Though initially associated with the psychedelic folk genre, Bolan began to change the band's style towards electric rock in 1969, and shortened their name to T. Rex the following year.
From 1970 to 1973, T. Rex were extremely popular in the UK, with a run of eleven top ten singles, four of which reached number one: "Hot Love", "Get It On", "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru".
[1] Marc Bolan founded Tyrannosaurus Rex in July 1967, following a handful of failed solo singles and a brief career as lead guitarist in psych-rock band John's Children.
[2][3] Subsequently, Bolan retained the band name and the services of Porter, who switched to percussion under the name Steve Peregrin Took, and the two began performing acoustic material as a duo with a repertoire of folk-influenced Bolan-penned songs.
[3][4] The combination of Bolan's acoustic guitar and distinctive vocal style with Took's bongos and assorted percussion—which often included children's instruments, such as the Pixiphone—earned them a devoted following in the thriving hippy underground scene.
[7] While Bolan's early solo material was rock and roll-influenced pop music, by now he was writing dramatic and baroque songs with lush melodies and surreal lyrics filled with Greek and Persian mythology as well as poetic creations of his own.
[8] Their fourth single "King of the Rumbling Spires" issued in July, was a musical departure compared to the previous material: they used a full rock band setup with a drumkit and an entirely electric sound.
To counter this, Took drew from the shock rock style of Iggy Pop; Took explained, "I took my shirt off in the Sunset Strip where we were playing and whipped myself till everybody shut up.
[12] As well as progressively shorter titles, Tyrannosaurus Rex's albums began to show higher production values, more accessible songwriting from Bolan, and further experimentation with electric guitars and a true rock sound.
[14] The new sound was more pop-oriented, and the first single, "Ride a White Swan" recorded in July and released in October 1970 made the Top 10 in the UK by late November and would soon reach number 2.
[16][17] "Ride a White Swan" was quickly followed by a second single, "Hot Love", which reached the top spot on the UK charts, and remained there for six weeks.
[7] Between these two releases, Bolan first recruited bassist Steve Currie, and then drummer Bill Legend, to form a full band to record and tour to growing audiences.
After Chelita Secunda added two spots of glitter under Bolan's eyes before an appearance on Top of the Pops for which Bolan wore shiny satin trousers and a shiny jacket (from Chelsea boutique Alkasura) in place of his previous hippy clothes, soon followed by another appearance for the show on which he wore a silver velvet/satin sailor suit, the ensuing performances would often be viewed as the birth of glam rock.
Having already begun standing up onstage to perform electric songs, Bolan also incorporated more physical showmanship, such as struts, dances and poses, into his stage act.
The film featured two T. Rex shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley, which had been shot by Ringo Starr and his crew earlier in the year.
[20] An eclectic album containing several melancholy ballads and rich production, Tanx showcased the T. Rex sound bolstered by extra instrumental embellishments such as Mellotron and saxophone.
"The Street and Babe Shadow" was funkier while the last song "Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys" was seen by critics as a nod to gospel with several female backing singers.
[21] Released at the same time in March 1973, the heavy rock "20th Century Boy" was another important success, peaking at number 3 in the UK Singles chart but was not included in the album.
A six part TV series, Marc, presented by Bolan and including multiple performances by T.Rex in each episode as well as other artists, was produced in Manchester by Granada Television for the ITV network.
[24] Marc Bolan and his girlfriend Gloria Jones spent the evening of 15 September 1977 drinking at the Speakeasy and then dining at Morton's club on Berkeley Square, in Mayfair, Central London.
[25] While driving home early in the morning of 16 September, Jones crashed Bolan's purple Mini 1275 GT into a tree (now the site of Bolan's Rock Shrine), after failing to navigate a small humpback bridge near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, southwest London, a few miles from his home at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen.
[27] As Bolan had been the only constant member of T. Rex and also the only composer and writer, his management disbanded the remaining group (keyboardist Dino Dines and drummer Tony Newman; there was a vacancy for bassist) immediately upon his death.
They were cited by acts such as New York Dolls, the Ramones, Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, R.E.M., the Smiths, the Pixies and Tricky.
"[41] Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon credited the band and other artists for the emergence of punk rock: "T. Rex... — their influence was enormous".
Joy Division's Bernard Sumner was marked by the sound of the guitar of early T. Rex; his musical journey began at a poppy level with "Ride a White Swan".
covered live "20th Century Boy" early in their career in 1984:[49] singer Michael Stipe said that T. Rex and other groups of the 1970s "were huge influences on all of us",[50] "[they] really impacted me".
[51] The Pixies's lead guitarist Joey Santiago cited Electric Warrior in his 13 defining records,[52] as did the Jam's Paul Weller.
When he saw T. Rex on Top of the Pops playing "Jeepster", he felt: "that's my kind of music [...] The thing I related to as 12-year-old I still go back to and uses as one of my main touchstones when I'm making records".
"[64] T. Rex are referenced in several popular songs, including David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" (which he wrote for Mott the Hoople in 1972),[65] the Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
[72] The music of T. Rex features in the soundtracks of various movies, including Velvet Goldmine,[73] Death Proof,[74] Billy Elliot,[75] the Bank Job,[76] Dallas Buyers Club,[77] and Baby Driver.