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T. Rex

T. Rex

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Marc Bolan: Top of the Guitar Parade

Guide by Steve Turner, Beat Instrumental, June 1972

BEHIND EVERY success story there’s a team of guitars. Marc Bolan decided to give his chosen few a taste of the publicity he’s been getting ...

T. Rex: The Unobtainable T.Rex

Review by Danny Baker, New Musical Express, 20 September 1980

AND SO, it appears, we are on the brink of a new T.Rex faith. Well, as one who defended the Bolanian right at school in ...

The Cosmic Dancer: The Short, Brilliant Ride of Marc Bolan

Retrospective by Nicky Parade, Rock's Backpages, September 2001

IT IS LONDON, JANUARY 1970. A new pop decade has begun, and two of its budding stars are huddled together at the Trident recording studio, ...

Audio interviews

T. Rex's Marc Bolan (1971)

Interview by Keith Altham, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1971

Marc talks about the latest T. Rex album Electric Warrior: how it's not as simple as it sounds, its reception, and how it relates to Tyrannosaurus Rex. He goes on to discuss his change as a performer, and the new way he presents himself; being accused of selling out; 'Hot Love', 'Get It On', 'Ride A White Swan' and the three minute single, and writing musical science fiction.

File format: mp3; file size: 15.5mb, interview length: 16' 11" sound quality: ***½

Marc Bolan (1974)

Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages audio, 1974

Bolan looks back at Tyrannosaurus Rex and the British underground scene; turning electric and the Beard of Stars album; 'Ride a White Swan'; and ruminates on glitter, image and stardom.

File format: mp3; file size: 21.8mb, interview length: 23' 49" sound quality: ****

Marc Bolan (1975)

Interview by Keith Altham, Rock's Backpages audio, 1975

Marc on life on the road, rock'n'roll literature, his image and clothes, guitars, "chicks", Elvis and a whole lot more

File format: mp3; file size: 57mb; length: 59' 19" sound quality: ****

Tony Visconti on Marc Bolan (1981)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1981

Producer Visconti talks about the newly released T. Rex in Concert: the original stereo recordings, and what he did to improve them; on first meeting Marc in hippie club Middle Earth; why they stopped working together; the definitive version of T. Rex; Bolan vs. Bowie; Marc's charisma and arrogance; the 'Children of Rarn' demos; Bolan's ongoing legacy and the meaning of 'Metal Guru'.

File format: mp3; file size: 18.4mb, interview length: 19' 09" sound quality: ****

List of articles in the library

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Rex is Reborn

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

TYRANNOSAURUS REX has survived its transplant operation and is already back in circulation. A little heavier for its absence but still breathing fire and breeding ...

Tyrannosaurus Rex: Two Heads Are Better Than One

Interview by Rob Partridge, Record Mirror, 28 March 1970

TYRANNOSAURUS REX are one again. The double-headed animal has happily been put together again after it had split two ways last year. ...

T(yrannosaurus). Rex

Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, May 1970

JUST OVER TWO years ago, John Peel introduced the public, as is his wont, to one of the most startlingly unusual groups ever to make ...

T. Rex, Jo Ann Kelly: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Andrew Means, Melody Maker, 25 July 1970

Magical Marc! ...

T. Rex: I'm A Pop Star On Any Level Says Marc

Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 31 October 1970

MARC BOLAN – whose voice has been known to bring some people out in an allergy and others to their knees in supplication – has ...

T. Rex: T. Rex (Fly)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 26 December 1970

T. Rex goes funky ...

T. Rex: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

MARC BOLAN became a star and T. Rex supergroup on Monday. Over 2,000 jammed London's Lyceum. And they cheered. ...

Marc Bolan

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, Beat Instrumental, February 1971

AT THE DAWN of Britain's history Marc Bolan was a bard; in 1956 he served in the 2 I's coffee house to the skiffling rhythms ...

T. Rex: Revaluing the Marc

Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 13 February 1971

MARC BOLAN, teased, stimulated and tempted by the midday wine, looned around in the rain and stood in humorous mood viewing the vast hulk of ...

Marc Bolan: Energy Is What It's All About

Interview by Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 17 April 1971

MARC BOLAN is ready to take on the world following his incredible success with two maxi singles, 'Ride A White Swan' almost indecently closely followed ...

T. Rex: T. Rex (Reprise RS 6440)

Review by Todd Everett, Rolling Stone, 22 July 1971

AMAZINGLY, IT all comes out rock and roll; there's no questioning it. But rock and roll with lyrics dealing with such subjects as wizards, Druids, ...

T. Rex: Marc's science fiction film

Interview by Val Mabbs, Record Mirror, 24 July 1971

WITH THE surge or phenomenal interest that has arisen for T. Rex, Marc Bolan has become infinitely aware of the difficulties facing some fans who ...

BP Fallon: He can't do our press, he doesn't wear socks

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 11 September 1971

IT WOULD have been so easy and so obvious to give the third degree treatment to one of these hard-sell publicists who daily hog the ...

Marc Bolan: I Am The Cosmic Dancer

Interview by Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 9 October 1971

I DO BELIEVE I am in grave danger of becoming a pleb! For example, in the opinion of a number of eminent musical critics Marc ...

T. Rex: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 30 October 1971

MAGIC IS a hard thing to summon up on a Sunday after-lunch afternoon audience. So if anyone deserves the award of the month it's Marc ...

Marc Bolan: Hot Rods and Hot Love

Profile and Interview by Steve Turner, Beat Instrumental, November 1971

CAMOUFLAGED WELL enough to stand unnoticed in front of a rainbow, Marc Bolan sat crosslegged on his sofa and explained that "too much" had happened ...

T. Rex: The Beatle Beater

Profile by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 19 December 1971

HE'S HERE, the greatest thing since the Beatles but Americans don't realise it yet. His name is Marc Bolan and he's the most important part ...

T. Rex: Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincs.

Live Review by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 22 January 1972

REXMANIA At the Boston Gliderdrome on Saturday, T. Rex turned the musical dock back to the early sixties. In scenes of hysteria and confusion unparalleled since ...

Marc Bolan: Hendrix Said I'd Be Big, But I Don't Give A **** As Long As I Can Boogie

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 5 February 1972

Outspoken Danny Holloway series ...

Marc Bolan: A Weird Kid With No Friends

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 12 February 1972

Outspoken Danny Holloway series ...

T. Rex: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Lillian Roxon, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 5 March 1972

A DREAM PRINCE HAD A SLOW AWAKENING ...

Bolan and the Future

Interview by Tony Norman, New Musical Express, 11 March 1972

I HAVE KNOWN Marc Bolan for several years now and have never thought of him as being, well, completely normal. By that I don't mean ...

T. Rex: "The Mania Never Stops"

Interview by Harold Bronson, Phonograph Record, April 1972

HUMILITY HAS never been one of man's virtues. Whether warranted or not, we tend to exaggerate our credibility. What we must never forget is why ...

Took Talks! about T.REX

Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 15 April 1972

SINCE HE LEFT T. Rex, Steve Took says he's spoken to Marc Bolan just twice. The last time was about three months ago at Boston ...

T. Rex: Can The Electric Warriors Conquer America?

Profile and Interview by Dave Marsh, Creem, May 1972

YOU CAN SEE Marc Bolan almost anywhere and walk away with the same impression. You'll think he looks cherubic, not a little elfin, and that ...

Letter from Britain: Life's a Gas, I Hope It's Gonna Last — Notes On T. Rex

Column by Simon Frith, Creem, July 1972

ZONK. THIS column is going to be about how things look in and from England. More to the point it's going to be about how ...

Rod Stewart: Never A Dull Moment/T. Rex: The Slider

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 22 July 1972

TEENAGE TEARDROPS... Or, would you buy a used riff from these men? ...

T. Rex: Marc

Interview by Rosalind Russell, Disc, 5 August 1972

MARC BOLAN'S first film, titled Born To Boogie, is due for release on the cinema circuit in September. It would appear that it's a logical ...

Marc Bolan: On Love, Hate and the Press

Report and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 19 August 1972

MARC BOLAN may not be one step ahead of the shoe-shine, but he has certainly been slandered, libelled, heard words you've never heard in the ...

Albums from David Bowie, T. Rex, Rod Stewart and Roxy Music

Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 2 September 1972

Stars of rock: T. Rex: The Slider; Rod Stewart: Never A Dull Moment; David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars; Roxy Music: Roxy ...

Will America Learn To Love Marc Bolan?

Report by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 23 September 1972

T. REX are making another attempt to win the hearts of young America. But it don't come easy, as MM's Roy Hollingworth reports... ...

Like Wow, What A Week That Was!

Report by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 24 September 1972

DIARY OF A ROCK WRITER, instalment two, or why-does-it-all-have-to-happen-in-one-week? ...

Marc Bolan

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 30 September 1972

PUTTING MARC Bolan into perspective is no easy matter because he refuses to fit into any recognisable category. On the surface it could seem that ...

Marc’s Music, Film & Future

Interview by Steve Turner, Beat Instrumental, October 1972

The following interview with Marc Bolan took place in a restaurant near Little Venice in London. Originally the meeting was to have taken place at ...

Marc Bolan

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 7 October 1972

JUST WHEN IT seemed that all the excitement, glamour and sparkle were going out of rock – along with the anger, vulgarity and vitality which ...

T. Rex: The Slider (Reprise)

Review by Loraine Alterman, The New York Times, 22 October 1972

AT LEAST every other week another group appears that's hailed by its publicists as the biggest thing since the Beatles. in the case of T. ...

T Rex: The Slider (Reprise)

Review by Ben Edmonds, Creem, November 1972

THE ELECTRIC WARRIOR hardly brought us to our knees the way he'd expected he would. After a string of superbly programmed chart-topping singles and genuine ...

Marc Bolan's Optimistic Overlook

Report and Interview by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, 11 November 1972

"A NICE THING happened in New Jersey," related Marc Bolan with a gleam in his eye. He pauses momentarily and the small group of press ...

T. Rex: The Science Fiction Diplomatic Twentieth Century Robotised Holy Man Sends A Message...

Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc, 11 November 1972

AS THE knockers warmed to their theme last week and adjusted their sights on Marc Bolan, the man himself was being mobbed at London Airport ...

Ringo Starr on Born to Boogie

Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 9 December 1972

"BOLAN STRUTS, man, and I like that about him a lot. A lot of people, when they first meet him, can be put off because ...

The Boogie Merchants: Marc Bolan

Interview by Caroline Boucher, Disc, 9 December 1972

CAROLINE BOUCHER takes a bleary, cross-eyed view of Marc Bolan who started life as a Tooting Mod, pro­gressed to a flower child, bopped as an ...

Ringo: Apple to the Core

Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc, 16 December 1972

RINGO WAS always supposed to be like that empty-headed klutz who followed Peter Sellers everywhere in the Magic Christian — a good-humoured and honourable Tonto-figure ...

T. Rex: Where Now, Elemental Child?

Comment by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 28 April 1973

ONCE UPON A time there was Tyrannosaurus Rex. In the days immediately following flower-power, rockanroll music was getting very sweaty around the edges. What with ...

Pipeline

Column by Mark Shipper, Phonograph Record, June 1973

EDITOR'S NOTE: After many months of intensive negotiations with his career advisors and financial counselors, Phonograph Record Magazine is pleased to announce the acquisition of ...

T. Rex: Exile of a Street Punk

Interview by Rosalind Russell, Disc, 16 June 1973

MARC BOLAN talks to Rosalind Russell as he prepares to get back into the swing of things. ...

T. Rex/David Bowie/Roxy Music Albums

Review by Simon Frith, Let It Rock, July 1973

T. Rex: TanxDavid Bowie: Aladdin SaneRoxy Music: For Your Pleasure ...

T-Rex: Tanx

Review by Wayne Robins, Creem, July 1973

SONG FOR SONG, this might be Marc Bolan's strongest album. Certainly, it's the most varied, and the most musical. One instinctively look for the lyric ...

Marc Bolan: The Man, The Myth and the Music

Report and Interview by Lillian Roxon, New York Sunday News, 12 August 1973

HE SITS there with his head covered in corkscrew curls, his temples and eyelids gently rouged, his lower lashline ever so slightly outlined in pencil, ...

The Low-Profile Marc Bolan: Finished with "R&R Lunacy"

Interview by Andrew Bailey, Rolling Stone, 20 December 1973

LONDON — THE man who put the bump and grind back into British pop music was a few minutes late arriving at his West End ...

Marc Bolan (1974) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1974

This is a transcript of John Pidgeon's interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

T. Rex: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 26 January 1974

MARC BOLAN returned to the British stage on Monday night and it was as if he had never been away. There were the fans, mostly ...

Marc Bolan: Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow (EMI)

Review by Andrew Tyler, New Musical Express, 2 March 1974

I WAS HOPING the spangled dwarf was going to pull off something approaching musical competence just so as I could do my small bit to ...

Marc Bolan & T. Rex: Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow: A Creamed Cage In August (EMI)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 March 1974

Bolan's teenage dream ...

Tony Visconti: Behind Bolan And Bowie

Interview by Ray Fox-Cumming, Disc, 28 September 1974

THIS IS a story of Marc Bolan and David Bowie – compared and contrasted. Bolan, the complete professional, who lost out through believing himself above ...

Marc Bolan: T Rex Flashes Light of Love on America

Profile by Michael Gross, Circus, October 1974

EARLY IN 1972, Marc Bolan and T. Rex were the biggest, bestest and baddest rock band in England. Every one of their singles shot instantly ...

T. Rex: Bolan Coming Up From The Bottom

Report and Interview by Lenny Kaye, Disc, 19 October 1974

AH, YES, the garden state of New Jersey. MARC BOLAN is being raised on a five-pointed star, framed in light bulbs, crucified to the wings ...

Marc Bolan: Past, Present, and Future

Interview by Alan Betrock, Rock Scene, March 1975

IT'S A WEEKDAY night in New Jersey and there's another school day to face tomorrow. Yet the Joint in the Woods is packed to the ...

T. Rex: Lyceum Ballroom, London

Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 28 February 1976

BORN TO BOOGIE, or born to Waltz? The story of an ageing teendream with the cheek to book himself into London's Lyceum Ballroom, without a ...

T. Rex: The Lyceum, London

Live Review by Jonh Ingham, Sounds, 28 February 1976

I MET A TRUE love at a T. Rex concert, so he has a special affection. At that time he was assaulting America, expecting everybody ...

Marc Bolan (with a lot of effort and no help from any stimulants) Pulls It Together

Interview by David Hancock, National RockStar, 29 January 1977

featuring DAVID HANCOCK on handbag ...

Marc Bolan: Son Of Magical Pouting Panache

Interview by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 19 March 1977

Yep, Here we go again. But this time it promises to be different. BOLAN MARC TWO makes his come-back on tour with The Damned, and ...

T. Rex and The Damned: The Beautiful and The Damned

Report by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 19 March 1977

T Rex and The Damned on tour together... will the boppers say nix to the new wave? Will Bolan get blown off the stage? Captain ...

Marc Bolan: A Fan's Tribute

Comment by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 24 September 1977

IT'S DULLY strange — just a few fast days after reading and hearing the effect on so many lives that Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel' had — ...

Marc Bolan: Glam Rock Is Dead

Obituary by Rosalind Russell, Record Mirror, 24 September 1977

Even people who didn't care for his records acknowledged his charisma ...

Rock and Roll Heart: Marc Bolan 1947-1977

Obituary by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 24 September 1977

MARC BOLAN was born on September 30, 1947, in Hackney Hospital, East London, the second son of Sid and Phyllis Feld. ...

The Glitter Era: Teenage Rampage

Overview by Ken Barnes, Bomp!, March 1978

JUST THREE YEARS gone and it already seems so quaint. The time was c. 1971-1974, the place England, the sound "glitter," or "Glitter Rock." ...

As Fans Worship At The Tree Where Bolan Died... T. Rextacy lives

Retrospective by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 7 June 1979

THERE'S ONE guaranteed way to make sure any party is a dancing success — keep playing T. Rex hits. ...

A Wizard, A True Star

Retrospective by Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, May 1980

Marc Bolan's brief blaze of glory ...

The NME Consumers' Guide To Marc Bolan, part 2: The Rise And Fall Of Bolanmania

Retrospective by Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 27 September 1980

BOLAN WENT electric and it was deemed, astoundingly, that he'd 'sold out'. For wanting to reach young people with vibrant pop music at a time ...

Bolan

Retrospective and Interview by Deanne Pearson, The Face, October 1981

Original Mod, prototype New Romantic... uhmm... but that's another story. This one's about the people trying to keep the Bolan legend alive. Second Coming of ...

Tony Visconti Talks

Book Excerpt by Stuart Grundy, John Tobler, 'The Record Producers' (BBC Books), 1982

IN MUCH THE same way that George Martin is known for his work with the Beatles, anyone who has ever inspected the small print on ...

Peter Jenner Journeys Through The Minefields Of The Rock World

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 January 1990

IN HIS 46 years, Peter Jenner has seen a lot of rock 'n' roll, and a lot of rock 'n' rollers, come and go. He's ...

Eyewitness: The First Glastonbury Festival, September 19-20, 1970

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, July 1996

No Glastonbury this year! No matter! Let Q whisk you back to the first festival of Pop, Folk & Blues At Worthy Farm – a ...

10 Great Glam Rock Albums

Guide by Barney Hoskyns, Harpers & Queen, 1998

TEN GREAT GLAM ROCK ALBUMS you cannot afford to live without... ...

Glad to be Glam!

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, The Independent, 12 September 1998

What do the original devotees think of Ziggy, Bolan, platform boots and glitter 25 years on? Will the latest revival of '70s androgyny take off? ...

Divine Decadence: Memories Of Glam

Retrospective by Jon Savage, Gadfly, October 1998

GLAM — or as it was originally called in the UK, Glitter Rock — flourished from early summer 1972 to summer 1974: shorter than Hippie, ...

Glam Rock: Scary Monsters, Super Freaks #2

Special Feature by Chris Roberts, Uncut, November 1998

TWENTIETH CENTURY BOY ...

Invisible Jukebox: John Paul Jones

Interview by Mike Barnes, The Wire, September 1999

Every month we play a musician a series of recordswhich they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what they're ...

T. Rex: Electric Warrior (Universal)*****

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, October 2001

SEMINAL BOLAN breakthrough boogies again – remastered by Tony Visconti himself ...

T.Rex: Electric Warrior

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, October 2001

REMEMBER LITTLE Richard's immortal comment on the tragic trajectory of Elvis Presley? That wonderful epigram – "he got what he wanted, but he lost what ...

"Catch A Bright Star And Place It On Your Forehead": The Rise of Marc Bolan

Book Excerpt by Mark Paytress, Omnibus Books, 2002

An extract from Bolan: The Rise And Fall Of A 20th Century Superstar by Mark Paytress, first published by Omnibus Press in 2002. (378pp, currently ...

Flo and Eddie and Marc, Frank and More

Retrospective and Interview by Dave Thompson, Goldmine, 2002

THEY WERE THE VOICE of the American 1960s, sainted providers of the angelic harmonies and grooved-out choruses that served up the most innocent psychedelia your ...

Marc Bolan 25 Years On

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, Daily Mirror, September 2002

A MONTH before the tragic car crash that killed him on September 16, 1977, a 29-year-old Marc Bolan told fellow pop star Steve Harley: "I'd ...

Marc Bolan: The Jurassic Years

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Chapman, MOJO, September 2002

IN DECEMBER 1967 The Observer devoted a large portion of its Sunday Colour Supplement to the London Underground. Complete with obligatory hip-speak glossary (an "A ...

The Grim Reporter February 2003

Obituary by Phast Phreddie Patterson, Rock's Backpages, February 2003

Phast Phreddie Patterson on those gone but not forgotten ...

The Making of T. Rex's 'Bang A Gong (Get It On)'

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blender, October 2005

T. Rex: 'Bang A Gong (Get It On)' 
 ...

Top 5 Unforgettable Glastonbury Moments

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, May 2007

1. 19-20 September 1970: The very first Glastonbury It was a triumph of faith over common sense. Having snuck in for free to the Bath Festival ...

Reborn to Boogie: Marc Bolan

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, February 2010

THERE IS ONLY one Starman in the room right now and his name is David Bowie. Flying high after his Top 5 astral novelty hit ...

T. Rex: Electric Warrior (De Luxe Edition)

Review by David Hepworth, The Word, May 2012

Marc Bolan's magical flair for a pop hook was giddy and touching — and owed as much to Chuck Berry as Roy Harper. ...

T. Rex: The Slider

Review by Neil Kulkarni, The Quietus, 6 December 2012

I should declare an infatuation — this album is exactly as old as me and for 25 of its 40 years I have loved it ...

Various Artists: Oh Yes We Can Love – A History Of Glam Rock

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, Universal Records, August 2013

GLAMOUR HAS always been pivotal to pop music. Elvis Presley was Glam, and so were Little Richard ('Ooh My Soul') and Billy Fury ('Jealousy'). The ...

Peter Stanfield: Pin-Ups 1972 (Reaktion)

Book Review by Barney Hoskyns, The Critic, August 2022

ROCK'N'ROLL years are all the rage these days. Ever since Jon Savage published his monumental 1966 (in 2015), the anni – particularly the 1970s – ...

see also Marc Bolan

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