Marc Bolan : the Glam Rock pioneer

Marc Bolan pioneered the genre in late 1970 with his 2-piece band called T. Rex, first with his single “Ride a white swan” topping the U.K. chart then on the album Electric Warrior a year later. Borrowing the catchy simplicity of the melodies & the underlying sexuality of artists like Little Richard and Chuck Berry, adding fat, loud, distorted guitars & pseudo-psychedelic or science fiction influenced lyrics T. Rex’s music would lead the way for previously existing pop-rock bands and artists such as David Bowie, Slade and Sweet or emerging pop-rock bands and artists like Roxy Music, Gary Glitter or Alvin Stardust.