T.Rex: "Jeepster" Promotional Single (1971)

T.Rex’s "Jeepster" backed with "Life’s a Gas", was released as a limited edition promotional 7-inch vinyl single in the UK by Fly Records (catalog number BUG 10) on September 10, 1971.

Only 500 copies were pressed and given to friends and disc jockeys, in advance of

T. Rex’s album Electric Warrior, which was released on September 24, 1971, in the UK by Fly Records. This promotional disc was later upgraded to a commercial single, with “Jeepster” as the A-side, on November 5, 1971.

The single was supplied in a single-sized envelope-styled sleeve in purple, matching one side of the single's labels.

Both tracks, written by Marc Bolan and produced by Tony Visconti, are from the Electric Warrior album. “Jeepster” is a glam rock classic, heavily influenced by Howlin’ Wolf’s “You’ll Be Mine” (written by Willie Dixon), as Bolan himself acknowledged. The single reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, though its release caused controversy because Fly Records promoted it without Bolan’s

permission, as he was transitioning to EMI and his own T. Rex Wax Co. Records. “Life’s a Gas,” the B-side, is a reflective track from the same album, later performed acoustically by Bolan and Cilla Black on her BBC show in January 1973.

The 7-inch vinyl single was released by Fly Records (catalog number BUG 16) in the UK, available in both solid and push-out center versions with a paper label.

T. Rex release a single on September 10 but it won't be on sale to the public. Titles are "Jeepster" and "Lie's A Gas," both Marc Bolan compositions for his album Electric Warrior" which is released on September 24. Only 500 copies of the single will be pressed and given to "Friends and disc-jockeys."