T.Rex

Strongly championed by legendary British DJ John Peel, Marc Bolan had already made his mark on three albums with Tyrannosaurus Rex in the late 1960s when he decided to dispense with his image as a whimsical hippy to reinvent himself and the band as full-on glam rock icons T.Rex. The new style reaped spectacular results, scoring a major hit single in 1970, produced by Tony Visconti. It was followed by Hot Love, which stayed at Number 1 in the UK charts for six weeks and, with Bolan causing a sensation with his glittery hair and outlandish costumes, they were credited as the founders of "glam rock". They became a teen phenomenon and the fan worship they inspired became known as "T.Rexstacy" and was compared to Beatlemania. The 1971 album Electric Warrior topped the UK album charts for several weeks and also helped establish them in the US with further smash hits Get It On and Jeepster. Bolan became the subject of the documentary Born To Boogie in 1972 and mass success continued with next album Slider, including further anthemic singalong hits with Telegram Sam and Metal Guru. The band's attempt to evolve into a darker, more soulful style misfired as the 1973 album Tanx was less successful and the slide continued with Zinc Alloy & The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow (1974), Bolan's Zip Gun (1975), Futuristic Dragon (1976) and Dandy In The Underworld (1977). As punk changed the face of the UK rock scene, a support tour with The Damned threatened to restore T.Rex to their former glories, but it all ended with Bolan's death in a road crash in 1977.