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Friday 13 September
was the 25th anniversary of the untimely death of one of THE great
pop stars of the early 1970s, East London boy Marc Bolan.
Sadly, it's probably
been over-shadowed somewhat by the anniversary of the death of King
Elvis, but hopefully with the unveiling of a statue of the Pop
Elf in Barnes (where he died in a car crash) and the release of
an excellent compilation album and four-disc boxed set entitled
'20th Century Superstar' (Universal), this situation will soon be
rectified.
You can check out
the full story of Marc's memorial and see some video footage
by going to our News section.
Pop gems
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| The glam-rockin'
Bolan at the height of his magical powers |
Meanwhile, I can
still remember watching transfixed - with my older brother Steve
(who was a massive and I do mean MASSIVE fan!) - Marc's early appearances
on Top Of The Pops singing classic, glam-rockin' pop gems like 'Jeepster',
'Get It On', 'Telegram Sam' and my all time personal fave, 'Metal
Guru'.
He was someone
who truly brightened up the pop landscape after the hangover of
the 60s.
No-one primped
and preened quite like Marc and he was absolutely enormous, in popularity
and in influence. Up there with Bowie and Elton, who
were his only serious contemporaries at the time.
Tea-time date
Despite the quality
of his work stumbling and faltering in the mid 70s, 'Marc' - his
tea-time pop show on telly during the early summer of 1977 - was
essential viewing for music-obsessed teens like myself.
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Gary
Crowley: Marc's telly show during the summer of '77 was essential
viewing...
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Giving vital airtime
to a smattering of performances from up and coming New Wavers like
The Jam, Generation X, The Boomtown Rats and
Eddie And The Hot Rods as well as memorable turns from old
muckers like David Bowie.
Bolan was Ìýa true
one-off. A bright, shiny, shimmering London character who truly
touched people's lives.
Sadly, he didn't
even reach the age of 30. We won't see the likes of The Prettiest
Star ever again.
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Listen live
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through amazing shots of London from high up in a helicopter!