Marc Bolan (Vocals, Guitars), Micky Finn (Percussion, Vocals), Steve Currie (Bass), and Will Legend (Drums). T. Rex was the primary force in glam rock, thanks to the creative direction of guitarist/vocalist Marc Bolan (b. Marc Feld). Bolan created a deliberately trashy form of rock & roll that was proud of its own disposability. T. Rex's music borrowed the underlying sexuality of early rock & roll, adding dirty, simple grooves and fat distorted guitars, as well as an overarching folkie/hippie spirtuality that always came through the clearest on ballads. While most of his peers concentrated on making cohesive albums, Bolan kept the idea of a three-minute pop single alive in the early '70s. In Britain, he became a superstar, sparking a period of "T. Rextacy" among the pop audience with a series of Top Ten hits, including four number one singles. Over in America, the group only had one major hit -- the Top Ten "Bang a Gong (Get It On)".

The stardom kicked in with "Ride a White Swan", a bouncy,basic little rocker that encouraged Britain's pop kids to wear a tall hat and a tattooed gown. It went to #2 in the UK and with a puff of magic powder Bolan was the most gorgeous, pouting, corkscrew-haired pop star in town.

The band knocked out two smash singles "Hot Love" and "Get it on" (released as "Bang a Gong" in the US where it charted at #10), both selling ridiculous quantities and hitting the top of the UK charts. Electric Warrior (1971), the first real T Rex album in most eyes, had loads of strutting guitar boogie, breathtaking vocals and meaningless lyrics, and sold everywhere by the truckload. A collection of alternative takes, b-sides and studio chat, Electric Warrior Sessions (Pilot) came out in 1997.

During a period when bands were either serious 'album musicians' or were written off as singles-based chart fodder, Bolan managed to sell both. The early 70s albums - Electric Warrior, Slider, Tanx and the thrill-has-gone-tinged Zinc Alloy and the New Riders of Tomorrow, were all proper albums, with themes and extended compositions, quite different from traditional pop industry cash-ins. That said, it was the singles that kids waited and saved their pocket money for. "Jeepster", "Telegram Sam", "Metal Guru", the sub-metal raunch of "Children of the Revolution", the driving, guitar-exuberance of "Solid Gold Easy Action", the magnificent "20th Century Boy" and "The Groover" all went to the top end of the UK charts.

Pop groups, if they're very lucky, canny and well managed, can extend the mania that surrounds them to around three years. Bolan had three years as a pop idol. He had the whole range of rock-hero postures, he sang, he danced, he played guitar, and he slapped on the makeup and sparkle, thus virtually inventing 'glitter pop' and thereby being ultimately responsible for innumerable sins against taste. He starred in a film about the band, Born to Boogie (once again, a better-quality product than normally produced by pop bands), did interviews and photo-shoots, told countless teenagers his deepest secrets (like 'favourite colour', 'what do you look for in a girlfriend', 'what makes you sad') and generally played The Star.

It ended in mid-1973, as "The Groover" slid down the charts. It was around this time that he split with his wife, June Child, taking up instead with the powerfully voiced Gloria Jones, who had recorded the original version of "Tainted Love" (later to be covered by Marc Almond's Soft Cell) and been working with the band as a backing vocalist for some months. T Rex's next single, "Truck on Tyke", did respectably but not well enough to prevent Marc and Gloria opting for exile in the US.

T Rex - or Marc Bolan & T Rex as they were often marketed - produced a few good songs in the mid-70s:"New York City" was fine, old-style raunch; "Dreamy Lady" had enough reverb to carry it along; and "I Love to Boogie" was no sillier than many other of his lyrics. But what really relaunched Bolan's career , alas, was his death in 1977. Gloria wrapped a yellow mini round an old oak tree on September 16 and Marc attained instant pop immortality.