Marc Bolan was 'the perfect pop star

    Editor Katie Watkin's 4-9-20

On 16th Sept 1977, 29-year-old former T. Rex singer Marc Bolan was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London

The couple were on the way to Bolan’s home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant.  Marc had become a huge star in the UK, and at some time in the early to mid-’70s, he was probably the ‘biggest’ pop star we had at the time.

So what made Bolan so perfect,  Marc Bolan was  pure glamour sporting glitter under his eyes,  the foundation he laid for other artist to follow and the ground-zero moment for glam rock. “Marc Bolan was magical, but also sexually heightened and androgynous, with this glitter and makeup. 

Bolan's appearance made him an instant pin-up. His striking features, framed by that corkscrew hair, were augmented by thick eyeliner and lashings of glitter, his diminutive 5ft 2in stature exaggerated by stack-heeled dance shoes from Anello and Davide. Pop stardom was a mantle he wore as though it were his calling: "I have no choice but to see myself as a teenage idol." Bolan's androgyny, coupled with his ambiguous lyrics (the love object was often a "he"), and his announcement to Record Mirror that he was bisexual, only added to his shamanic potency. 

An astonishing run of hit singles followed: "Get It On", "Jeepster", "Telegram Sam", "Metal Guru", "Children of the Revolution", "Solid Gold Easy Action" and "20th Century Boy", most of them number ones, the rest not far behind. T.Rex also made two genuinely great albums, Electric Warrior and The Slider, but Marc's main achievement was in single-handedly reinventing the pop single as a respectable art form. Bolan performances were always magical somewhat spell bounding at times you were drawn to his fabulous good looks and stage presents. 

Bolan was admired by many pop stars of that era including Elton John, with John saying “He was the perfect pop star,” says Elton. “His songs were great, his records rocked, he had attitude, he had performing skills, he looked fabulous, he dressed the part. At a time when I was still becoming Elton John, he was a great role model. I thought: ‘This guy doesn’t give a fuck, he’s just being who he is and he’s loving every single minute of it.’ And that had a great effect on me."

Marc Bolan broken down many barriers with his style on music and fashion making acceptable for male artist to wear make up  as we saw through the early 80's. Music Artist of today could learn a lot from Marc Bolan as being pop star is not just about music.