T Rex biography

Another association that was undoubtedly a key aspect of making it was that which they shared with Tony Visconti, the now-legendary producer, who saw their potential from the start and, better still, knew what to do with it in a recording studio. Visconti recounts his first encounter with the duo, at the UFO Club on Tottenham Court Road: 'As I descended the stairs into the dark club I could hear some incredible, bopping acoustic music. When my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, there were Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrine Took, sitting cross-legged on the stage playing this very strange music of theirs. What really threw me was that the audience of 300 or so kids was silently enraptured with Marc, not even clapping or screaming, but standing there swaying with the music as if in a trance'.

Visconti, struck by Bolan's haunting, hypnotic voice, instantly wanted to produce the band, and having persuaded his boss, Denny Cordell, to sign the duo despite the latter's reservations that he 'didn't get' their music, Visconti was then given a small budget to produce their first album of songs. In spite of the measly funds, though, the young producer was happy enough, as he felt like he'd discovered his own version of the Beatles. However, the problem was to harness the rock feel that underlay the group's eccentric, folky songs, despite their unconventional rock set-up of an acoustic guitar (Bolan) and percussion (Took). Even at this early stage, Bolan was something to be reckoned with in terms of wanting artistic control, and Visconti knew better than to mess too much with Tyrannosaurus Rex's authentic sound - thus, the first album - 1968's snappily-titled 'My people were fair and had sky in their hair... but now they're content to wear stars on their brows' - was in essence their live set with some overdubs. It performed well on the sales chart, shifting over 20000. Their first single 'Debora', was also a minor success, and the band were on their way.

However, the label boss was keen to drop them, and were it not for some skulduggery from Visconti, they may well have petered out like so many other acts. Going against his superior's wishes, and reasoning that if he heard the music before receiving the bills then all would be forgiven, the producer secretly booked them in for some more studio time to record a second disc, 'Prophets, Seers and Sages - The Angels of the Ages'. (To quote the Dude in 'The Big Lebowski', when it came to the early album names, Bolan clearly wasn't too 'keen on the whole brevity thing.')

The record sold well, getting its producer out of considerably hot water, and helping the band to become something of a growing phenomenon. In addition, their second single, 'One Inch Rock', (1968) performed better than the first. Bolan, keen not to make his fans pay twice for the same recordings, and that they should get their money's worth, insisted that B-sides should not appear again on albums - and likewise with their singles.

By the time of the release of 1969's 'Unicorn', however, cracks were starting to appear in the relationship between the two band-members. Bolan flatly refused to have any of Took's compositions on the album, but their differences were reportedly as much to do with lifestyle as musical. Bolan and his girlfriend June (a former squeeze of Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett) were living a relatively sedate life, whilst Took had fallen headlong into the Ladbroke Grove drug-taking, drinking and partying scene. Unicorn was to be the last album on which Took featured, and after an ill-fated tour of the US the percussionist and founder member was replaced by bongo player Mickey Finn. June, now Bolan's wife, had phoned Visconti and told him that the new partner had a great look, better than Took, and although the producer was inclined to agree, he did state that he lacked Took's creativity and zany originality when recording the next album, 'Beard of Stars' (1970). However, the album titles were getting shorter, and the band was becoming ever more accessible as Bolan's writing and the arrangements moved from the quirky folk towards a more rocky edge.

This progression continued further with the dropping of the band's longer name, shortening to 'T-Rex', also the title for their next album in 1970. The single 'Ride a White Swan' (as per Bolan's ethos, not appearing on the album) propelled them to their highest chart position yet, no.2, and a no.1 with the follow up, 'Hot Love', followed. Bolan's appearance on Top of The Pops, glitter underneath each eye, came to be viewed as a seminal moment in the birth of glam rock, and a new wave of fans began to identify with Bolan's sexual, yet androgynous image. And, although their earlier hippie fans may have branded Bolan a sell-out, and a mauling from the music critics every time a record came out, sales went big.

Sticking with the two new recruits brought in for 'Hot Love', the drummer Bill Legend and bassist Steve Currie, the second album as T-Rex, 'Electric Warrior' (1971) topped the charts. It contained several singles, 'Jeepster', 'Telegram Sam', 'Metal Guru' and their biggest ever hit, 'Get it On' - also their only significant hit in the states, charting at no. 10 in a country in which glam largely failed to make an impact. Back at home, though, 'T-Rextacy' had become the next 'Beatle-mania.'

Their next album, 'The Slider' (1972) performed well in the US, as did the collection of A and B sides amalgamated together for 'Bolan Boogie', effectively a cash-in which went against Bolan's ethos of always giving the fans something new. However, neither Bolan nor Visconti were consulted about the choices of track for the album, which had been compiled by the 'Fly' label that T Rex had just parted company with (setting up the 'T-Rex Wax Co.' label, under the EMI umbrella).

1973 was to prove a major turning point in the history of T-Rex. Drummer Bill Legend left, reportedly due to the increasingly megalomaniacal behaviour of Bolan, and the album 'Tanx' failed to set the world alight, receiving a savaging from the critics and leading Visconti to comment, looking back, 'It was apparent to critics and some fans alike that we were just repeating ourselves. Nothing new was happening on this album'. The excessive demand of touring, with no time for rehearsal in between, meant that Bolan was composing songs in hotel bedrooms, and the band would be hauled in to the studio to record them. Bolan's ego was also expanding, fuelled by his fame, wealth, and penchant for cocaine and brandy. He split from June, and embarked upon a relationship with Gloria Jones, a backing singer on tour with the group in the US.

The 1974 album 'Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow' was their first in the post 'Tyrannosaurus' days not to make it into the top ten, and was in essence a pale imitation of their former selves. Morale was poor in the band, as Bolan had taken to shunning the rhythm section of the group in the tour bus. Furthermore, he had never paid them royalties, paying them in effect a basic wage. For 'Zinc Alloy' Bolan hired in session musicians for several of the tracks, changing the sound and losing something of the original feel of their earlier work. This was to be Visconti and Bolan's last collaboration - another of the producer's stars, David Bowie, was rising meteorically just as T-Rex were on the slide, and the producer described his last work with the group as 'a very tired album.'

Bolan seized control of the faders for the band's subsequent albums, claiming producer credits as well as front-man and songwriter. His album 'Bolan's Zip Gun' received another shoeing in the press, and after the birth of Rolan in 1975, he moved away to Monte Carlo for tax reasons - and also to close himself off, perhaps, from the rest of the world. 'Futuristic Dragon' (1976) managed to chart at 50, which was a vast improvement on its non-charting predecessor, but Bolan had lost his way somewhat, having put on weight and ditched the vegetarianism for a diet of hamburgers.

However, 'I Love to Boogie' came out in the scorching summer of 1976, and performed well, and after regaining his slimmer figure Bolan enjoyed some success on a tour of the UK as a support act for 'The Damned'. He had turned things around sufficiently for ITV to offer him his own TV show, 'Marc' by 1977, after the success of his final album, 'Dandy in the Underworld'. In a format familiar to viewers of Jools Holland, Bolan played some of his own tunes, and also introduced newer acts like the Jam and Boomtown Rats.

There were rumours that he would revive an earlier rough draft of a rock opera, 'The Children of Rarn', and that Bolan was planning to resume working with Visconti again. However, after a night out in London on 16th September, 1977, Gloria Jones was driving the pair home, lost control of the mini in which they were driving, and hit the sycamore tree which now bears his memorial. Jones survived, despite being seriously injured, but Bolan - a maddening, gifted, egotistical, folk-rock-protopunk control freak - was killed almost instantly.

• Discography