The new sound was premiered on single "King of the Rumbling Spires" and tracks were recorded for a planned fourth album, before Bolan replaced percussionist Steve Peregrin Took with Mickey Finn following a US tour.

"Ride a White Swan", a simple four-stanza lyric with the second repeated as the fourth, was written in Bolan's West London home that he shared with his wife June.

[6] It was less than two minutes long and contained four layered guitar tracks, with Bolan also playing Tony Visconti's Fender Precision bass, with a capo placed on the fourth fret.

The progress of "Ride a White Swan" was slow but steady; it entered the Top 40 on 31 October but it wasn't until 11 weeks later – on 23 January 1971 – that it reached a peak position of number 2.

[8] It was ultimately a novelty record by Dad's Army actor Clive Dunn – "Grandad" – which stopped "Ride a White Swan" from completing its climb to the top.

Derek Johnson of NME noted "an excellent sound...fine stuff indeed" while Chris Welch of Melody Maker stated that the song recaptured the simple drive of late 50s pop and predicted "this must be a hit, or I'll eat my toadstool."

"[11] "Ride a White Swan" made Bolan a star and boosted T. Rex's fame and reputation, paving the way for its follow-up single "Hot Love" to climb to number 1 for six weeks as the phenomenon of glam rock took hold.

At this point Bolan introduced bassist Steve Currie and, prior to the next single and a major tour, recruited drummer Bill Legend to complete the line-up which remains the representation of T. Rex's halcyon era.