T.Rex: Marc Bolan - "You Scare Me to Death" Single (1981)

Marc Bolan’s "You Scare Me to Death" backed with "The Perfumed Garden of Gulliver Smith", was released as a 7-inch vinyl single in the UK by Cherry Red (catalog number CHERRY 29) on September 11, 1981. (Initial copies with free flexi disc)

Released posthumously by Cherry Red Records featuring two tracks by Marc Bolan. The single, cataloged as CHERRY 29, includes a bonus flexi-disc in some editions and represents a unique chapter in Bolan’s legacy, as it comprises early demo recordings from 1966 with later-added instrumentation.

Track Details

A-Side: "You Scare Me To Death" Origin:

Originally titled "Horrible Breath," this track was written by Marc Bolan in 1966 as a proposed television jingle for Amplex breath freshener tablets. It was not used for that purpose and remained unreleased until this single.

Recording:

The vocals and acoustic guitar were recorded in 1966, likely during Bolan’s early solo period before forming Tyrannosaurus Rex. In 1981, producer Simon Napier-Bell added backing instrumentals, including electric guitars (Bernie Holland), bass (Brian Odgers), drums (Graham Jarvis), piano (Graham Todd), and backing vocals (Dyan Birch, Frank Collins, Paddy McHugh), to give it a more polished, glam-rock sound reminiscent of Bolan’s T. Rex era.

Chart Performance:

The single reached No. 51 on the UK Singles Chart, a modest success for a posthumous release. The album of the same name, You Scare Me To Death, peaked at No. 88 on the UK Albums Chart.

B-Side:

"The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith "Origin: Also recorded in 1966, this track is a psychedelic folk piece from Bolan’s pre-T. Rex days, when he was experimenting with acoustic and poetic songwriting. It was later included on the album Love And Death (1986, Cherry Red) and other compilations.

Some editions of the single (cataloged as P CHERRY P29) included a 7" single-sided flexi-disc manufactured by Lyntone London, featuring “Recorded Quotes From The Book (You Scare Me To Death).” This contained Marc Bolan speaking and reading quotes from his 1969 poetry book The Warlock of Love.

Release Details

Label: Cherry Red Records Ltd.

Catalog Number: CHERRY 29 (standard 7" single); P CHERRY P29 (with flexi-disc)

Release Date: September 11, 1981

Format: 7" vinyl, 45 RPM; some copies include a laminated card picture sleeve.

Matrix/Runout:Side

A: (SNA Symbol) TOWN HOUSE CHERRY.-29. A1

Side B: (SNA Symbol) TOWN HOUSE CHERRY. 29 B1

Production:

Producer and Arranger: Simon Napier-Bell, who managed Bolan during his early career with John’s Children and later oversaw these posthumous releases.

Engineers: Peter Hughes, Steve Prestage, Dave Siddle.

Mixing: Steve Prestage.

Artwork: Designed by James Wolf for Empyre Design.

Other Formats:

Vinyl label of Marc Bolan's "You Scare Me to Death," released in the UK by Cherry Red Records, catalogue number F CHERRY 29 / LYN 10086.

The tracks appeared on the You Scare Me To Death album (1981) and Love And Death (1986, Cherry Red), with the latter released on CD and cassette in 1991 (UK) and 1992 (US). A 5-track CD single (CD Cherry 29) was also released, including “You Scare Me To Death,” “Cat Black,” “Hippy Gumbo,” and others.

In 1966, Bolan was a 19-year-old aspiring musician, pre-T. Rex, experimenting with acoustic, psychedelic folk. These demos were recorded before his brief stint with John’s Children and the formation of Tyrannosaurus Rex with Steve Peregrin Took. Tracks like “You Scare Me To Death” and “The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith” reflect his early influences, including Bob Dylan and the British folk scene, mixed with his unique, poetic mysticism.

Napier-Bell, who managed Bolan during his John’s Children days, played a key role in these releases. His decision to overdub the 1966 demos with glam-style instrumentation aimed to align them with T. Rex’s commercial sound, though some purists criticized this as inauthentic to Bolan’s original vision.

Some of these 1966 recordings were previously released in their original acoustic form on The Beginning of Doves (1974). The 1981 single and album You Scare Me To Death repurposed these tracks for a new audience, while Love And Death (1986) further expanded the collection.

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below text taken from Cherry Red's press release

MARC BOLAN NEW SINGLE, ALBUM AND BIOGRAPHY

There was never anyone more sure of himself or directly to the point than Marc Bolan. In 1966 he got hold of my home number and called me up. "I'm a singer and I'm going to be the biggest British rockstar ever so I need a good manager to make all the arrangements."

I told him to send a tape to the office but he said he just happened to be near where I lived, could he drop it in?

Ten minutes later he rang the bell and walked through the door with a guitar round his neck. He said, "To tell the truth I don't have a tape but I could sing for you right now."

He was dressed in Dickensian street-urchin clothes, about five-foot-two and a mop of black curly hair, and unlike most mall people he was delighted with his side. He played down to it.

To further diminish himself he chose the biggest armchair and sat in it cross-legged. He put a cappo on the neck of his guitar and said, "I don't play guitar too well but the songs are fantastic. You're going to love them."

He wasn't boasting or being immodest. To him the songs really were amusing and exciting. The fact that he'd found them inside himself rather than lying around lost in the street was no reason to lessen the praise he gave them. He didn't think of them as specifically his. He just happened to have come across them and he wanted to share them with everyone.

But he never did.

Because, one way or another, although I did become his manager and recorded all those early songs just as he'd played them to me, they never got properly finished, and they spent the next fifteen years in a cellar full of mildewing tapes.

Then, ten weeks ago I suddenly decided to make the album with Maro that I'd always wanted to make, so I searched out the tape of those original songs and went off to the recording studios.

I tried to think myself into exactly the creative state of mind that Maro would be in if he was still alive today. He'd be contemporary. He'd be a perfectionist but he'd still want that rough edge of vitality in everything. He'd know recording technique backwards and would want to make use of it, but not to the detriment of natural atmosphere and spontaneity.

During the time I was making this new album I listened a lot to his other albums, and by the time I'd finished there was so much Bolan swirling around my head that I decided I should finish off the project by coupling the record with a book. So I got together with music-business journalist Chris Welch and together we are producing a definitive biography. Not one of those quickly knocked-out eulogies of top-ten stars. But a properly researched story of Marc's life, both private and public, and an appraisal of his importance in the history of popular music.

SIMON NAPIER-BELL, August 1981

The single "You Soare Me To Death" is now released on Cherry Red Records (Cherry 29) and the first 20,000 come with a limited edition flexi-disc with Marc talking about famous people.

The album and book follow together as a package in October.