5.15.2009

20TH CENTURY BOY: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARC BOLAN


I have been in a Marc Bolan mood for a week! Don't know what brought him into my mind. Guess Marc is reaching into my dreams and asking for a post on RetroK.

He was, of course, the first Glam Rocker but he preferred Cosmic Rocker. Cosmic he was... Gorgeous looking rocker and what a stage performer he was! As much as I love David Bowie, Marc did it first and did it hotter and sexier... I wanted him to be my boy for sure...


Marc Bolan born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977  was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and poet. He was the lead singer of the band T. Rex and was one of the pioneers of the glam rock movement of the 1970s.

Bolan died at the age of 29 in a car crash two weeks before his 30th birthday. In 1997, a memorial stone and bust of Bolan, Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine, was unveiled at the site where he died in Barnes, London. As a member of T. Rex, Bolan will posthumously be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.



No one before or since has created a sound, an image, and genre all his own. His tragic car accident and early death at age 30 froze his music in time forever.


Bolan was a self-made pop icon, and one of the original Glam Rock stars in England. Born Marc Feld, he had a brief career as a superstar with his band T-Rex but was eventually reduced to hosting a Children's TV series.


On the night of September 16, 1977, Marc had dinner with his love Gloria Jones, with whom he had a 2-year-old son Rolan. After much merriment, Gloria got behind the wheel of her purple Mini 1275 GT (license plate FOX 66IL) to drive Marc and herself home.



This was about 4am. Shortly thereafter, the Mini-Cooper was traveling on Queens Ride, at the southern edge of Barnes Common, south London. The Mini left the road as it crossed a hump-backed bridge, shot through the fence, and smashed into a sycamore tree. Marc's side took the impact, and he was thrown into the back of the car and killed instantly. Gloria was unconscious but alive.

6 comments:

Gregorio said...

Great post!Strange but I was just talking to a friend about Marc Bolan and here you did a post how cool is that.

Retro Kimmer said...

Yeah! Marc Bolan has been haunting me all week. Mostly Cosmic Dancer running through my mind. but I couldn't find a good video of it where he looks good in it. I had such a crush on him back then. He'd be 62 now. But for me he is forever beautiful! I loved the movie Billy Elliott because these used marc in it the whole movie.

You sure saw it quick I just did it.!
Thanks for coming by. Do a bit on Georgia O'Keeffe for me!

Beth said...

There is a good-sized article on Bolan in the book about Creem that I recently mentioned on my blog. He was a little before my time, so I'm not that familiar with him or T. Rex, other than knowing the usual songs. Hard to believe he'd be 62 now. Who said "die young and leave a good-looking corpse?"

The Snarky View said...

OH Honey Marc was such a hottie! But thanks to You Tube you can still see his gorgeous face there today. We loved him so... Marc is half the reason Billy Elliott was such a great film.

Retro Kimmer said...

I just love that top pic of Marc don't you? Sigh.... I did get to see T Rex in Atlanta GA as a teen and it was the most fantastic show!

Jonno said...

Hi, I've been a T.Rex fan since 1973. I saw them in Seattle 15th August that year, the night June left Marc over Gloria Jones.

I recently heard "Dandy in the Underworld" for the first time. The track, not the whole album. I will fly in the face of popular opinion and say no, this track will not save the starving children who went to bed hungry tonight. After may 50 listenings over 2+ weeks, I opine... Marc sounds tired, fat, bored, old, and OAP-esque. The lyrics aren't even good enough to rate as pastiche; they suck. The sound production is crisp, wh. is rare for anything coming out of the 1970s.
If Marc had lived, this would be looked upon as his first baby step back up. And quickly forgotten if what many of us surmise would have been the top of the popular music heap.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

addtoany