Marc Bolan

Template:Infobox musical artist 2 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.

Early life and career

The son of a Jewish tailor, 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.

He briefly joined a modelling agency and became a "John Temple Boy". 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.

Bolan 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 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 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 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.

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

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 Steve Peregrin Took 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 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, hand clapping back-beat, Bolan's electric guitar and Finn's percussion.

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 later that year, 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.

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 contract 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 Bolan. 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.)

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.

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. 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.

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 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 and became addicted to cocaine, the former glam rock icon 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 exile in the U.S. 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 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 Jones 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 Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London. Bolan was thrown from the car and died instantly; Jones suffered a broken arm and spent time in hospital. Neither were wearing seat belts. Bolan's home, which was less than a mile away at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen, was immediately looted.

Jones has always denied that she was drunk when she crashed the car, and no tests were performed by the police that implicated her. The owner of the restaurant where the couple had dined prior to the accident had said they had consumed a bottle of wine with their meal and had "a few after".

At Bolan's funeral, attended by the likes of David 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. 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 Bolan'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 (with Michael Des Barres replacing Palmer) 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 featuring Brad Pitt, 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 Bolan'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, School of Rock & "Meet the Fockers" where "Get It On" is the loud sountrack during the American football game between the characters played Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffmann. 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 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. 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.

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.

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".^[1] There is, however, an existing plaque dedicated to Bolan at his childhood home, put there by Hackney Council.

Bolan's son, Rolan Bolan, is also a musician; his album is set to be released in September 2007. A book was also published in 2007 examining the entire history of Bolan's songwriting career from his earliest days until his death, Born to Boogie: The Songwriting of Marc Bolan, by Carl Ewens.

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)

References

^ "English Heritage thinks Ignatius Sancho means more to you than Eric Morecambe". Telegraph.co.uk. December 30 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

2. Riggs O'Hara interview, Record Collector Magazine, September 1997

External links

[1] "English Heritage thinks Ignatius Sancho means more to you than Eric Morecambe". Telegraph.co.uk. December 30 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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