T. Rex

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Marc Bolan founded Tyrannosaurus Rex in London in July 1967, after a handful of failed solo singles and a spell as lead guitarist in John's Children. A first gig as an electric four-piece, at the Electric Garden in Covent Garden on 22 July, was a disaster and the group broke up at once. Bolan kept the name and the drummer Steve Porter, who became Steve Peregrin Took and switched to percussion, and the two played acoustic as a duo. Their debut, My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows (1968), was produced by Tony Visconti, who would produce all their records through to the mid-1970s, and reached number 15 in the UK. The BBC DJ John Peel was an early champion.

In autumn 1969 Bolan recruited the percussionist Mickey Finn to replace Took. The fourth album, A Beard of Stars, came out in early 1970 as the last under the old name, and the sound was turning electric.

Glam

Bolan then shortened the name to T. Rex. Ride a White Swan, released on Fly in October 1970, was the first single under it and went to number 2 in the UK. The self-titled T. Rex followed in December. The next single, Hot Love, reached number 1. Steve Currie joined on bass at the end of 1970 and Bill Legend on drums in early 1971, which made the band a four-piece, and Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, the former Turtles known as Flo & Eddie, sang backing vocals on the records. Chelita Secunda put glitter under Bolan's eyes before a Top of the Pops appearance, and the performances that followed are often seen as the birth of glam rock. The publicist BP Fallon coined the word T. Rextasy for the fan hysteria.

The peak

Electric Warrior came out in September 1971 and reached number 1 in the UK. Its single Get It On, retitled Bang a Gong (Get It On) in America, gave the band their only US top ten hit. Bolan left Fly for EMI and a label of his own, the T. Rex Wax Co., which issued Telegram Sam in January 1972 and Metal Guru that May. Both went to number 1. The Slider followed in July, recorded largely at the Chateau d'Herouville near Paris. It reached number 4 in the UK and number 17 in the US, their best album placing there. In December 1972 the film Born to Boogie, shot by Ringo Starr and his crew at the Empire Pool, Wembley, reached cinemas.

From 1970 to 1973 T. Rex had eleven top ten singles in the UK, four of them number 1.

After

Tanx (1973) took in soul, funk and gospel, and 20th Century Boy was a stand-alone single that year, peaking at number 3. The Groover ended a run of eleven consecutive UK top ten singles. Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow reached number 12 in 1974. Legend left after it, Bolan and Visconti parted, and Finn left that December. Bolan's Zip Gun (1975), Futuristic Dragon (1976) and Dandy in the Underworld (1977) followed, and the last show was at Grona Lund in Stockholm on 24 March 1977. Bolan died on 16 September 1977, and his management disbanded the group.

Legacy

Pitchfork's Andy Beta wrote that The Slider caught Bolan as the "King of Glam at the absolute height of his powers." Johnny Marr of the Smiths said T. Rex was pure pop, and Morrissey was inspired by Metal Guru while writing Panic. Siouxsie and the Banshees covered 20th Century Boy, and Oasis borrowed the Get It On riff for Cigarettes & Alcohol. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted T. Rex in 2020, with Ringo Starr, Joan Jett and Billy Idol presenting.