| Name | Marc Bolan |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Mark Feld |
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| Born | September 30, 1947Hackney, east London, England |
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| Died | September 16, 1977Barnes, London, England |
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| Genre | Hard rock, glam rock, psychedelic folk, psychedelic rock, pop rock |
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| Years active | 1965–1977 |
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| Instrument | Guitar, vocals, bass, Moog synthesizer, percussion |
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| Label | A&M;, EMI, Reprise, Mercury |
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| Associated acts | T. Rex, John's Children |
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| Notable instruments | Gibson Les PaulGibson Flying VFender Stratocaster |
|---|
Marc Bolan (born
Mark Feld 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977), was an English
singer-songwriter,
guitarist and
poet. He is best known for his work with British
rock band
T. Rex. 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 recognizable stars in British rock music.
Biography
Early life and career
The son of a lorry driver, Bolan grew up in post-war
Hackney, East London, in a Jewish family, 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 at an early age 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 shortly after. While at school, he played guitar in "Susie and the Hoops," a trio whose vocalist was a 12-year old Helen Shapiro. At fifteen, he left school "by mutual consent."
, Hackney. (November 2005)]]
He briefly joined a modeling 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 a couple of other models.
Mark Feld had changed his 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 towards the heart of showbusiness, 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. 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 David Bowie 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.
Equipment
Guitars
Electric: Marc Bolan was mostly seen playing Gibson Les Pauls. His main guitar, a Les Paul Custom was refinished in an 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 aluminum guitar, and the Burns Flyte.
guitar, circa 1972]]
Acoustic: Bolan favored the Epiphone and Gibson brands. Most notably the Gibson Hummingbird and Gibson J-160E models.
Amplification
While Bolan was known to use makes as diverse as Vox, Orange, 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 utilized on the groundbreaking T. Rex tours and recordings of that period.
Signal Processors
Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, Electro-Harmonix Screaming Tree, MXR Blue Box, Vox wah.
Legacy
In 1979,
Siouxsie and the Banshees released a cover of "
20th Century Boy" 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. The A side is a cover of T. Rex's song of the same name. It was released in 7-and 12-inch format, the latter featuring "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" as an extra track.
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 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 (born, Stuart Leslie Goddard) covered the track live on the Limed Edition live disc of his 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, 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 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.
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 at Live 8, 20 years later. Bono and Gavin Friday cover "Children of the Revolution" on the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack.
In 2000, Naoki Urasawa created a manga entitled "20th Century Boys" that was inspired by Marc Bolan's song, "20th Century Boy". The book is a multiple award-winner, and has just been released in the United States through VIZ media.
"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!, , 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.
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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.
My Chemical Romance's song 'Vampire Money' taken from their album 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys' released on the 22nd of November 2010 features the lyric 'glimmer like Bolan in the morning sun', referencing Marc Bolan.
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:
Oct. 1970. Ride a White Swan/Is It Love/Summertime Blues. 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. Jeepster/Life's A Gas. Fly BUG 16.
Jan. 1972. Telegram Sam/Cadillac/Baby Strange. T.Rex Wax 101.
May 1972. Metal Guru/Thunderwing/Lady. EMI Marc 1.
Sept. 1972. Children of the Revolution/Jitterbug Love/Sunken Rags. EMI Marc 2.
Dec. 1972. Solid Gold Easy Action/Born To Boogie. EMI Marc 3.
March 1973. 20th Century Boy/Free Angel. EMI Marc 4.
June 1973. The Groover/Midnight. EMI Marc 5.
Electric Light Orchestra:
Jan. 1973. On the Third Day - Marc Bolan played twin lead guitar on the track "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" 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 Dream"/"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?/Dock Of The Bay.(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:
Jan. 1977. To Know Him Is To Love Him/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.
Quotation
In 1971, on the eve of his sell-out UK tour, Bolan stated "I am so pleased that people are there. I feel I might just go on stage and burst into tears."
See also
Blackhill Enterprises (Peter Jenner and Andrew King)
David Bowie
John's Children
Gloria Jones
Simon Napier-Bell
References
;Notes
2. Riggs O'Hara interview, Record Collector Magazine, September 1997
3. Mentioned in The Who song "You Better You Bet", (to the sound of old T-rex)
4. Celebrity Fans include Oasis, David Bowie, and Chris Cummings.
External links
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
Category:1947 births
Category:1977 deaths
Category:English Jews
Category:English male singers
Category:English rock singers
Category:English singer-songwriters
Category:Glam rock
Category:Jewish musicians
Category:People from Stoke Newington
Category:Road accident deaths in England
Category:Protopunk musicians
![My World Is Empty Without You / Marsha Hunt / Marc Bolan [HQ]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110413035133im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LOiQoKoNb5k/0.jpg "My World Is Empty Without You / Marsha Hunt / Marc Bolan [HQ]")
![Stacey Grove / Marsha Hunt / Marc Bolan [HQ]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110413035133im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nOHKCs6NJ84/0.jpg "Stacey Grove / Marsha Hunt / Marc Bolan [HQ]")
