Trivia / Marc Bolan

• Career Resurrection: After his stardom faded in the mid-70s, Bolan attempted to follow David Bowie's lead and break into America with soul and disco. Needless to say, it wasn't successful, and he was thrown into a downward spiral of drug addiction and weight gain he was mocked in the press for. As Punk Rock began to gain traction, Bolan threw himself into the movement, and went on tour with The Damned. This, along with the birth of his son, inspired Bolan to kick his drug habit and get his life back on track. Tragically, his comeback was cut short by his death in 1977, just after he had made his comeback album and gotten his own TV show.
• One-Hit Wonder: In the U.S., T. Rex is best remembered for "Get It On (Bang A Gong)", which peaked at #10 on the Billboard chart.
• Referenced by...:
  • Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" includes the line "Why do I need TV when I've got T. Rex".
  • The Who's "You Better You Bet" includes the line, "I've got your body on my mind but I've drunk myself blind to the sound of old T. Rex and Who's Next"
  • His friend Elton John paid tribute to him in his song, "I'm Going to Be a Teenage Idol".
  • Although he's not named, it's fairly clear that he's the subject of David Bowie's "Lady Stardust", working title "Song for Marc."
  • The Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock'n Roll Radio?" has the verses "Do you remember Jerry Lee / John Lennon, T. Rex and Ol' Moulty^note a.k.a. Victor Moulton from 60's rock band The Barbarians?"
  • Big Star's "Big Black Car" references "Life's a Gas" with the line, "Driving's a gas / It ain't gonna last".
  • Magent Magent from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run has a Stand named after T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" that grants him Nigh-Invulnerability.
  • In the Interview with the Vampire (2022) episode "Like Angels Put in Hell by God", T. Rex's "Baby Strange" plays throughout the 1973 scene where Daniel Molloy meets Louis de Pointe du Lac for the first time in a San Francisco gay bar named Polynesian Mary's.
  • The Oasis song "Cigarettes & Alcohol" makes use of the guitar riff from "Get It On".

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