Marc Bolan was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter.
40 Facts About Marc Bolan
2.
Marc Bolan was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T Rex.
3.
Marc Bolan died in a car crash two weeks before his 30th birthday.
4.
Marc Bolan was born at Hackney Hospital and grew up at 25 Stoke Newington Common, in the borough of Hackney, east London, the son of Phyllis Winifred and Simeon Feld, a lorry driver.
5.
Marc Bolan's father was an Ashkenazi Jew of Russian and Polish ancestry, while his mother was of English descent.
6.
Marc Bolan was a pupil at Northwold Primary School, Upper Clapton.
7.
Marc Bolan appeared as an extra in an episode of the television show Orlando, dressed as a mod.
8.
Marc Bolan briefly joined a modelling agency and became a "John Temple Boy", appearing in a clothing catalogue for the menswear store.
9.
Marc Bolan was a model for the suits in their catalogues as well as for cardboard cut-outs to be displayed in shop windows.
10.
In 1964, Marc Bolan met his first manager, Geoffrey Delaroy-Hall, and recorded a slick commercial track backed by session musicians called "All at Once", which was later released posthumously by Danielz and Caron Willans in 2008 as a very limited edition seven-inch vinyl after the original tape recording was passed onto them by Delaroy-Hall.
11.
Marc Bolan then changed his stage name to Toby Tyler when he met and moved in with child actor Allan Warren, who became his second manager.
12.
Marc Bolan demanded he tear up the contract and he willingly complied.
13.
Marc Bolan recorded his debut single "The Wizard" with the Ladybirds on backing vocals, and studio session musicians playing all the instruments.
14.
In 1966, Marc Bolan turned up at Simon Napier-Bell's front door with his guitar and proclaimed that he was going to be a big star and he needed someone to make all of the arrangements.
15.
In reality the wizard was probably American actor Riggs O'Hara with whom Marc Bolan made a trip to Paris in 1965.
16.
Marc Bolan left John's Children when, among other problems, the band's equipment had been repossessed by their label Track Records.
17.
In 1969, Marc Bolan published his first and only book of poetry entitled The Warlock of Love.
18.
In keeping with his early rock and roll interests, Marc Bolan began bringing amplified guitar lines into the duo's music, buying a white Fender Stratocaster decorated with a paisley teardrop motif from Syd Barrett.
19.
Marc Bolan performed "Hot Love" on the BBC television show Top of the Pops wearing glitter on his face: the performance was later recognized as the foundation of glam rock.
20.
Marc Bolan knew how to subvert gender norms into fantastical new shapes.
21.
Outraged, Bolan took advantage of the timely lapsing of his Fly Records contract and left for EMI, who gave him his own record label, the T Rex Wax Co.
22.
Marc Bolan took to wearing top hats and feather boas on stage as well as putting drops of glitter on each of his cheekbones.
23.
The glam era saw the rise of Marc Bolan's friend David Bowie, whom Marc Bolan had come to know in the underground days but their friendship was a rivalry, which continued throughout his career.
24.
However, "Teenage Dream" from the 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow showed that Bolan was attempting to create richer, more involved music than he had previously attempted with T Rex.
25.
Marc Bolan expanded the line up of the band to include a second guitarist, Jack Green, and other studio musicians, and began to take more control over the sound and production of his records, including by then girlfriend Gloria Jones on keyboards as well as backing vocals.
26.
Marc Bolan's marriage came to an end because of his affair with backing singer Jones, which began in July 1973.
27.
Marc Bolan was not living healthily and began to gain weight, though he subsequently improved and continued working.
28.
That same year, Marc Bolan returned to the UK from tax exile in the US and Monaco and to the public eye with a low-key tour.
29.
Marc Bolan made regular appearances on the LWT pop show Supersonic, directed by his old friend Mike Mansfield and released a succession of singles, including "New York City" which reached the top 15.
30.
In early 1977, Marc Bolan got a new band together, released a new album, Dandy in the Underworld, and set out on a fresh UK tour, taking along punk band the Damned as support to entice a young audience who did not remember his heyday barely five years previously.
31.
Bowie's solo song "Heroes" was the show's penultimate song; Marc Bolan signed off, naming some of the musicians: "All the cats; you know who they are"; they then began to play a bluesy song, over the closing credits.
32.
Marc Bolan began his first serious romantic relationship, with Theresa Whipman, in 1965.
33.
Marc Bolan was influential in raising her new husband's profile in the music industry.
34.
Marc Bolan owned a number of vehicles, including a white 1960s Rolls-Royce that was loaned by his management to the band Hawkwind on the night of his death.
35.
On 16 September 1977, Marc Bolan was a passenger in a Mini 1275GT driven by Gloria Jones as they headed home from Mortons club and restaurant in Berkeley Square.
36.
Marc Bolan was killed instantly, while Jones suffered a broken arm and broken jaw.
37.
At Marc Bolan's funeral, attended by David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Tony Visconti and Steve Harley, a swan-shaped floral tribute was displayed outside the service in recognition of his breakthrough hit single "Ride a White Swan".
38.
Marc Bolan had arranged a discretionary trust to safeguard his money.
39.
Marc Bolan strongly influenced artists of many genres, including glam rock, punk, post-punk, new wave, indie rock, Britpop and alternative rock.
40.
Marc Bolan was the early guitar idol of Johnny Marr, who later found fame as the guitarist of the influential indie rock band the Smiths.