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Music Sunday: Marc Bolan of T Rex had a TV show in the seventies and it was weird as hell

Marc pretending to play guitar

No misogynists or transphobes today, just music!

In the summer of 1977, Marc Bolan of T. Rex got his own music TV show on British television, and it was one of the strangest and most fascinating things I’ve ever seen. All six of the shows that were produced are now up on YouTube.

Bolan, a glam idol a few years past his prime, seemed to have a budget of roughly £4, with cheesier sets than most 70s game shows, but nonetheless was able to convince several big name musical acts, as well as some promising newcomers, to come up to the Granada Television studios in Manchester to perform.

This wasn’t a talk show. There were no interviews with any of the musicians who appeared on the show, just brief intros from the spaced-out Bolan, who also managed to fit three (badly) lip-synched songs of his own in every episode.

There was no studio audience either; the show simply ran canned applause over an animated segment as the various songs ended. But they did have a small troupe of more-or-less synchronized backup dancers who danced over recorded music several times per episode.

The show’s biggest get was David Bowie, who performed a low-energy version of his then-hut-song “Heroes.” He was also supposed to perform with Marc, but Marc fell over partway through the number and the show’s producers ran the truncated segment under the show’s end credits.

Along with Bowie, the show hosted such British pop luminaries as the Bay City Rollers, 10cc, and … Hawkwind (?), as well as a number of newer punk-inflected bands like The Jam, the Boomtown Rats, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Generation X, featuring a very young Billy Idol. Other acts included a band called Rosetta Stone, most of whose members seemed to be about 14 years old, and the Radio Stars, apparently friends of Marc’s, who performed the same mediocre song on both of their appearances on the show.

There were also some eminently forgettable pop acts that are probably best fast-forwarded through.

The show was slated for at least one more season, but, tragically, Bolan was killed in a car accident before any more episodes besides the original six were filmed.

Check out the Wikipedia entry on the show for more details as well as lists of the performers on the various episodes.

Here’s episode one, the first in a Youtube playlist of all the episodes.

Oh, and feel free to post anything you’ve been listening to in the comments below.

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Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Lollypop:

Ooo I have a (very tenuous) Marc Bolan connection in that his singer friend Linda Lewis was a regular in my local at one time. 

She would make me laugh because she’d very solemnly tell me that she would neverdiscuss it, due to her respect for his wife who she very much admired, but she did indeed sleep with Bolan. And then she’d wander off to “not discuss it” with someone else, haha.

Since you‘ve brought that up: here’s a song by Gloria Jones—Bolan’s partner at the time of his death—that might be more familiar in its Soft Cell rendition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH4yq-goqiA

(Today I Learned that Jones, a Cincinnati, Ohio native, was far more honored in the UK than in her home country, titled the “Queen of Northern Soul.”)

Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Alan Robertshaw:

As long as we’re doing a Crime Time playlist, here’s “Criminal World” by Columbus, Ohio’s Ronald Koal and the Trillionaires, which I consider superior to either Metro’s original or Bowie’s cover:

GSS ex-noob
GSS ex-noob
2 years ago

@FMOx: “WHTM, where the 70s are still with us, and we support Women’s Lib and sticking it to The Man! Now heeeere’s T. Rex!”

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

@ FMO & Gss ex-noob

I loved the 70s! Yeah; let’s just bring it back!

And thank you FMO for that song. I must confess my ignorance of any of those versions. I really liked it though; especial with it being live. Really brings back lovely thoughts of live gigs.

In keeping the crime theme, a song from my youth. I was big into Smiley Culture, The Specials, Madness etc.

In fact, it left me Ska’d for life!

(I’ll get my coat)

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

I’m not sure if anyone actually cares about Trump’s latest legal shenanigans. Lawyers are just following this like it’s an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. But just in case, here’s the latest. It’s the response from the judge to Trump’s motion.

comment image

That’s basically judge speak for go away and actually put some law in there.

Still, what can you expect from some commie judge like this…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Cannon

Last edited 2 years ago by Alan Robertshaw
Alyson
Alyson
2 years ago

I’ve been listening to a lot of J-Rock lately all because of this site! You talked about a creepy Asian-fetishizing incel. A commenter posted Aldious (an all-female Japanese metal band)’s song “Go Away” in response to said incel. I fell down the Aldious and later X Japan/Luna Sea rabbit hole. I’m now a huge visual kei fangirl thanks to this very site!

Niles A Hokkanen
Niles A Hokkanen
2 years ago

Ivor Cutler “I Believe In Bugs”
https://youtu.be/jlUvfJnREO8

Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Alyson:

Could I interest you in some vintage Malice Mizer, then?

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

@ FMO

“Queen of Northern Soul.”

Keep the faith!!!

comment image

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

Now on a Northern Soul jag. The perfect antidote to this morning’s judicial kicking in court.

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

Ok Al, last one. You have grounds of appeal to draft.

Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Alan Robertshaw:

Thank you for affording me a cue to share one of my favorite songs—with one of the all-time great iconic music videos. (Sheepish confession: on one recent occasion, I was listening to this in bed and punching my upraised leg in time to the music—so vigorously that I wound up bruised…What? Can’t a person stim?)

Last edited 2 years ago by Full Metal Ox
Jazzlet
Jazzlet
2 years ago

Ivor Cutler indeed.

Lollypop
Lollypop
2 years ago

@Full Metal Ox

Oh wow, I love that!

Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Lollypop:

Oh wow, I love that!

My pleasure and honor to share. (Which one? I’ve posted several videos on this thread.)

Alex Rogan
Alex Rogan
2 years ago

This show is also part of an urban myth. Bolan died after his duet with David Bowie on tv. The same year Bing Crosby died after the tv special where he sang “Peace on earth” with David Bowie. Apparently, for years after, many artists rufused to appear on tv with Bowie fearing he was cursed.

Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Alex Rogan:

This show is also part of an urban myth. Bolan died after his duet with David Bowie on tv. The same year Bing Crosby died after the tv special where he sang “Peace on earth” with David Bowie. Apparently, for years after, many artists rufused to appear on tv with Bowie fearing he was cursed.

Still among the living:

Tina Turner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4WG_y7owmM

Cher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPlN8RBP-Ws

Brian May:

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
2 years ago

@ full metal ox

so vigorously that I wound up bruised

“Have you been injured in a catchy tune related accident that wasn’t your fault…”

I’d forgotten how good a choon that was. So I’ll trade you an Edwi/yn.

Full Metal Ox
Full Metal Ox
2 years ago

@Alan Robertshaw:

“Have you been injured in a catchy tune related accident that wasn’t your fault…

At least I was in the privacy of my own home, endangering only myself. This guy fortunately seems to have caused no collateral damage, but line-dancing and driving don’t mix:

https://darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2009-20.html