The BBC video is called Marc Bolan: The Final Word (2007).
Fellow glam rock star Suzi Quatro narrates a documentary which examines Marc Bolan's childhood ambitions of fame and where it led him, using previously lost TV and radio interviews, rediscovered Top of the Pops recordings, unseen concert footage and unique home movies.
Includes contributions from his companion Gloria Jones, brother Harry Feld, producer Tony Visconti, Queen's Roger Taylor, Steve Harley, Zandra Rhodes and more, with Visconti also deconstructing the track Ride a White Swan.
Once again, it goes back to junior high school and the serendipitous placement of Circus Magazine at the Key Market in Edwardsville. I'd have never known about Marc Bolan and T. Rex if not for the printed word, and even then, it wasn't until the 1990s that the catalog beyond Electric Warrior and various Greatest Hits packages became accessible.
My favorite T. Rex song is "Children of the Revolution."
Imagine that.
The BBC video makes it clear that the advent of punk was a potential convergence for Bolan.
This critic elaborates:
Dandy in the Underworld (Allmusic)Unfortunately, Dandy in the Underworld had just been released when Bolan died in a car crash. Until viewing the documentary, I was completely unaware of Bolan's personal and professional relationship with American singer Gloria Jones, who was at the wheel that tragic night.
Marc Bolan welcomed the advent of punk rock with the biggest smile he'd worn in years. The hippest young gunslingers could go on all night about the influence of the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and the Ramones, but Bolan knew -- and subsequent developments proved -- that every single one of them had been nurtured in his arms, growing up with the ineffable stream of brilliant singles he slammed out between 1970-1972, and rehearsing their own stardom to the soundtrack he supplied. With tennis racquet guitars and hairbrushes for mikes, they stood before the mirror and practiced the Bolan Boogie. Of course, most punks only knew three chords. That was all Marc ever taught them.
Jones and Bolan had a young son, and for those of you still mourning David Bowie's passing, this "where are they now" story completes the circle.
'David’s generosity helped my mother and me survive': How Bowie saved Marc Bolan's son (Daily Mail)
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