T. Rex were an English rock band, formed in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band was initially called Tyrannosaurus Rex, and released four psychedelic folk albums under this name. In 1969, Bolan began to shift from the band's early acoustic sound to an electric one. The following year, he shortened their name to T. Rex. The 1970 release of the single "Ride a White Swan" marked the culmination of this development, and the group soon became a commercial success as part of the emerging glam rock scene.
From 1970 until 1973, T. Rex encountered a popularity in the UK comparable to that of the Beatles, with a run of eleven singles in the UK top ten. One of the most prominent acts in British popular culture, they scored four UK number one hits, "Hot Love", "Get It On", "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru". The band's 1971 album Electric Warrior received critical acclaim as a pioneering glam rock album. It reached number 1 in the UK. The 1972 follow-up, The Slider, entered the top 20 in the US. Following the release of "20th Century Boy" in 1973, which reached number three in the UK, T. Rex began to experience less commercial success but continued recording one album per year.
In 1977, Bolan died in a car crash several months after releasing their final studio album Dandy in the Underworld. Since then, T. Rex have continued to exert a vast influence on a variety of subsequent artists.
Video T. Rex (band)
History
Formation and psychedelic folk
Marc Bolan founded Tyrannosaurus Rex in July 1967, following a handful of failed solo singles and a brief career as lead guitarist in psych-rock band John's Children. After a solitary disastrous performance as a four-piece electric rock band on 22 July at the Electric Garden in London's Covent Garden alongside drummer Steve Porter plus two older musicians: guitarist Ben Cartland and an unknown bassist, the group immediately broke up. Subsequently, Bolan retained the services of Porter, who switched to percussion under the name Steve Peregrin Took, and the two began performing acoustic material as a duo with a repertoire of folk-influenced Bolan-penned songs with an eastern flavour, an obvious homage to Indian musician Ravi Shankar. The combination of Bolan's acoustic guitar and distinctive vocal style with Took's bongos and assorted percussion--which often included children's instruments such as the Pixiphone--earned them a devoted following in the thriving hippy underground scene. BBC Radio One Disc jockey John Peel championed the band early in their recording career. Peel later appeared on record with them, reading stories written by Bolan. Another key collaborator was producer Tony Visconti, who went on to produce the band's albums well into their second, glam rock phase.
During 1968-1969, Tyrannosaurus Rex had become a modest success on radio and on record, and they released three albums, the third of which, Unicorn, came within striking distance of the UK Top 10 Albums. While Bolan's early solo material was rock and roll-influenced pop music, by now he was writing dramatic and baroque songs with lush melodies and surreal lyrics filled with Greek and Persian mythology as well as poetic creations of his own. The band became regulars on Peel Sessions on BBC radio, and toured Britain's student union halls.
By 1969 there was a rift developing between the two-halves of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Bolan and his girlfriend June Child were living a quiet life, Bolan working on his book of poetry entitled The Warlock of Love and concentrating on his songs and performance skills. Took, however, had fully embraced the anti-commercial, drug-taking ethos of the UK Underground scene centred around Ladbroke Grove. Took was also attracted to anarchic elements such as Mick Farren/Deviants and members of the Pink Fairies Rock 'n' Roll and Drinking Club. Took also began writing his own songs, and wanted the duo to perform them, but Bolan strongly disapproved of his bandmate's efforts, rejecting them for the duo's putative fourth album, in production in Spring/Summer 1969. In response to Bolan's rebuff, Took contributed two songs as well as vocals and percussion to Twink's Think Pink album.
Bolan's relationship with Took ended after this, although they were contractually obliged to go through with a US tour which was doomed before it began. Poorly promoted and planned, the acoustic duo were overshadowed by the loud electric acts they were billed with. To counter this, Took drew from the shock rock style of Iggy Pop; Took explained, "I took my shirt off in the Sunset Strip where we were playing and whipped myself till everybody shut up. With a belt, y'know, a bit of blood and the whole of Los Angeles shuts up. 'What's going on, man, there's some nutter attacking himself on stage.' I mean, Iggy Stooge had the same basic approach."
As soon as he returned to the UK, Bolan replaced Took with percussionist Mickey Finn. and they completed the fourth album, released in early 1970 as A Beard of Stars, the final album under the Tyrannosaurus Rex moniker. Meanwhile, after helping found the Pink Fairies and appearing on Mick Farren's solo album Mona - The Carnivorous Circus, Took would spend the 1970s working mostly on his own material, either solo or fronting bands such as Shagrat (1970-1971) and Steve Took's Horns (1977-1978). Unlike Took, Finn had no songwriting aspirations; Tony Visconti commented he was not as talented as Took: "Mickey wasn't as inventive as Steve. Mickey's backing vocals weren't strong, so Marc would double-track them with his own voice for reinforcement".
Glam rock and commercial success
As well as progressively shorter titles, Tyrannosaurus Rex's albums began to show higher production values, more accessible songwriting from Bolan, and experimentation with electric guitars and a true rock sound. A breakthrough had been "King of the Rumbling Spires" (recorded with Took and released in summer 1969 shortly prior to his departure), which used a full rock band setup, and the electric sound had been further explored on A Beard of Stars. The group's next album, T. Rex, continued the process of simplification by shortening the name, and completed the move to electric guitars. Visconti supposedly got fed up with writing the name out in full on studio charts and tapes and began to abbreviate it; when Bolan first noticed he was angry but later claimed the idea was his. The new sound was more pop-oriented, and the first single, "Ride a White Swan" released in October 1970 made the Top 10 in the UK by late November and reached number two in January 1971. In early 1971, T. Rex reached the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart.
"Ride a White Swan" was quickly followed by a second single, "Hot Love", which reached the top spot on the UK charts, and remained there for six weeks. A full band, which featured bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend, was formed to tour to growing audiences, as teenagers began replacing the hippies of old. After Chelita Secunda added two spots of glitter under Bolan's eyes before an appearance on Top of the Pops, the ensuing performance would often be viewed as the birth of glam rock. After Bolan's display, glam rock would gain popularity in the UK and Europe during 1971-72. T. Rex's move to electric guitars coincided with Bolan's more overtly sexual lyrical style and image. The group's new image and sound outraged some of Bolan's older hippie fans, who branded him a "sell-out". Some of the lyrical content of Tyrannosaurus Rex remained, but the fairy tales about wizards and magic were now interspersed with sensuous grooves, replete with orgiastic moans and innuendo.
In September 1971, T. Rex released their second album Electric Warrior, which featured Currie and Legend. Often considered to be their best album, the chart-topping Electric Warrior brought much commercial success to the group; publicist BP Fallon coined the term "T. Rextasy" as a parallel to Beatlemania to describe the group's popularity. The album included T. Rex's best-known song, "Get It On", which hit number one in the UK. In January 1972 it became a top ten hit in the US, where the song was retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to distinguish it from a 1971 song by the group Chase. Along with several Sweet hits, "Get It On" was among the few British glam rock songs that were successful in the US. However, the album still recalled Bolan's acoustic roots with ballads such as "Cosmic Dancer" and the stark "Girl". Soon after, Bolan left Fly Records; after his contract had lapsed, the label released the album track "Jeepster" as a single without his permission. Bolan went to EMI, where he was given his own record label in the UK--T. Rex Records, the "T. Rex Wax Co.".
On 18 March 1972, T. Rex played two shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley, which were filmed by Ringo Starr and his crew for Apple Films. A large part of the second show was included on Bolan's own rock film Born to Boogie, while bits and pieces of the first show can be seen throughout the film's end-credits. Along with T. Rex and Starr, Born to Boogie also features Elton John, who jammed with the friends to create rocking studio versions of "Children of the Revolution" and "Tutti Frutti"; Elton John had appeared on TV with Bolan before, miming the piano part of "Get it On" on the 1971 Christmas edition of Top of the Pops.
T. Rex's third album The Slider was released in July 1972. The band's most successful album in the US, The Slider was not as successful as its predecessor in the UK, where it peaked at number four. During spring/summer 1972, Bolan's old label Fly released the chart-topping compilation album Bolan Boogie, a collection of singles, B-sides and LP tracks, which affected The Slider's sales. Two singles from The Slider, "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru", became number one hits in the UK. Born to Boogie premiered at the Oscar One cinema in London, in December 1972. The film received negative reviews from critics, while it was loved by fans.
Transition, decline and resurgence
Tanx would mark the end of the classic T. Rex line-up. An eclectic album containing several melancholy ballads and rich production, Tanx showcased the T. Rex sound bolstered by extra instrumental embellishments such as Mellotron and saxophone. "The Street and Babe Shadow" was funkier while the last song "Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys" was seen by critics as a nod to gospel with several female backing singers. Released two months later in March 1973, "20th Century Boy" was another important success, peaking at number 3 in the UK Singles chart but was not included in the album. It marked the end of the golden era in which T. Rex scored 11 singles in a row in the UK top ten.
During the recording T. Rex members began to quit, starting with Bill Legend in November. Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow was released on 1 February 1974, and reached number 12 in the UK. The album harkened back to the Tyrannosaurus Rex days with long song-titles and lyrical complexity, but was not a critical success. T. Rex by now had an extended line-up which included second guitarist Jack Green and BJ Cole on pedal steel. Soon after the album's release, Bolan split with producer Tony Visconti, then in December 1974, Mickey Finn also left the band. A single, "Zip Gun Boogie", appeared in late 1974 credited as a Marc Bolan solo effort (though still on the T. Rex label). It flopped, however, only reaching UK No. 41, and the T. Rex band identity was quickly re-established.
The T. Rex album Bolan's Zip Gun (1975) was self-produced by Bolan who, in addition to writing the songs, gave his music a harder, more futuristic sheen. The final song recorded with Visconti, "Till Dawn", was re-recorded for Bolan's Zip Gun with Bolan at the controls. Bolan's own productions were not well received in the music press. An amalgam of Zinc Alloy and Zip Gun was released in the US as Light of Love. Rolling Stone magazine gave it one star out of five, while the British press slammed T. Rex for copying Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, even though Marc had spoken of releasing work under the pseudonym "Zinc Alloy" during the mid-1960s. Always a fantasist with an alleged Napoleon complex, during this time Bolan became increasingly isolated, while high tax rates in the UK drove him into exile in Monte Carlo and the US. No longer a vegetarian, Bolan put on weight due to consumption of hamburgers and alcohol, and was ridiculed in the music press.
T. Rex's penultimate album, Futuristic Dragon (1976), featured a schizophrenic production style that veered from Wall of Sound-style songs to nostalgic nods to the old T. Rex boogie machine. It only managed to reach number 50, but the album was better received by the critics and featured the singles "New York City" (number 15 in the UK) and "Dreamy Lady" (number 30). To promote the album, T. Rex toured the UK, and performed on television shows such as Top of the Pops, Supersonic and Get It Together.
In the summer of 1976, T. Rex released two more singles, "I Love to Boogie" (which charted at number 13) and "Laser Love", which made number 42. In early 1977 Dandy in the Underworld was released to critical acclaim. Bolan had slimmed down and regained his elfin looks, and the songs too had a stripped-down, streamlined sound. A spring UK tour with punk band The Damned on support garnered positive reviews. As Bolan was enjoying a new surge in popularity, he talked about performing again with Finn and Took, as well as reuniting with producer Tony Visconti.
Bolan's death and disbandment
Marc Bolan and his girlfriend Gloria Jones spent the evening of 15 September 1977 drinking at the Speakeasy and then dining at Morton's club on Berkeley Square, in Mayfair, Central London. While driving home early in the morning of 16 September, Jones crashed Bolan's purple Mini 1275GT into a tree (now the site of Bolan's Rock Shrine), after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London, a few miles from his home at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen. While Jones was severely injured, Bolan was killed in the crash, two weeks before his 30th birthday.
Bolan's death ended the band. Steve Peregrin Took died from asphyxiation from a cocktail cherry after his throat was numbed from his use of morphine and magic mushrooms in 1980, Steve Currie also died in a car crash, in 1981; Mickey Finn succumbed to illness in 2003. Peter 'Dino' Dines died of a heart attack in 2004.
Maps T. Rex (band)
Influence and legacy
T. Rex vastly influenced several genres over several decades including glam rock, the punk movement, post-punk, indie pop, britpop and alternative rock. They were cited by acts such as New York Dolls, Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, The Smiths, the Pixies and Tricky.
Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls said that when forming his band with Billy Murcia and Johnny Thunders: "[they]'d all sit on the bed with these cheap guitars and do Marc Bolan songs, as well as some blues and instrumentals". Sparks were inspired at their beginnings by Tyrannosaurus Rex, pre-T. Rex. Smiths' composer and guitarist Johnny Marr stated: "T. Rex was pure pop". "The influence of T. Rex is very profound on certain songs of the Smiths like "Panic" and "Shoplifters of the World Unite". Lead singer Morrissey also admired Bolan. While writing "Panic" he was inspired by "Metal Guru" and wanted to sing in the same style. He didn't stop singing it in an attempt to modify the words of "Panic" to fit the exact rhythm of "Metal Guru". Marr later stated: "He also exhorted me to use the same guitar break so that the two songs are the same!" Marr rated Bolan in his ten favourite guitarists. Siouxsie and the Banshees released a cover version of "20th Century Boy" early in their career in 1979. Joy Division's Bernard Sumner was marked by the sound of the guitar of early T. Rex; his musical journey began at a poppy level with "Ride a White Swan". The Slits' guitarist Viv Albertine was fascinated by Bolan's guitar playing: "It was [...] the first time I ever listened to a guitar part. Because back then girls didn't really listen to guitar parts, it was a guy's thing. And guitars were really macho things then and I couldn't bear say, Hendrix's guitar playing, it was too in your face and too threateningly sexual, whereas Marc Bolan's guitar playing was kind of cartoony. And I could sing the parts. They weren't virtuoso, they were funny, they were humourous [sic] guitar parts." Prefab Sprout's Paddy McAloon cited "Ride a White Swan" as "the song that vindicated my love of pop".
The Pixies's lead guitarist Joey Santiago cited Electric Warrior in his 13 defining records, as did The Jam's Paul Weller. Santiago said: "Bolan took the blues and made it a lot more palatable". Kate Bush listened to Bolan during her teenage years and then mentioned his name in the lyrics of the song "Blow Away (for Bill)". Tricky cited Bolan as "totally unique and ahead of his time". When talking about his favourite albums, PJ Harvey's collaborator John Parish said that T. Rex "is the place to start", adding that "this band and that album [Electric Warrior] "was what got me into music in the first place". When he saw T. Rex on Top of the Pops playing "Jeepster", he felt: "that's my kind of music [...] The thing I related to as 12 year old I still go back to and uses as one of my main touchstones when I'm making records". Parish explained, "I've been listening to T-Rex pretty consistently since 1971".
T. Rex are specifically referenced by David Bowie in the song "All the Young Dudes" (which he wrote for Mott the Hoople), The Who in the lyrics of their 1981 hit song "You Better You Bet", B A Robertson in his 1980 hit "Kool in the Kaftan", the Ramones in their song "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" and R.E.M. in their song "The Wake-Up Bomb", R.E.M. also covered live "20th Century Boy". Joey Ramone said about Bolan: "I get into people who are unique and innovative and have colour. That's why I love Marc Bolan. There was something so mystical about him, his singing voice, his manner. His songs really move ya, they're so moving and dark." The early acoustic material was influential in helping to bring about progressive rock and 21st century folk music-influenced singers as Devendra Banhart. The lyric "Glimmers like Bolan in the shining sun" is featured in My Chemical Romance's song "Vampire Money", a direct reference to Bolan, taken from their most recent studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Additionally, Oasis "borrowed" the distinct guitar riff from "Get It On" on their single "Cigarettes & Alcohol". Oasis's guitarist, Noel Gallagher, has cited T. Rex as a strong influence. The music of T. Rex features in the soundtracks of various movies, including Velvet Goldmine, Death Proof, Billy Elliot, The Bank Job, and Dallas Buyers Club. The cover of The Slider album can be seen in the Lindsay Anderson movie O Lucky Man! and in Tim Burton's version of Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp. In Miha Mazzini's novel King of the Rattling Spirits, the narrator starts remembering his childhood when he sees T. Rex record "King of Rumbling Spires" in the record store and realizes he has mistakenly remembered the title as "King of the Rattling Spirits". "20th Century Boy" is currently used as the opening theme to the American reality competition series Lip Sync Battle.
Discography
As Tyrannosaurus Rex
- My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows (1968)
- Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages (1968)
- Unicorn (1969)
- A Beard of Stars (1970)
As T. Rex
- T. Rex (1970)
- Electric Warrior (1971)
- The Slider (1972)
- Tanx (1973)
- Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (1974)
- Bolan's Zip Gun (1975)
- Futuristic Dragon (1976)
- Dandy in the Underworld (1977)
Members
- Marc Bolan - lead/rhythm guitar, lead vocals (July 1967 - Sep 1977; died 1977) also keyboards (Jan 1969-Sept 1970)
- Ben Cartland - guitar (July 1967)
- unknown - bass (July 1967)
- Steve Peregrin Took - percussion, backing vocals, drums, bass (July 1967 - Sep 1969; died 1980)
- Mickey Finn - percussion (Oct 1969 - Feb 1975; died 2003) also drums (Oct 1969-Mar 1971) and bass (Oct 1969-Dec 1970)
- Steve Currie - bass (Dec 1970 - Aug 1976; died 1981)
- Bill Legend - drums (Mar 1971 - Nov 1973)
- Gloria Jones - keyboards, vocals (Jul 1973 - Aug 1976)
- Jack Green - lead guitar (Jul 1973 - Nov 1973)
- Dino Dines - keyboards (Jan 1974 - Sep 1977; died 2004)
- Paul Fenton - drums (Dec 1973-Feb 1974) also percussion (Nov 1974)
- Davey Lutton - drums (Jan 1974 - Aug 1976) also percussion (Feb 1975-Aug 1976)
- Miller Anderson - lead guitar (Aug 1976 - June 1977)
- Herbie Flowers - bass (Aug 1976 - Sep 1977)
- Tony Newman - drums, percussion (Aug 1976 - Sep 1977)
Timeline
References
Sources
- Bolan, Marc. The Warlock of Love. Lupus books. 1969
- McLenehan, Cliff. Marc Bolan: 1947-1977 A Chronology. Helter Skelter Publishing. 2002.
- Paytress, Mark. Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar. Omnibus Press. 2003.
- Paytress, Mark. "Marc Bolan: T. Rextasy". Mojo. May 2005.
- Ewens, Carl. Born to Boogie: The Songwriting of Marc Bolan. Aureus Publishing. 2007.
- Roland, Paul. Cosmic Dancer: The Life & Music Of Marc Bolan. Tomahawk Press. 2012.
- Jones, Lesley-Ann. Ride a White Swan: The Lives and Death of Marc Bolan. Hodder 2013
External links
- TAG's Marc Bolan & T-Rex web site - Legal Guardians of Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine
- The Marc Bolan Fan Group
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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