T. Rex band: Encyclopedia II - T. Rex band - Disintegration recovery and death

T. Rex band - Disintegration recovery and death

Original members of the band began to leave in 1973, alienated by Bolan's increasingly egotistical behaviour which was fed by success, money, cocaine and brandy. Marc and his wife/manager June divorced and he began a relationship with Gloria Jones, a very popular session singer in England at the time. Gloria had achieved fame in the US for 1964 recording "Tainted Love," written by Ed Cobb of the Four Preps. In the early 1980's, the UK group Soft Cell gained notoriety with their cover of this song. Gloria became Marc's back up singer, lover, and mother of his only child Rolan, born in 1975. Finn left in the band in early 1975. Always the fantasist with a Napoleon complex, Bolan grew increasingly isolated from the "real world," and high UK tax rates drove him into exile. No longer a vegetarian, he grew heavy on a diet of hamburgers and alcohol and was ridiculed in the music press.

By 1977, much of Bolan's wealth had gone, but he had managed to lose some weight and get his career back on track, his last album Dandy In The Underworld made the UK top 30, with the last singles "New York City" and "I Love To Boogie" restoring him to the UK singles top 20, and the spring tour of the album in U.K. gained positive reviews. In Autumn 1977 Bolan hosted his own ITV show "Marc," where he performed with his old friend David Bowie. Eerily, in the last show filmed Bolan loses his footing and falls off the stage, leaving Bowie strumming alone. Bowie was one of many superstars who attended Bolan's funeral.

Bolan was a crusader for punk rock, which led him to invite many punk artists on his TV show. Interested in bridging the gap between the rock-n-roll of the early seventies with the current younger generation punk scene, the format was to allow Marc to play his own music, both old and new, as well as to introduce and interview new upcoming bands including Generation X, the Rods, Boomtown Rats, and others. Peter Shelley of the Buzzcocks stated that Marc Bolan was one of his influences. Siouxie and the Banshees went on to cover "Twentieth Century Boy." Marc went on his final tour with The Damned as support. The band had christened Marc the "Godfather of Punk".

As Bolan was enjoying a new found surge in popularity, he talked about performing again with original partners Finn and Took. Unfortunately after dining at a restaurant, a few minutes before 5 a.m. on September 16, 1977, he was killed when a car in which he was a passenger hit a tree in Barnes, South West London, less than a mile from his home in Richmond. He died two weeks before his 30th birthday. Gloria Jones, who had been driving, survived the crash and shortly afterward returned to her native America with Rolan.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Disintegration recovery and death", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki