This article originally appeared in Classic Rock #111. . 59 now, retired, and spending a wonderful afternoon having a few drinks whilst listening to T-Rex songs. i have watched a TON of interviews with her, and you would think there was a third person in the car driving. Then Ride A White Swan [Bolans 1970 hit single] happened and suddenly I was very sellable. 20th Century Boy would make a great title. Friday January 30th, 1970 - T-Rex singer Marc Bolan and June Ellen Child got married at the Kensington Registry Office. 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 . The Old Rectory at Weston-under- Penyard, near Ross on Wye belonged to the Hereford Diocese and was put up for sale because it was too expensive to maintain as a clergy house. . 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. It was a long time ago. She told the Express of his regular predictions of an early death: "I don't know why he said . A woman, who had been driving, was standing by a vehicle that had hit a tree and crushed the passenger, said Chris. I took my mother's rug from the back of my car and put it on the ground. Always keeps little Marc in your heart . Terrible isnt it dont tell the press! A little before five oclock the car left the road at Queens Ride, Barnes Common, and crashed into a tree. Welcome to Bolan world, the light of love shines on ! Marc wanted to live forever. Fallon invented the term T.Rextasy and was immortalised as purple-browed Beep in Telegram Sam. Bolan spent 67,000 on the 10- bedroomed 17th-century property and another small fortune on renovation, but never lived there. Neither of the people involved had been wearing a seat belt. He and Gloria were driving in their Mini 127GT, after spending time at Mortons Club and Restaurant in Berkeley Square, London. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? After being friendly glam-rock adversaries, the pairs careers veered off in radically different paths. Bolan, who along with his close friend David Bowie had set the tone of the 1970s pop scene with his heavy guitar sounds and equally weighty make-up, was killed early in the morning of September 16 . Its actually the fans and media that keep Marcs popularity . She loses control of the car and it hits. So an accident, yes , was a front wheel lose on the mini , YES , if your a mechanic you would understand how dangerous and Easy to lose control , but most persons would continue to drive especially in the rain . 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. June at home with Marc and Mickey Someone here is a fantasist; a liar; or, has some private motive: possibly attention-seeking. I say this with no criticism and no malice, but Marc was a fully paid-up member of the Fantasy Island Club. Unfortunately, it didnt. Build your family tree online . For the last couple of years Ive been researching and writing a book which covers the last few months of Marcs life. This is not just about one moment in the past; its about decades of deceit; decades of wasting everyones time with pathetic lies ; a former public official or the brother of a music personality either defaming their public office, or associating-by-their-relationto them another performers, (their sisters), career, in boring, maudlin tales of woe. Just five close friends were invited along: Mickey Finn and his girlfriend Sue Worth, Jeff Dexter, and witnesses Alice Ormsby-Gore and. As our interview progressed, it took on a jumbled, disorganised, almost stream of consciousness quality. Ms Warner, 53, said: "A lot of people don't realise there was a fence between the tree and the road, because the fence was removed. Assuming we are all on This site as fans of Marc , best we dont claw over Gloria , she has worked on a giving charity project , and she claims to be very poor when Marc passed away . Steve Took dropped out in 1969, to be replaced by Micky Finn, whom Bolan met in a health food restaurant. Until a face-to-face meeting is arranged between those concerned, the event shall always be associated with tedious, time-wasting, appalling lies. 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. Alright, so I went through a period of time when I didnt want to say anything in the papers, but I think every artist goes through that". Once the gravity of the situation became apparent, the messy details of Bolan's death, and anyone else's, soon arose as a conversation about inheritance was raised between . 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 ? Not sure my Dyslexia helps, what I establish as an apprentice mechanic In London in the 1970s , was profound , Racism I remember gulping down about three shots of something just to handle the news. 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. That was the only indication hed been in an accident. The 29-year-old former T-Rex singer was killed instantly when the car being driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left. A big robotic arm appeared out of a crack just in front of the coffin and moved it along the rails. The time of the crash was 5am, just as dawn was breaking. When he came of age he was made aware of his claim to the Off sure Bolan Trust , I went to dinner with one of the lawyers of the trust and questioned, in trust for for who they agreed In Prncipe that Marc son should inherit, but as a child out of wedlock, he was held back , but the courts have now recognized Rolan and Im pleased for Marc about that . It was November 1975 in the offices of Tony Brainsby Publicity, shortly before the release of the Futuristic Dragon album. If I knew I was telling the truth, especially about a fatal occurrence, and somebody, not by direct accusation but by countering my accurate description of events, (thereby injuring untold numbers of hearts forever), I should make it a duty in life to arrange a public meeting with them to stop it ,once and for all. But when you think about some of Marcs phraseology Tyrannosaurus Rex eater of cars. Hubcap diamond star halo. Seventy-seven is going to be heaven. [The latter being a line from Bolans final single, Celebrate Summer.] He offers his perspective on Bolan versus Bowie: Yes, Marc was a rocknroll boy. Stan doesnt really like Conan that much, did you know? I think he means the witness Vicky who was in a car behind, Its a very strange feeling.. who scored several top ten hits with the group T Rex before his death in a car crash. Now,. Im still here.. I think I got close to it when I wrote the line cloak full of eagles. He loved life. Is there anybody with the influence, the means, and most importantly the will !, reading this, whos willing to do so, please. Magazine - No Thyself. Too beautiful to live, too young to die, he used to brag in the heady days. 1964 (pre Marc Bolan) I was 18 he was 16/17 Marc wasnt perfect, far from it, but he put himself out there and God bless him! Sadly but thankfully rarely, ex service members will later say they attended high profile incidents just to gain attention. It cant last, he told me in 1972, when the hit parade was studded with his records. Although you would never have recognised him at the scene. "I said 'we've got to get them out, this car might blow up'. I found myself chatting her up. R.i.p. It was his first real hit, and Bolans elfin face and wispily Afro hair style suddenly hit the front pages, dominated the music magazines and almost single-handedly created the teeny-bop phenomenon. Both times at the iconic Apollo Theatre in Glasgow 1976 Futuristic Dragon Tour and 1977 Dandy In The Underworld Tour. A few heads grumbled the words sell and out, but Bolan left them for dust. . Bolans June 1976 single, I Love To Boogie, was more of a simplistic chant than a cast-iron classic. Although T. Rex produced eleven British Top-Ten singles and generated fan hysteria reminiscent of the days of the Beatles, the group never achieved equal popularity in the U.S. Only one single, 1971s Bang a Gong (Get It On), was a U.S. hit. He was getting fit, the cheekbones were coming back, he was excited, he had a great band, and the songs were getting better.. 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. What Chris didnt know was that he had been in at the death of one of the most flamboyant figures in British pop music of the second half of the 20th century. Marc Bolan was a British singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and poet. The couple had a son together in September 1975, called Rolan Bolan. Their Hippy period had never been as fey as Britains, and there were no American DJs with dues to pay to their flower-power pasts. You think, what would Jimi Hendrix have done if hed lived? Thanks for reading this. Ride a White Swan. Besides, what Marc Bolan and T. Rex did was more than just standard. 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. He loved kids and he loved kids TV shows. And then, much to Bolans delight, he was offered a TV series all of his own, simply titled Marc. Nevertheless, it heralded a comeback of sorts, reaching No.13 in the chart. He is of Russian, Polish and American descent. Gloria Jones was driving the Mini 1275GT early yesterday morning when it crashed into a tree on Barnes Common. But Marc got a little bit lazy later on.. So very sad. Was Bolan, after all this time, still dubious about talking to the press? The images here are courtesy of a new website devoted to nostalgia, Flashbak and the Press Association. He was right. Selena Gomez vs. Hailey Bieber: Why Everyone Thinks They Need to Pick a Side, About Bolans death, Bowie said, Im terribly broken by it. In retrospective, back then Marc Bolan dying was just as shocking as the death of David Bowie, and some others of the brightest rock stardome. I know one person who shouldnt play him, though: Jack Whitehall!!! Although many of his songs refer to cars, Marc Bolan himself was deathly afraid of driving, fearing a young death. Many comment on this , and growing , I did read on this site ,that Marc house was a mile away from Mortons , we its not is much further , and that persons comments on Gloria have been responded to negatively. Ended up here as I visited this site today as I was in Barnes and my cousin used to live in the house directly behind the crash site double nostalgia. He thrived on it., Marc was grateful to have a second chance, says Tony Visconti. People were saying that I was done for even from the time when Debora [Tyrannosaurus Rexs 1968 single] came out, he told me. The death of Marc Bolan has its own legend. David can put a Kabuki painting to music, but for all his brilliance hes not a get-down rocknroller. Although many of his songs refer to cars, Marc Bolan himself was deathly afraid of driving, fearing a young death. David was, and indeed still is, an artiste with an e at the end. I agree with you Steve. She told me his face looked so beautiful and he had one little mark over his eyebrow, says Tony Visconti. The pair headed to their house in Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen. But Richard cried and said 'please don't leave me'." they put her in a coma on purpose to help her heal faster and calm her down. Extreme Record Collecting: Confessions of an analog vinyl snob, A long, rambling blog post about my Nico obsession (+ some astonishing, seldom seen TV performances). Fans from all over the globe have flocked to the tree in southwest London where the glam rock legend died 35 years ago today. All rights reserved. news journalist, retired, Your email address will not be published. I was unable to return to London He is best known as the frontman of glam rock group T. Rex. There were flames bursting out in front of us. I was on the same label as him, EMI, and hed say: Oh yeah, my new single, its done 30,000. And Id say: Marc, Ive seen the figures. T. Rex loses Marc Bolan in a car accident Michael Putland/Getty Images In the spring of 1974, Marc Bolan distanced himself from T. Rex. Also in 1975, he found time to play on the self-titled debut by Canadian Led Zeppelin clones Moxy. We were working on this rock opera called The Children Of Rarn, and I was dying to get back to him and do that one properly. Lets put it this way, he was badly knocked about.. 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. I remember one Top Of The Pops where Marc was wearing a toy plastic Roman breastplate that hed bought in Woolworths and one of his nipples was showing! Im afraid it is, he admitted. For the first time, an eyewitness to the devastation of the car crash that killed the rock star tells her story to a national newspaper. Marc on that night was celebrating and starting drinking after months of getting dry . It covers the accident in near forensic detail and I have located and interviewed pretty much every member of all 3 emergency services who were present and I can assure you that Chris Watts story is Not true. Marc wouldve embraced any movement as long as it reflected well among the gullible. Once the fantasist has been revealed, only then can the healing and the forgiveness begin. K.A.L.M.I.Y.H. "If people still want to speculate about the manner of his death, fine. Well the car was tested , and wheel nuts lose and very low tyre pressures, obviously would take control away from driver . It didnt mean anything. I feel thats very likely so, but should anyone have been held accountable well all I can say to that is, that hindsight is a curious thing, no one was or has really been held responsible or accountable, but the only peace of mind that I have is that thankfully I dont think Marc saw it coming as it happened so quickly that he probably was gone, before he even had the chance to process everything ( and I truly hope I am right) for his sake). Browse 1,066 marc bolan t rex stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images.