 1970, he played for his wife a simple high-pitched four-verse tune called "Ride A White Swan". He then immediately rang producer Tony Visconti to sort out a studio session. The single was recorded and released, making slow progress in the UK Top 40 and finally peaking in early 1971 at Number 2. Bolan became a new star.

With his corkscrew hair, boyish good looks, and cheekbones daubed with glitter, Bolan's emergence heralded the start of the glam-rock era of British music, which also saw the rise of Bolan's longtime friend David Bowie as well as the bands Slade and the Sweet.

Bolan's next single was a five-minute song called "Hot Love", complete with singalong chorus very much in the "Hey Jude" mode. It was Number 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" when released in the U.S. to avoid confusion with another song of the same name by the American band Chase (who ironically, never charted in Britain). The song was a smash in America, hitting the top ten.

By now, T. Rex had bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend completing the band. Bolan left his deal with Fly records to join EMI. Fly released the album track "Jeepster" as a riposte to Bolan's quitting, and it peaked at Number 2.

In 1972, Bolan achieved two more Number 1s ("Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru") and two more Number 2s, "Children of the Revolution" and "Solid Gold Easy Action". The total of four Number 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 T.Rex at the height of Trextasy during a concert at Wembley. Mixed in were surreal scenes shot at John Lennon's mansion in Ascot. At this time Marc was at height of his career and T.Rex record sales accounted for about 6% of total domestic record sales.

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 band disintegrated, and Bolan's marriage ended. He began a romance with singer Gloria Jones and disappeared for much of the next three years, continuing to release underwhelming singles and albums. However, he managed to score one more UK Top 20 hit per year until 1977. Around this time, the always sickly Bolan's health began to fail seriously as he grew fatter and became addicted to cocaine. Eventually, he suffered a heart attack.

Gloria gave birth to a baby boy in 1975, whom they called Rolan Bolan (although his birth certificate lists him as 'Rolan Seymour Feld', compare David Bowie's son Zowie Bowie). Bolan then re-appeared in the public eye with a TV show called Marc, where he introduced new and established bands as well as performed his own songs. This was broadcast during the post-school hour on ITV earmarked for children and teenagers, becoming a big success. The last episode featured a Bolan duet with David Bowie.

Bolan got a new band together and set out on a comeback tour, taking along punk band the Damned as support, cleverly guaranteeing that a young audience who did not remember his heyday would come to the gigs.

Bolan died on September 16th 1977, two weeks before his 30th birthday. He was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275 GT (license plate FOX 66IL) driven by Gloria as they headed home from a restaurant. The car collided with a tree after spinning out of control in Queen's Ride Barnes Common, London. Bizarrely, Bolan's 1972 hit "Solid Gold Easy Action" contained the lyrics "Life is the same and it always will be, easy as picking foxes from a tree", almost a premonition of the licence plate of the car he died in. For some of his fans the tree now acts as a shrine to his memory and receives frequent visits from fans to this day. The site now forms the Bolan's Rock Shrine memorial, which is cared for on a charity basis by "T A G" (T. Rex Action Group). A bronze bust of Marc Bolan at the site commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death in 2002. The bust was unveiled by his son Rolan Bolan, and the event was attended by fans, friends, and colleagues, including Mickey Finn.

At Bolan's funeral, his coffin was covered in a swan-shaped floral tribute in recognition of his breakthrough hit single.

Ironically, Bolan neither drove a car nor possessed a driver's license, a fact made even more astonishing that cars or automotive components are at least mentioned in, if not the subject of, many of his songs.

Of Bolan's bandmates, original Tyrannosaurus Rex partner Steve Peregrin Took choked to death on a cocktail cherry in 1980, and bassist Currie was killed in a car crash in Portugal a year later. Finn, the man most associated with Bolan's success, died of natural causes in 2003. Bill Legend remains the only living T. Rex member.

Bolan's wife, June, died of a heart attack while on holiday in Turkey in 1995.

"20th Century Boy" introduced a new generation of devotees to Bolan's work in 1991 when it was featured on a 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. His music is still widely used in films, a recent notable case being "Billy Elliot". Bolan is still cited by many guitar-centric bands as a huge influence. 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. Copyright in older recordings has allowed his son to begin to generate some income. However, the bulk of Bolan's fortune, variously estimated at between £20 and £30 million pounds (approx $32 - $45 million) remains in trust.

Bolan returned to the top of the UK charts in 2005 when the remastered, expanded Born to Boogie DVD hit number 1 in the Music DVD charts.

Contents

1 Influence
2 Bands and performers that influenced Bolan
3 Trivia
4 Solo discography
5 See also
6 External links

Influence

Bolan's music was a massive influence on punk rock and the 1990s Britpop movement. In fact, many acts claim or have 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 "Ballrooms Of Mars" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol" by Oasis (credited to Noel Gallagher; allegedly plagiarizing "Get It On", a claim that almost led to legal action, so it has been said).

American acts of the late 1970s punk/new wave genres, such as the Ramones ('The KKK Took My Baby Away' has a stolen guitar riff from 'Laser Love') have also cited Bolan's music as a heavy influence.

Bands and performers that influenced Bolan

Bolan has said in many interviews that he was persuaded to become a rock musician because of his love for Chuck Berry. However, he also cited Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley as major influences. He was also enamoured by later groups such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, partially because of their sexual images. Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd has also been a significant influence on the eccentric Bolan's music and especially the lyrics.

The early "Mark Bowland" acoustic material and the image Bolan hawked around at the time (cloth cap, thrift store jacket etc) have Dylanesque overtones. While Bolan was wearing feminine clothes in the Ladbroke Grove scene as early as Tyrannosaurus Rex, he started the "glam" craze when he decided on a whim to put some glitter around his eyes before performing on "Top of the Pops." Bolan drew certain parallels with Jim Morrison, but it is unknown whether Morrison was actually a significant influence.

Punk group Radio Stars (ironically featuring John's Children vocalist Andy Ellison) recorded a cover of "Desdemona" on the B-side to their 1978 top 40 song "Nervous Wreck".

Thanks to top-selling greatest hits compilations and single reissues, new fans (often the children of original fans) are discovering Bolan every day. Many first and second generation fans (plus even non-fans and music journalists etc) are calling for T. Rex's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Trivia

Bolan received his first guitar at age 9 and began a skiffle band shortly after.

At the height of Bolan's popularity, he was reportedly selling 100,000 records a day. Oddly enough, none of his singles ever became million-sellers in the UK, despite many gold discs.

His son Rolan is also a musician, despite never having any big hits in the US or UK.

Apparently, speaking about the death of Elvis, Bolan said "I hope I don't die in the next month or so, because if I do, nobody will remember me". He died exactly one month after one of his childhood heroes. However, this could all be an urban legend concocted out of Bolan's Nostradamus-like predictions of his death.

Also, in the book You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Simon Napier-Bell, the author, Bolan's first manager, claims to have persuaded him to join John's Children and then heard his star say "If I was to die in a car crash, it would have to be a Mini. I think I'd like that. It'd be nice".

Solo discography

Singles

"The Wizard" / "Beyond the Rising Sun" (November 1965)
"The Third Degree" / "San Francisco Poet" (June 1966)
"Hippy Gumbo" / "Misfit" (December 1966)

External links