The "little beetle" was the Mini driven by Gloria Jones. When the iconic figure and lead singer of T-Rex, Marc Bolan, sadly died following a fatal car crash in 1977 and the musical world was thrown into widespread mourning. So was I. He changed his name to Marc Bolan, released a flop of a record for Decca called The Wizard, and then, ever alert for a trend, joined the flower-power, LSD and mysticism cults that flowed around the Hippies of 1967. Marc Bolan, Queen Ride, London, 16 September 1977 The lead singer of T-Rex climbs into a purple Mini 1275 GT with his friend Gloria Jones at the wheel. 3,182 Marc Bolan Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 3,182 marc bolan stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Marc Bolans mini-revival ended abruptly in the early hours of Friday, September 16, 1977. It was an accident and a tragedy, these happen. Im not sure on your comment , but please feel free to ask . He had been reduced to playing Londons Lyceum Ballroom on his Futuristic Dragon tour in front of just 1,000 people. I can understand that Gloria was probably under the influence and the car not as well maintained as it might have been. If Paul McCartney had died and John Lennon had lived, what wouldve happened then? Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. Youre clearly a nasty, small-minded clown who needs someone to blame for this. The funeral held four days later at the Golders Green Crematorium was attended by Les Paul, Rod Stewart, Bolan producer Tony Visconti, Eric Clapton and a contingent of sobbing fans. Marc was back on form. Ill have to get back into cars, I might be doing something with Marvel Comics. I agree with you Steve. I had traced Marc's Uncle by using the phone book. BP Fallon visited the crash site in Barnes personally. A big robotic arm appeared out of a crack just in front of the coffin and moved it along the rails. We use ads to keep our content free for you. Friday January 30th, 1970 - T-Rex singer Marc Bolan and June Ellen Child got married at the Kensington Registry Office. His death haunts so many of us to this day.But how low down for this guy to fabricate such a tale,when there are so many documented accounts of the crash site. Spread across two discs, the collection consists of 26 songs, such as "Jeepster", "Cosmic Dancer", "Life's a Gas . Im So sad to be morning mark after fourty five years.i have hundreds of his records I play his songs every day and most of them are especially his early songs with Steve,they all bring tears to my eyes even after all this time,I was 17 when mark left us and I still cannot live it down ,I never saw him live but I am a devoted fan of( too rex )and Ive seen them on many occasions , somehow it helps with the pain of having to live my life with out the real mark in our midst. Marc Bolan's T-Rex, and is designed . Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 Radio 1 DJ John Peel who brought Tyrannosaurus Rex to public attention ferried Bolan and Took up to Kidderminster for an allnighter on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1968, following an appearance on his Top Gear show in London. As Mark Paytress noted in his book Bolan The Rise & Fall Of A 20th Century Superstar: When the Mini was examined after the accident, the pressure on the offside front tyre was only 16lbs, 12lbs less than it should have been; one of the rear tyres was marginally down; and two nuts on one of the front wheels were not even finger-tight. Marc was firing on all cylinders, Sensible recalls. Marc's macabre prophecy: A new documentary reveals how T. Rex star Marc Bolan had a death wish to die in a Mini. With his twin commitments as solo artist and band member now solidified, Bolin worked simultaneously on his solo debut Teaser, and his first (and, it turned out, only) studio album with Purple, Come Taste The Band, both released in late '75. Singer Marc Bolan performing with English glam rock group T-Rex at the Empire Pool . And then, much to Bolans delight, he was offered a TV series all of his own, simply titled Marc. Marc Bolan, best-known as the frizzy-haired leader of T. Rex, died September 16th in a car crash. That was how Geoffrey Bayldon [the actor in Catweazle] got a part in the Born To Boogie movie. He and Gloria were driving in their Mini 127GT, after spending time at Mortons Club and Restaurant in Berkeley Square, London. Thanks for reading this. My Electric Warrior character was meant to be a sort of Conan, actually, except that he didnt follow the conventional boring barbarian pattern, Bolan rambled on, going round and round in ever-decreasing circles. We didnt meet again. Build your family tree online . England and Wales company registration number 2008885. . This topic is very interesting. You cant believe a word of that. He gave up writing proper poetry once he realised he could be on every girls bedroom wall with Ride A White Swan onward. During his career span, he worked on several albums which included the likes of Smashed Blocked!, My People Were Fair and Had Sky in . My book: Marc Bolan. A woman, who had been driving, was standing by a vehicle that had hit a tree and crushed the passenger, said Chris. We dont need sensationalism right now, she states plainly. Theyll grow up soon and change. Im a lunatic.. But it was an occasion Ill never forget. so how easy was he lifted out ? But hold on. Not long before his death, Bolan had publicly described his efforts successfully to overcome drug . It was very fashionable to use my face on the cover of everything. Marc Bolan and Gloria Jones at Rod Stewart's party at Morton's on the night that he died. Marc Bolan Photos Marc Bolan Photos Death Bolan died on 16 September 1977, two weeks before his 30th birthday. Surely Prince knew. Through 1971 and 1972 I was much newer and fresher than I am now, and I hit a big peak. Gloria has made life hard for herself , she claimed Marc to be violent , and she appeared back in Uk. 1981. It was a sunny afternoon, if I remember rightly, says Captain Sensible. Its a great idea you open up a cloak and its full of eagles. Just so sad. I know exactly how you feel Susan. Bolan spent 67,000 on the 10- bedroomed 17th-century property and another small fortune on renovation, but never lived there. Hello. Bolans long-time record producer Tony Visconti recalls the battle with Bowie: They saw each other as competition right from the start. Ms Aram said she didn't immediately stop at the car but drove a few metres past it. Ride a White Swan. Ive written some great lyrics, and people say its all mindless garbage. I adored him and his crazy madness.. Thats when the penny dropped. Re: Chris Watts interview. He would be good-looking and still sharp., Tony Visconti: I think he would have acted. Shame on the fake fireman. She couldnt understand how that had killed him. It was November 1975 in the offices of Tony Brainsby Publicity, shortly before the release of the Futuristic Dragon album. How revolting, like he didnt matter There will be unanswered questions indefinitely, and it is a shame that todays younger generation arent exposed or more exposed to T-Rex Marc Bolan music. A face-to-face encounter with an idol can be a deflating, sobering, even depressing experience. Rolan turned out to be a wonderful man. I was a big fan and read at the time he was thrown from the car on impact. Betty Davis was born Betty Mabry on July 26, 1945 in Durham, N.C., grew up in Pittsburgh, and began writing songs at age 12. Now, however, it has been revealed the legend was wrong. She and volunteers preserve the shrine dedicated to Bolan. There were decadent parties, times when he wallowed in bizarre sex. her injuries (i want to say unfortunately, but i wont) were not life-threatening. It was once said of the Rolling Stones: Would you let your daughter marry one of these? But as far as the stars of glam rock were concerned you had to work out the gender first. Bolan was killed his seat swivelling through 180 degrees and ending up in the rear of the vehicle and Jones was severely injured. It always has been and always will be the biggest dissapointment of my life that I never met Marc in person. I couldnt gather my thoughts. Please allow ads and let sponsors fund your surfing. I would also say that I had a similar mini; it could be skittish and let go at the rear end. He loved all the adulation and the recognition. Nobody could have foreseen that., Estranged wife June Bolan (ne Child) went to pay her respects to Marcs dead body. Before such a meeting takes place, a publican could be thought of as trying to draw-in customers to regale them with gleefully-recounted prosy retellings of his merely accidental presence one night at a miserable event, of which even the misery wasnt of his own making ; which pitifully exposes how the ravenous hunger for a little recognition is so desired by the unloved, by the floundering, anonymous millions, aware as many might be that they shall at best find nothing more than temporary, misattributed-glory, by attaching their names to those whose talents, efforts or persona, not their lazy idling dreams, earned for themselves what the limpet trys to attach itself. The duo hit the charts with the stand-alone single "Ride a White Swan," and . Im afraid it is, he admitted. But with his days as the teen-scream Guru Of Glitter well behind him, with the great ship T.Rextasy lost off the misty coast of Albany, he needed the press. The vehicle, a purple Mini 1275GT (registration FOX 661L) was being driven by girlfriend Gloria Jones. Dont believe a word of this Marc was not cut out of the wreckage he was lifted out by Glorias brother Richard and layd down on a blanket as he then tried hopeless cpr on marcs lifeless body. Marc Bolan and Gloria Jones at Rod Stewarts party at Mortons on the night that he died. The crash site has become a shrine to his memory with fans making pilgrimages to leave flowers and tributes and is maintained by the T.Rex Action Group. She was very badly and seriously injured. On September 16, 1977, two weeks before Bolan would have turned 30, returning from a party thrown by Rod Stewart, he was killed when the purple Mini being driven by his girlfriend, American soul singer Gloria Jones (she recorded the original version of Ed Cobbs Tainted Love) hit a chainlink fence and then a tree near Gypsy Lane in Southwest London. Leaning more against rock, Bolan shortened the band's name to T. Rex in 1970 and replaced Took with Mickey Finn. A racist mechanic? Penny..would you email me pleasethanks Bari. This is not factually true. i have watched a TON of interviews with her, and you would think there was a third person in the car driving. Fans are still distressed by his death without someone trying to make it more gruesome than it was.can this man supply us with official records ? She offered Marc a teatime TV series. Do you have any unpublished photos, anything, that we might all enjoy, please, from that time ? The Damned werent bona fide punks, anyway. David loved Marc very much, and Marc loved David.. The relative success of I Love led to a one-off TV special, Rollin Bolan. Besides, what Marc Bolan and T. Rex did was more than just standard. In an eerie parallel with Bolan's death, Ms Aram said she crashed into a tree on the way to give evidence at Bolan's inquest a month later. Within a few days their home was looted by thieves. She was gorgeous. . Follow Flashbak on Twitter and Facebook. He offers his perspective on Bolan versus Bowie: Yes, Marc was a rocknroll boy. He installed a caretaker and three years later sold it for about 70,000 without hardly ever visiting. They helped time to pass on the long, and unsuccessful US tours. At the time of Marcs death I wasnt a huge fan, but now I really appreciate his work. Its also known that Gloria took the car into have a tyre change . No other vehicle was involved. The little girls soon started to scream for the singers whose music was aimed specifically at them the Osmonds, David Cassidy. T. Rex popularity began to fall off in the mid-Seventies, but Bolan had recently made a comeback of sorts he had just filmed the first two shows for a new British TV series. It caused outrage., While its true that the hits never totally dried up for Marc Bolan, theres little doubt his creative muse fizzled rather than sizzled in his latter years. He was best known as the lead singer of the rock band T. Rex. Its astute proprietor had recognised as soon as Little Richard uttered the immortal phrase Awop-bop-aloobopawop- bam-boom that things were moving on from ballroom. Mark Feld, like many another, got to make a record. I think he would have written a film. Nina Hagens Nunsexmonkrock: Greatest (and weirdest) unsung masterpiece of the postpunk era? recalled Chris Watts, then a member of London Fire Brigade but for the past 21 years licensee of the Albion Inn, Bath Road, Worcester, when a call came to attend an accident on the South Circular. Thats all documented, however it could be a forgetful mechanic who just didnt tighten the wheel nuts , as for a planned accident, I think not , but it has since been found out that the car hit a concrete bollard and was propelled into the tree . Diary of a rock star: Marc Bolan in a previously unseen photograph featured in the new biography, Ride a White Swan: The Lives and Death of Marc Bolan, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. "Surrealistic rock'n'roll. He was the lead singer of rock band T. Rex. In fact she did not even learn of his death until after his funeral. Thanks. Then Ride A White Swan [Bolans 1970 hit single] happened and suddenly I was very sellable. And I dont necessarily mean Watts. T. Rex was the flagship in glam rock. Although you would never have recognised him at the scene. marc was actually thrown into the backseat, and new evidence suggests that a metal spike entered his eye. The couple were on their way back from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square and only a mile from their home in East Sheen. Photo date: Monday, January 18, 2021. The images here are courtesy of a new website devoted to nostalgia, Flashbak and the Press Association. From the archive, 17 September 1977: Marc Bolan dies in car crash The T Rex star was killed instantly when his car hit a tree in south London Singer Marc Bolan (1947-1977) on a tour bus in. This gave Bolan a brief career as a model for fashion catalogs looking tough in sharp suits for the flash Mod-about-town. My point with this book is to expose the much repeated erroneous reports and false statements surrounding the last few months of Marc Bolans life and to hopefully draw a line under things once and for all. You just called him a racist. He had had a son with her, Rolan. The night before he had been at Mortons restaurant in Londons Berkeley Square, celebrating Gloria Joness return to the UK from California, where she had been recording an album. Once the fantasist has been revealed, only then can the healing and the forgiveness begin. Marc wasnt perfect, far from it, but he put himself out there and God bless him! The British Establishment clasped him to its grisly bosom, and he appeared in anti-litter advertisements. Wikipaedia is very useful . Gloria Jones: Hed be doing his own music, hed be doing film, hed be enjoying time with his son, and wed possibly be living in Malibu. Is there anybody with the influence, the means, and most importantly the will !, reading this, whos willing to do so, please. Im still the groover honey !! Steve Harley takes up to story: Muriel Young kick-started it all. Oh, no. Marc Bolan was a British singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and poet. You can find instructions here as to how. , that said did he have it on ?, i think yes he did as its a front wheel drive car the bell housing , on a transform engine would have been directly in front of his legs , but the whole engine was forced back to the passenger side . Also he has the watch colours wrong for the time of day. Gloria Jones brother, Richard Jones, in hat behind them. This is the story of his final hours (Image credit: Estate Of Keith Morris/Getty Images ) "You see, my idea of rock'n'roll is that subterranean homesick blues feel," said Marc Bolan. However, Steve Harley believes Bolans endorsement of punk was purely a means to an end. I literally could barely even peek at the publicity stills for that Sky Arts Urban Myths show, they were so grim looked more like George of The Jungle crossed with Donovan and the bloke who played Bowie looked a complete pudding as well. I was living in a twilight world of drugs, booze and kinky sex, Bolan said in one newspaper interview. Bolan spent 67,000 on the 10- bedroomed 17th-century property and another small fortune on renovation, but never lived there. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. lovely man died so young,sadly missed still to this day. Too beautiful to live, too young to die, he used to brag in the heady days. What a load of tosh. People talk such bollocks. Now Ive levelled out. I don't think Richard thought Marc was dead, but I knew he was. Daisy Jones & The Six has yet to premiere, but the retro series is already causing a buzz for its bohemian wardrobe. As the scene rotted, male prostitution gnawed its edges, but in its dedicated pursuit of style an image that could outstare the world the Mod world groomed many a future star. One of these must be true. The couple had a son together in September 1975, called Rolan Bolan. Cause of death was trauma and blood loss, and there is a suggestion that a bolt from a fence post punched into his temple and that was what finished him off. The tour was a supposedly low-key one, hence the undersized attendance. He was the cosmic punk again.. Neither one was wearing a seat belt,and she was not notified of his death until after the funeral. By spring 1976 Bowie had re-energised himself as the ber-suave Thin White Duke and was playing six sold-out shows at the aforementioned Empire Pool on his Station To Station tour. Then this girl appeared. Please dont publicly call someone a racist or murderer without knowing what the hell your talking about. His taste was for the big time. T. Rex leader and glam rock icon Marc Bolan died in a car crash on Sept. 16, 1977. I played the first Tyrannosaurus Rex album recently and then I wrote about 10 songs in the same style, just to show myself that I could still do it, The high woods filled with the bones of broken gods. I wrote that the other day, its a lovely line, isnt it, I mean, how can I honestly sit down and think that in the past Ive been compared to David Cassidy? Any proof? Another Welshman , Alexander Vlahos (played the kings brother in Versailles), might be good in a pinch, too. Fans from around the world have converged on the tree in south-west London where the glam rock star drew his last breath 35 years ago today. Trouble is it is not the true or full story.To read the true story look up Vicky Aram who was there that night as a guest of Marc and Gloria. You are right. Early 1971. The time of the crash was 5am, just as dawn was breaking. Marc Bolan's Funeral 1977 44,348 views Jul 20, 2017 Rod Stewart and David Bowie at Marc's Funeral in Septem .more .more 392 Dislike Share A Thousand Mark Feld Charms 376 subscribers. Bolans June 1976 single, I Love To Boogie, was more of a simplistic chant than a cast-iron classic. They were barely a mile from home. . He was a passenger in a purple Mini 1275GT (registration FOX 661L) driven by Gloria Jones as they headed home from Mortons drinking club and restaurant in Berkeley Square. Still amazing after all these years. By the end of 1973 he was drinking a bottle a day. Marc Bolan on top of the Arbourthorne Hotel in 1975 - Russell is pictured bottom left with glasses on. She is known for playing Jordan Kersey in "Death Wish" (2018), Jessie in "Never Goin' Back" (2018) and Ruby in "Valley Girl" (2020 . If you go to the 4:15 mark below, youll see color footage of Marc Bolans funeral. Always keep a little Marc in your heart. You Scare Me to Death! and then she became a TV producer. On September 16, 1977, returning from a tour with the punk group The Damned, Bolan dies in a car accident in London.