September 16 will mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Marc Bolan, mastermind behind glam-rock titans T. Rex. Bolan died only a few weeks before what would’ve been his 30th birthday, and in remembrance of both anniversaries, a number of Bolan projects are underway in the next few weeks.
First up is “Souls We Miss”, an exhibition of photographs of Bolan taken by the late Keith Morris. The photos will be exhibited at London’s Redferns Music Picture Gallery for the seven weeks following September 14. On September 15, London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire will host Marc Bolan: The Celebration, a concert featuring Marc’s son Rolan,Marc Almond of Soft Cell, producer Tony Visconti, T. Rex tribute band T. Rextasy, Blondie’s Clem Burke, and many more.
There are also several Bolan documentaries in the works, including a BBC 4 special, ITV’s “20th Century Boy” airing September 8, and a BBC Radio 2 program on September 15. Apparently, the ITV special contains such revelations as the fact that Bolan lost his virginity at age nine. Whoa.
Then come the records, and there’s a lot of ’em. Edsel Records will release a trio of T. Rex vinyl singles with previously unavailable tracks on each B-side. September 17 sees “Metal Guru” backed with an acoustic demo of “The Slider”. The next Monday finds “Children of the Revolution” paired with a electric demo of “The Leopards”. And October 1 finds “20th Century Boy” matches with “Teenager in Love”, an acoustic duet between Marc and his longtime girlfriend, soul singer Gloria Jones.
Following on October 1, also on Edsel, is Live 1977 + In Conversation, a double-disc set consisting of live cuts and an interview. The first disc contains performances from the final T. Rex tour, with punk icons the Damned guesting on the encore of “Get It On”. The In Conversation disc is culled from an interview conducted by Steve Wright with Bolan and Gloria Jones. It includes several acoustic on-air performances. Finally, on October 15, Edsel will release Interstellar Soul, a three-CD set collecting exclusive tracks, home demos, and other rarities. The package will arrive in a numbered edition of 5000.
(Thanks to th’ Fork.)
