20^th Century Boy: An Appreciation Of Marc Bolan

Saturday 15 September
2004-2100

There’d never been a pop star quite like Marc Bolan, and there’s never been another since. On the weekend of the 30th anniversary of his tragically early death at the age of 29, and in the month when he would have turned 60, Paul Sexton looks at his life, music and legacy with the help of a stellar, extensive cast list of friends, family and collaborators.

The programme charts Bolan’s long and sometimes painful journey from the streets of Hackney in north London, via early unsuccessful singles in his own name and with John’s Children, to the hippy-era Tyrannosaurus Rex and then to his glam-era pop idol status as frontman of T.Rex. Marc’s older brother Harry Feld, schoolfriend Richard Young (now a highly respected photographer), longtime mate and rival David Bowie and early manager Simon Napier-Bell help to illustrate the early years of a “king mod” who went to school in a hand-made suit, and who was convinced he was cut out for stardom by the age of eight.

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Rick Wright remember the days when Bolan hung out at their office, while producer Tony Visconti talks about working on the early Tyrannosaurus Rex material and how Marc morphed into the ultimate early 1970s teen-dream glam heartthrob. Radio 2’s Bob Harris, who first met Bolan in the company of Marc’s early mentor John Peel in 1967, talks about compering the tour on which the phrase “T.Rextacy” was coined, and we hear vivid archive excerpts from his on-the-road report about the event for Radio 1’s ‘Scene and Heard’ programme of the day.

Also from the archive are clips from a Peel show from 1968 featuring Bolan, and a 1972 interview, by which time he was the hottest star in the UK. Noel Gallagher of Oasis talks about the classic run of T.Rex singles, how he directly ripped off one of them and why he didn’t get sued, while Bolan biographer Mark Paytress considers his contribution to pop culture.

The family story is further amplified by Marc’s partner Gloria Jones and their son Rolan Bolan, who talks about the tribute concert to Bolan that takes place tonight (September 15). Also taking part in the documentary are friend Bernie Taupin and modern-day PR guru Alan Edwards, whose first job as a teenager was looking after Bolan’s publicity, and there’s a rare radio appearance by fellow 1970s star Roy Wood.