Birth Of A Monster Feature: 1972

A Record Mirror T. Rex Glam Origin

Published in the UK on January 15, 1972, Record Mirror’s one-page feature article “Birth Of A Monster” explored the explosive rise of T. Rex

RECORD MIRROR, January 15, 1972

CONTINUING Val Mabbs' amazing three-part interview with Marc Bolan - the elfin prince who has inspired a new generation of almost hysterically dedicated girl fans; the ex-mod who has explored the supernatural in the cause of musical expression and who says of his decision to quit John's Children: "It was obvious I wasn't going to have total influence and I couldn't see it being successful otherwise."

MARC BOLAN, flamboyantly dressed in a sunshine yellow T-shirt, red and gold check lurex jacket and sating trousers, sits, head on one side, with tousled hair dripping around his shoulders, pondering days now far removed from him.

Days when clothes lasted considerably longer than now, when eager hands are ready to tear them from his body if Marc with his flailing and jumping antics on stage hasn't already brought about their destruction.

A time when the 'phone didn't have to be taken off the hook to stop persistent fans from ringing and curtains could be pulled back without fear of prying eyes.

Then, after failing with his first three solo records, the draw of a three hundred watt stack of amps and the promised position of a Pete Townshend, were bait enough to lead Bolan into his first professional group, John's Children. It's a group since remembered as Bolan's own, a fact far removed from the truth.

"The group was nothing to do with me at all," Marc explains. "I was brought in because the previous guitarist left, and they wanted a sort of poet rock and roller Townshend. So I was their Pete Townshend really!"

On the group's 'Desdemona' single Marc managed to exercise total control and his colourful, offbeat lyrics in those less enlightened days of 1967, "lift up your skirts and fly," consequently got them banned from airplay. All this during a brief three-month association, after which he left; "Because it was obvious I wasn't going to have total influence, and I couldn't see it being successful otherwise, to be quite honest!"

Predictably when , Tyrannosaurus Rex was formed, Marc planned from the beginning that control on both creative and practical levels was to remain tightly within his grasp - and he has kept things that way ever since.

"It's my gig, and why not," he argues. "It's very apparent that T. Rex is a musical outlet for my songs. But I don't want to be a solo singer, I like being in a group. Though we're all aware of it being my gig, it doesn't make other people any the less important."

Ideal

As well as being an outlet for his songs, in the early duo days with Steve Took; the later T. Rex has become Marc's ideal of what John's Children should have been. From busking in Hyde Park, through a period of a limited but nevertheless fanatical following, Marc took T. Rex into an electric period, and eventually achieved a wider audience than even he would have thought possible.

But chance had little to do with it, for 'Bole' has always made a point of learning his subject well.

"There were millions of people busking when I was first doing that with T. Rex, but I always made out, because I make a point of being better than other people. I ve become

knowledgeable about things I'm involved in, some people can't and some just aren't interested".

The name of his own group, Tyrannosaurus Rex, was intended to reflect the vastness of Marc's belief in the venture the tyrannosaurus being the largest known creature that, as far as history can prove, ever lived. Ray Bradbury's description of the animal in 'Golden Apples Of The Sun' particularly influenced his choice.

"It was written about in a story 'Sound Of Thunder' and he described it so beautifully. People can't comprehend a dragon and say it didn't exist, but this creature, forty feet high and twenty feet long was proved to have lived it probably walked down Streatham High Road! It's very real to me." Having once proved his point, the group name became irrelevant to Marc, and with the shortening of the name to T. Rex affectionately applied by early fans he began to add new members. On several occasions during the metamorphosis of the group, however, it seemed that the dream might not emerge intact.

After first teaming up with Steve Took on hand drums, Marc claims to have had difficulty in freeing himself from Track records, who had him contracted individual from the days of John's Children. as an

Difficulty

"It took me six months to get away with T. Rex, and then I wasn't really interested in finding another company because I felt that I'd been screwed up by everyone. Eventually we had five offers in a week and were going to go with Apple, which was just being formed, but for various reasons it never came together". Under the guidance of producer and arranger Tony Visconti who approached them at Middle Earth Tyrannosaurus Rex were signed to Straight Ahead productions, and produced three albums, 'My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair, But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows', 'Prophets, Seers And Sages The Angels Of The Ages' and "Unicorn', before Marc and Steve Peregrine Took decided to go their separate ways.

"It didn't feel good and we had a rest from touring," Marc explains. "Then we just didn't see each other any more. I decided that if 1 could get someone to work with that I dug then I would carry on purely as a survival thing. Apart from that it was a question of getting more into writing, but I still didn't feel that I'd done everything

that I wanted to do with the music."

The now almost legendary meeting between Marc and Mickey Finn in London's Seed restaurant, provided the necessary uplift for Marc, who despite having fulfilled his childhood dream, had numerous plans Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"I always wanted to have hit records, but of the certain kind that I wanted to make, like 'Rainy Day Women'. I got very determined and decided I was going to make everyone sit up and take notice, because a lot of people got blase and put us in this album bag and decided I was a little elfin prince."

Marc agrees that through his writing he subconsciously engineered his elfin image, which tended to limit his expansion for some time. But did he overplay it?

"I don't really care, and I didn't care. If it had done me harm, it would have done me harm! But at that point the records were selling to people who were interested in the supernatural because they were supernatural based."

Desire

The urgent desire to change came through Marc's frustrated wish to appear on television, and the need to show some of the aggression -that, despite his having grown into "a gentle man" -was still very much within him. But Marc remains adamant that he made по mental decision to pull away from his hard underground fans. core

"Never forget," he says seriously, "'Ride A White Swan' got to number 30 in the charts with two plays on the radio, and it was those kids who went out and bought the albums who also put that in the charts, as with 'One Inch Rock' and 'Deborah' What happened after was that we got put on telly and people liked what they saw."

While the kids were digging the sounds, the visual impact of T. Rex was none the less startling. Shops sold out of decorative glitter, happy haridressers produced the Bolan look in wigs, and theatrical shoe shops undoubtedly enjoyed a boom in business, whlie fading journalists leapt to their typewriters imbued with a new enthusiasm, some hell-bent on praising, others echoing the cries of "sell out" that were emitted by the early Rex followers. They didn't like it a bit.

One harsh review of Bolan's music almost brought about the death of T. Rex, and the total disillusionment of Bolan.

Trash

"We were in the middle of the first really good tour, at the time of 'Hot Love' and I saw an article describing us as teenybopper trash. I was going to give up and stop playing then. I felt so insulted that someone should say that," Marc recalls. "Then I was very tired and worn out, but ten minutes later there was no way it could have hurt me. Basically, though, I'm a very warm, emotional person but you can't be like that with people who are ignorant."

Marc claims to have thanked people who justifiably put him down, but he admits to resenting those who try to preach to him.

"I'm not very open to criticism, so people tend not to criticise," grins Marc. But on a musical level he takes great notice of Tony Visconti and praises his strength as an arranger. Inevitably with the use of more instruments in the studio and the addition of bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Fyfield dubbed "Legend" on stage, arrangements have become more important to Marc.

Idea

"If I have a special idea on how I want to use a song I'm quite dictatorial," he admits. "But if I don't, then I give the song to Tony and say write something and see what comes out of it. 'Cosmic Dancer' was a track I did that way, and I thought the arrangements were amazing."

The young girls who weep at his feet, and fight to touch him, the ladies of a Carnaby Street boutique who play 'Electric Warrior' endlessly, and a sea of many more would agree but Bolan still fights. Fights against those who say he's a 'rip off', a cleverly concocted image, not a musician. But takes heart in musicians like Elton John and Eric Clapton who have played with him and pronounce words in his defence.

Feature Overview

Publication Details

Magazine: Record Mirror (UK).

Date: January 15, 1972.

Format: One-page feature article.

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