Marc Bolan in Queen Magazine: (November 3, 1966)

A Wizard in the Making

In the November 3, 1966, issue of Queen Magazine, under the column POP SCENE by PATRICK KERR, 18-year-old Marc Bolan (then still spelled Marc Bolan) was introduced as a fresh, enigmatic voice in the crowded field of Dylan-influenced protest singers. The article, titled with a photo caption reading “Marc Bolan, pop singer fascinated by black magic: on 'Ready Steady Goes Live' (12 Nov)”, framed him not as another folk imitator but as a singular talent shaped by an extraordinary, almost mythical past.

Kerr wrote:

“Out of the flood of young, casual, protest singers who have tried to follow in the groove carved by Bob Dylan, only Donovan has emerged successfully enough to establish himself here and in America. But there now comes a young man who looks at first glance as though he might be of this type, but who in fact has a very definite, individual approach to pop music.”

At just eighteen, Bolan’s story began at fifteen when he left London to “bum around” Paris for eighteen months. There, he claimed to have fallen in with a coloured magician on the Left Bank. In his own vivid words, quoted directly in the piece:

“We lived in an old château on the Left Bank. Wow! Was that a weird place. Stacks of books, all leather bound, in Arabic, Egyptian, and other odd languages. We had an owl called Archimedes and the biggest, whitest Siamese cat I’ve ever seen. We never had full stomachs, yet thanks to the mystical wizard we never actually starved.”

This surreal apprenticeship infused Bolan’s music with a fairy-tale quality. His debut single, “The Wizard”, released earlier that year on Decca, was described as a direct reflection of his time with the magician — not a drug allegory, Kerr stressed, but a childlike fantasy akin to Puff The Magic Dragon. He warned against overinterpretation:

“I think that initially people will be suspicious of the song, and will try to find hidden meanings in the lyrics; but in fact it’s really about nothing more than what most children have experienced in their make-believe worlds… soon the ‘hippies’ began to read into it clever hidden meanings and allusions to drugs and addicts. It’s now become almost an anthem for drug takers.”

Bolan’s fortune, Kerr noted, lay in landing Jim Economides — the American producer behind early Elvis Presley, Bobby Vee, Julie London, and Bobby Darin records, and a former collaborator with Phil Spector — as his first UK producer. “Marc is the first English artist he has produced,” wrote Kerr, signaling high expectations.

The article closed with a spotlight on London’s buzzing club scene, naming The In-Place as the new hotspot — “rather like a cross between Annabel’s and the Ad-Lib” — and ended with a prophetic “Ones to watch for” section:

Marc Bölan: The Wizard

Appearing just weeks before Bolan’s TV debut on Ready Steady Goes Live! (November 12, 1966), this Queen feature captured him at the exact moment folk mysticism met mod cool — a teenage dreamer on the threshold of reinvention. Five years later, he would electrify the world as T. Rex. But on November 3, 1966, in the pages of Britain’s most elegant society magazine, Marc Bolan was simply the boy who lived with a wizard — and the pop scene would never be the same.

Sources: Queen Magazine, November 3, 1966 (archived via British Library); Marc Bolan Wikipedia; Discogs: "The Wizard" single (1966); YouTube: The Wizard (audio, 2010 upload, 100K+ views).

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Actual text below

POP SCENE

By PATRICK KERR

Out of the flood of young, casual, protest singers who have tried to follow in the groove carved by Bob Dylan, only Donovan has emerged successfully enough to establish himself here and in America. But there now

Marc Bolan, pop singer fascinated by black magic: on 'Ready Steady Goes Live' (12 Nov)

Comes a young man who looks at first glance as though he might be of this type, but who in fact has a very definite, individual approach to pop music.

His name is Mare Bolan, and he is just eighteen. His whole approach to singing and writing stems from his way of life since the age of fifteen. At that age he went to Paris to 'bum around' for eighteen months, and took up with a coloured magician. In Mare's own words, here is a description of life with the wizard. 'We lived in an old château on the Left Bank. Wow! Was that a weird place. Stacks of books, all leather bound, in Arabic, Egyptian, and other odd languages. We had an owl called Archimedes and the biggest, whitest Siamese cat I've ever seen. We never had full stomachs, yet thanks to the mystical wizard we never actually starved

Mare now comes up with songs which have a real fairy-tale quality. His first record is The Wizard, and tells a little about the black magician. I think that initially people will be suspicious of the song, and will try to find hidden meanings in the lyrics; but in fact it's really about nothing more than what most children have experienced in their make-believe worlds. Puff The Magic Dragon, for instance, which was successfully recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, is a similar kind of song, but soon the 'hippies' began to read into it clever hidden meanings and allusions to drugs and addiets. It's now become almost an anthem for drug takers.

Mare Bölan has been extremely fortunate in getting the right man to produce his record. He's an American called Jim Economides, responsible for records by Bobby Vee, Julie London, Bobby Darin and the early Elvis Presley ones. Jim has also worked with Phil Spector. He's now in England and Mare is the first English artist he has produced.

The all-happening club on the pop sene at the moment is The In-Place. Apparently it had a bad start, but the policy of the place was changed and it is now becoming more popular. It's rather like a cross between Annabel's and the Ad-Lib well-designed and decorated; a discotheque with records and live groups; gambling facilities; two bars and a restaurant. At present it's patronized by several top popsters and titled swingers.. The atmosphere is young and exciting.

Ones to watch for

Marc Bölan: The Wizard