Meeting Marc Bolan - Robin Carr Interview
I have known Robin since I first worked with him 30 years ago. At that time I knew that he was a Marc Bolan fan – although I never discovered exactly how much of a fan, until more recent years.
Robin has a great collection of photos of himself (and the group of fans he used to be part of) meeting Marc. In the last year (or so) many of these have been shared in various Facebook groups and internet pages – without Robin’s knowledge. It would appear that some fans have found these pictures on Robin’s Photobucket page – and have republished them, for example on Youtube. Talking to Robin, it would seem that he doesn’t mind the photos being shared – but is disappointed that some people seem to think that once photos are posted online, ‘they belong to the world at large’.
So, as the anniversary of Marc’s death approaches once more, I thought it might be appropriate to actually talk to Robin and find out his recollections of meeting Marc and publish the stories behind the photos… (Robin has given permission for a few of his photos to be published in the accompanying article). DK = Dave Kemp / RC = Robin Carr
DK: So Robin, give me some details about yourself
RC: I’m Robin Carr - I was born in Islington on 20 April 1957, and I grew up in North London, in the Cricklewood / Golders Green area.
DK: What is your first memory of hearing Marc’s music? How did you become a fan?
RC: This would have been towards the end of 1970 – when I was in the third year of my senior school. Some of the older boys would meet in the school’s music room and play some of their own records on a gramophone. Although I was too young to be involved in that, I would worm my way in to these meetings sometimes. One of the records I heard was ‘Ride A White Swan’. I’d never heard of Marc Bolan or T.Rex – but the record resonated with me because of Marc’s odd voice. Very shortly after that I began to hear the record on the radio all the time. Then I remember ‘Hot Love’, which followed a few months later. I thought the record was ok – but I didn’t actually buy it.
But it was in the summer of 1971, when I was on holiday with my mother on the Isle of Sheppey, that I remember hearing ‘Get It On’ which was on the radio all the time. It was No.1 for about 4 weeks, if I remember rightly. There was something about that record that struck me, so much so that I became obsessed straight away. (I’ve come to learn that I am an obsessive person, and this was my first major obsession in life). However, the fascination wasn’t just with the music – it was with Marc and his persona also.
DK: So was ‘Get It On’ the first Marc single that you bought then?
RC: I didn’t buy the single, but as soon as I got back from the Isle Of Sheppey, I’d saved up enough pocket money to buy the then current album which was ‘Electric Warrior’. By this time Marc was everywhere – on TV, and there were photos of him in every newspaper and magazine. Details of his early life were published everywhere – and with my obsessive nature – I felt that I had to acquire every bit of information that I could about his life and music. I did this all in a very short space of time.
DK: So did you then back-fill your catalogue of Marc’s records?
RC: Yes. I went back and bought all the albums, starting with the so-called ‘Brown’ (transitional) album; then the four Tyrannosaurus Rex albums. I didn’t enjoy the early albums as much as the ‘electric’ T.Rex… but I also went on to buy every magazine I could find containing interviews and photos of Marc.
DK: So with your obsession, did it include going to see him live?
RC: Yes it did.
DK: When did you go to see him live for the first time?
RC: It would have been the 18 March 1972 at Wembley Arena (then called the ‘Empire Pool’) – it was the evening concert filmed by Ringo Starr for ‘Born To Boogie’. I remember buying tickets for the show at Harlequin Records in Oxford Street (roughly where New Look and Next are now). When I arrived, the queue for tickets went along Oxford Street and down a side alley, and seemed to go on forever. When I actually got to the front of the queue and bought the tickets, I felt like I’d achieved a life’s goal! When that show sold out, the organisers then added an extra afternoon show very quickly.
DK: What was the T.Rex single out at the time, was it ‘Telegram Sam’?
RC: Yes, it was. I think it came out around January 1972… ‘Metal Guru’ was released after the show in May 1972.
DK: What were your seats like at the show?
RC: Terrible! They were right up by the back wall, underneath the clock. Bearing in mind that there were no video screens at gigs in those days, my view of Marc was a tiny colourful ant in the distance. I also remember the sound, or lack of it, because you couldn’t hear a damn thing above all the girls screaming.
Robin has a great collection of photos of himself (and the group of fans he used to be part of) meeting Marc. In the last year (or so) many of these have been shared in various Facebook groups and internet pages – without Robin’s knowledge. It would appear that some fans have found these pictures on Robin’s Photobucket page – and have republished them, for example on Youtube. Talking to Robin, it would seem that he doesn’t mind the photos being shared – but is disappointed that some people seem to think that once photos are posted online, ‘they belong to the world at large’.
So, as the anniversary of Marc’s death approaches once more, I thought it might be appropriate to actually talk to Robin and find out his recollections of meeting Marc and publish the stories behind the photos… (Robin has given permission for a few of his photos to be published in the accompanying article). DK = Dave Kemp / RC = Robin Carr
DK: So Robin, give me some details about yourself
RC: I’m Robin Carr - I was born in Islington on 20 April 1957, and I grew up in North London, in the Cricklewood / Golders Green area.
DK: What is your first memory of hearing Marc’s music? How did you become a fan?
RC: This would have been towards the end of 1970 – when I was in the third year of my senior school. Some of the older boys would meet in the school’s music room and play some of their own records on a gramophone. Although I was too young to be involved in that, I would worm my way in to these meetings sometimes. One of the records I heard was ‘Ride A White Swan’. I’d never heard of Marc Bolan or T.Rex – but the record resonated with me because of Marc’s odd voice. Very shortly after that I began to hear the record on the radio all the time. Then I remember ‘Hot Love’, which followed a few months later. I thought the record was ok – but I didn’t actually buy it.
But it was in the summer of 1971, when I was on holiday with my mother on the Isle of Sheppey, that I remember hearing ‘Get It On’ which was on the radio all the time. It was No.1 for about 4 weeks, if I remember rightly. There was something about that record that struck me, so much so that I became obsessed straight away. (I’ve come to learn that I am an obsessive person, and this was my first major obsession in life). However, the fascination wasn’t just with the music – it was with Marc and his persona also.
DK: So was ‘Get It On’ the first Marc single that you bought then?
RC: I didn’t buy the single, but as soon as I got back from the Isle Of Sheppey, I’d saved up enough pocket money to buy the then current album which was ‘Electric Warrior’. By this time Marc was everywhere – on TV, and there were photos of him in every newspaper and magazine. Details of his early life were published everywhere – and with my obsessive nature – I felt that I had to acquire every bit of information that I could about his life and music. I did this all in a very short space of time.
DK: So did you then back-fill your catalogue of Marc’s records?
RC: Yes. I went back and bought all the albums, starting with the so-called ‘Brown’ (transitional) album; then the four Tyrannosaurus Rex albums. I didn’t enjoy the early albums as much as the ‘electric’ T.Rex… but I also went on to buy every magazine I could find containing interviews and photos of Marc.
DK: So with your obsession, did it include going to see him live?
RC: Yes it did.
DK: When did you go to see him live for the first time?
RC: It would have been the 18 March 1972 at Wembley Arena (then called the ‘Empire Pool’) – it was the evening concert filmed by Ringo Starr for ‘Born To Boogie’. I remember buying tickets for the show at Harlequin Records in Oxford Street (roughly where New Look and Next are now). When I arrived, the queue for tickets went along Oxford Street and down a side alley, and seemed to go on forever. When I actually got to the front of the queue and bought the tickets, I felt like I’d achieved a life’s goal! When that show sold out, the organisers then added an extra afternoon show very quickly.
DK: What was the T.Rex single out at the time, was it ‘Telegram Sam’?
RC: Yes, it was. I think it came out around January 1972… ‘Metal Guru’ was released after the show in May 1972.
DK: What were your seats like at the show?
RC: Terrible! They were right up by the back wall, underneath the clock. Bearing in mind that there were no video screens at gigs in those days, my view of Marc was a tiny colourful ant in the distance. I also remember the sound, or lack of it, because you couldn’t hear a damn thing above all the girls screaming.
The first time I ever saw Marc close-up was after this show. My friend and I went to the back of the arena, and into the loading bays, hoping to catch a glimpse of Marc as he left. We were the only two fellas, amongst a group of about 20 or so teenage girls. After what seemed like a very long time, there was a commotion and Marc was being bundled out. He was bent forward and his head was held in a headlock between two minders for personal protection. We knew what was happening and we descended upon them. Marc and the minders separated and ran.
I was taller than Marc, and was able to run better than him. So I caught up and ran with him (he was within arm’s reach) to a recording truck that was being used by Apple who were recording the show. I ran with him for quite a few yards and touched his black velvet jacket. My impression was that he was very small, a little unshaven and looked terrified. He then clambered in to the back of the recording truck that then roared away.
DK: How many times did you see Marc in concert in all?
RC: I saw him at Wembley March 1972, Sundown Edmonton December 1972, Birmingham Odeon January 1974, Exeter University June 1975, Tiffany’s Great Yarmouth, Hastings Pier Pavilion, Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall (all in July 1975). Then on the ‘Futuristic Dragon’ tour I saw shows at Chatham, Dunstable, Southend, St Albans and London Lyceum. And then finally I saw Marc at the London Rainbow in 1977. So that’s 13 shows in all.
DK: How did your obsession with Marc grow into trying to meet him?
RC: I left school in the middle of my Lower 6th year – in November 1973. All my friends had left school at the end of the 5th form, so I remained with a load of geeks – with whom I couldn’t socialise. I wasn’t very studious; in fact I was hopeless at school; so I left. My Dad was in poor health at the time, so I didn’t get a job immediately. I took on the role as a part-time carer for my Dad - I did his shopping, cooking, washing, changing the beds etc. This left me with time on my hands to pursue my obsession with Marc.
In June 1974 I found Marc’s office in New Bond Street, central London. I went there with my girlfriend one day. The office was fairly evident. It had white clouds painted on sky-blue blinds, and was a first floor office overlooking Bond Street. I’d seen the blinds in pictures of Marc –so it was easy to find.
I was taller than Marc, and was able to run better than him. So I caught up and ran with him (he was within arm’s reach) to a recording truck that was being used by Apple who were recording the show. I ran with him for quite a few yards and touched his black velvet jacket. My impression was that he was very small, a little unshaven and looked terrified. He then clambered in to the back of the recording truck that then roared away.
DK: How many times did you see Marc in concert in all?
RC: I saw him at Wembley March 1972, Sundown Edmonton December 1972, Birmingham Odeon January 1974, Exeter University June 1975, Tiffany’s Great Yarmouth, Hastings Pier Pavilion, Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall (all in July 1975). Then on the ‘Futuristic Dragon’ tour I saw shows at Chatham, Dunstable, Southend, St Albans and London Lyceum. And then finally I saw Marc at the London Rainbow in 1977. So that’s 13 shows in all.
DK: How did your obsession with Marc grow into trying to meet him?
RC: I left school in the middle of my Lower 6th year – in November 1973. All my friends had left school at the end of the 5th form, so I remained with a load of geeks – with whom I couldn’t socialise. I wasn’t very studious; in fact I was hopeless at school; so I left. My Dad was in poor health at the time, so I didn’t get a job immediately. I took on the role as a part-time carer for my Dad - I did his shopping, cooking, washing, changing the beds etc. This left me with time on my hands to pursue my obsession with Marc.
In June 1974 I found Marc’s office in New Bond Street, central London. I went there with my girlfriend one day. The office was fairly evident. It had white clouds painted on sky-blue blinds, and was a first floor office overlooking Bond Street. I’d seen the blinds in pictures of Marc –so it was easy to find.
There was a gaggle of teenage girls waiting on the doorstep of the office that day. My girlfriend and I got talking to them - they seemed a bit cliquey and not ready to accept intruders. Shortly after that I broke up with my girlfriend and went to the office more regularly by myself. Gradually the girls accepted me - I was the only fella in a group of about a dozen or so girls.
The regulars from that time, and shortly after were: Lezley, Penny, Kym, Nina, Staser, Sue, Maxine, Susie and Gael. In 1976, another fella joined the group – he was called Steve Finney. He later went under the name of Steve Treatment, when he became a musician. Also there was an Afro-Caribbean girl called Josie – she joined the clan in Autumn 1975, and later became one of the day-to-day regulars. In 2007 Lezley, Gael, Nina and I made contact through Facebook, and were able to meet up for Marc’s 30th anniversary; it was great to see them again after all that time.
DK: How did the crowd of girls know that Marc would be in the office?
RC: Well they didn’t. However, they would turn up there every day – in the same way that normal people would turn up to a 9-5 job. They would arrive very punctually at 9 or 10 in the morning and would usually stay until the normal office day was over, hoping that Marc would show up.
DK: Why did Marc need to go to the office every day?
RC: He didn’t. Around this time he was spending a lot of time trying to crack America. However, in 1974, after the British ‘Truck Off’ tour was finished, he spent some time recording (at Scorpio Studios) and I suppose he would have needed to spend time at the office keeping up with what management were doing, promotion and the business side of things. He would also carry out press interviews at the office.
It would be fair to say that in my first six months that we didn’t see very much of him at the office at all. He turned up on 26 July 1974 – and that was the first time I saw him at the office. He arrived in his white Rolls Royce. He wasn’t in the best of health - he looked awful! He’d been eating too many pies, and was hiding his appearance behind a pair of sunglasses, a floppy hat and a large red smock (which concealed his figure). Nevertheless he was friendly and signed autographs – but didn’t spend a lot of time with us.
The regulars from that time, and shortly after were: Lezley, Penny, Kym, Nina, Staser, Sue, Maxine, Susie and Gael. In 1976, another fella joined the group – he was called Steve Finney. He later went under the name of Steve Treatment, when he became a musician. Also there was an Afro-Caribbean girl called Josie – she joined the clan in Autumn 1975, and later became one of the day-to-day regulars. In 2007 Lezley, Gael, Nina and I made contact through Facebook, and were able to meet up for Marc’s 30th anniversary; it was great to see them again after all that time.
DK: How did the crowd of girls know that Marc would be in the office?
RC: Well they didn’t. However, they would turn up there every day – in the same way that normal people would turn up to a 9-5 job. They would arrive very punctually at 9 or 10 in the morning and would usually stay until the normal office day was over, hoping that Marc would show up.
DK: Why did Marc need to go to the office every day?
RC: He didn’t. Around this time he was spending a lot of time trying to crack America. However, in 1974, after the British ‘Truck Off’ tour was finished, he spent some time recording (at Scorpio Studios) and I suppose he would have needed to spend time at the office keeping up with what management were doing, promotion and the business side of things. He would also carry out press interviews at the office.
It would be fair to say that in my first six months that we didn’t see very much of him at the office at all. He turned up on 26 July 1974 – and that was the first time I saw him at the office. He arrived in his white Rolls Royce. He wasn’t in the best of health - he looked awful! He’d been eating too many pies, and was hiding his appearance behind a pair of sunglasses, a floppy hat and a large red smock (which concealed his figure). Nevertheless he was friendly and signed autographs – but didn’t spend a lot of time with us.
DK: How many times do you think you met him at the office in all?
RC: Far too many to mention, and far too many to recollect after this passage of time. It would be fair to say that after that meeting in July 1974, Marc didn’t show his face there for another 6 months. However, I continued to go there daily and integrate into the ‘social club’ of the girls. The fact that Marc didn’t turn up didn’t seem to matter, as we were having a whale of a time hanging around together in the West End of London.
RC: Far too many to mention, and far too many to recollect after this passage of time. It would be fair to say that after that meeting in July 1974, Marc didn’t show his face there for another 6 months. However, I continued to go there daily and integrate into the ‘social club’ of the girls. The fact that Marc didn’t turn up didn’t seem to matter, as we were having a whale of a time hanging around together in the West End of London.
It must have been in January 1975 when Marc’s manager Tony Howard popped his head out of the office and said “You do know that Marc’s coming to London today?” We asked where he was going to be staying, and Tony gave us a cryptic clue (as was his way) that he was going to be at the Carlton Tower hotel, just off Sloane Street. We all went over there – and we didn’t have to wait very long before a limo turned up carrying Marc and Gloria. I took photos that day – but unfortunately my flash-cube wasn’t working and they are rather dark.
On this occasion he spent quite a lot of time chatting and I think it was the first time that he actually noticed me, because I stood out - being the only guy amongst a group of girls. He was carrying a walking cane which he claimed had once belonged to Oscar Wilde. I think he stayed at that hotel for a couple of weeks, while we waited outside each day in the freezing cold. We saw him several times at the hotel; and I believe that on occasions when he didn’t feel like talking to us, he made his exit via the kitchens and car park, rather than the lobby and front door.
A couple of weeks later, we were given a clue (again by Tony Howard) that Marc would be leaving the UK on a certain day. So we all travelled out to Heathrow and we met Marc and Gloria on their departure. There was some confusion as to whether they were going to the South of France (where he had a pad at that time) or whether he was off to Los Angeles. In hindsight I think it was to Los Angeles that he was going. He was very chatty on that day, and I have many photos from the airport. I also remember that one of the girls – Sue - had bought along a portable cassette recorder and she asked Marc to say or sing something into her tape. He sang “Ahhh Debora….”. I remember she cherished that recording and played it to us endlessly for months!
One afternoon in March 1975, Tony Howard stuck his head out of the office again to give us more information about Marc. (In hindsight it seems that Tony felt that it was part of his role to ensure there was a small posse of fans wherever Marc went, to bolster his ego). Tony asked if we were free the next Tuesday afternoon as Marc was going to be appearing on a TV programme called London Bridge – and a few of the fans would be welcome as part of the audience.
About half a dozen of us agreed to go. The ones I remember that were there were: Lezley, Penny, Kym, Staser, Maxine, my mate Victor and myself (if I’ve missed anyone out, I do apologise). Unfortunately there is no video available of this TV show – although I understand there is a copy of it hanging around in the ITV archives somewhere, but for contractual reasons it is not possible for it to see the light of day.
The fans met up on the day of recording at the LWT studios on the South Bank, and were shown through to the studio floor. We met the presenter Michael Wale, and the floor manager who told us all where to sit. After a short time Marc himself appeared – for a short rehearsal prior to the recording. He was there to promote the new album – Bolan’s Zip Gun, and asked us which track should be used in the show. We suggested Till Dawn, which seemed to surprise him, but he agreed anyway.
About half a dozen of us agreed to go. The ones I remember that were there were: Lezley, Penny, Kym, Staser, Maxine, my mate Victor and myself (if I’ve missed anyone out, I do apologise). Unfortunately there is no video available of this TV show – although I understand there is a copy of it hanging around in the ITV archives somewhere, but for contractual reasons it is not possible for it to see the light of day.
The fans met up on the day of recording at the LWT studios on the South Bank, and were shown through to the studio floor. We met the presenter Michael Wale, and the floor manager who told us all where to sit. After a short time Marc himself appeared – for a short rehearsal prior to the recording. He was there to promote the new album – Bolan’s Zip Gun, and asked us which track should be used in the show. We suggested Till Dawn, which seemed to surprise him, but he agreed anyway.
He was carrying a twelve string acoustic guitar with him – which was unusual as I’d never seem him with one before. It appeared that he was just using it as a prop. However, when the short rehearsal had finished, he handed it to me and asked me to ensure that it was in tune. He then vanished.
I found this quite stressful as, although I’d taken the first tentative steps to playing the guitar myself, and Marc knew this, I was no expert. There were no electronic guitar tuners at this time – so tuning had to be completed using a tuning fork or pitch pipes, or by ear. Therefore tuning a twelve string, which I wasn’t used to, was a bit of a task!
When the show filming started I remember Michael Wale saying… “And now, straight from Los Angeles, here’s Marc Bolan…” and I recall seeing Marc mimicking an aircraft landing as he walked on with his arms outstretched. He sat down, and completed a short interview. There was time at the end for fans to ask Marc questions. One of the questions was “Marc - how do you compose your songs?” Marc gestured for me to pass him his guitar, which I did. He played four chords and sang briefly over the top of. To my great chagrin, I remember exactly the four chords he played and the words that he sung!
One of the other questions that he was asked was when he would next be playing concerts in the UK. He gave a slightly vague answer along the lines of “very soon”. This was actually true, for once, because he did go on to gig in the UK on a short low key tour in July 1975 (four months later). He was very chatty that day, both before and after the recording, and gave as much time as his fans wanted. He did know us all by name by then, and we all had a great time.
DK: After this – was it back to the office then?
RC: Yes, the ‘social club’ resumed. By this time Marc was based in the UK, and he popped into the office if not every day, at least several times a week.
At this point my memory gets a bit hazy, as there were so many meetings – many of which I did not photograph. I don’t have any diaries from that period, so I can’t say with any certainty what was said on a particular day or done on another… but at least I have some photos. It was usually me who actually had a camera to hand, most of the girls were just pleased to go there and meet Marc, talk to him and touch him. So, most of the photos they have of meeting him are the ones I took.
I found this quite stressful as, although I’d taken the first tentative steps to playing the guitar myself, and Marc knew this, I was no expert. There were no electronic guitar tuners at this time – so tuning had to be completed using a tuning fork or pitch pipes, or by ear. Therefore tuning a twelve string, which I wasn’t used to, was a bit of a task!
When the show filming started I remember Michael Wale saying… “And now, straight from Los Angeles, here’s Marc Bolan…” and I recall seeing Marc mimicking an aircraft landing as he walked on with his arms outstretched. He sat down, and completed a short interview. There was time at the end for fans to ask Marc questions. One of the questions was “Marc - how do you compose your songs?” Marc gestured for me to pass him his guitar, which I did. He played four chords and sang briefly over the top of. To my great chagrin, I remember exactly the four chords he played and the words that he sung!
One of the other questions that he was asked was when he would next be playing concerts in the UK. He gave a slightly vague answer along the lines of “very soon”. This was actually true, for once, because he did go on to gig in the UK on a short low key tour in July 1975 (four months later). He was very chatty that day, both before and after the recording, and gave as much time as his fans wanted. He did know us all by name by then, and we all had a great time.
DK: After this – was it back to the office then?
RC: Yes, the ‘social club’ resumed. By this time Marc was based in the UK, and he popped into the office if not every day, at least several times a week.
At this point my memory gets a bit hazy, as there were so many meetings – many of which I did not photograph. I don’t have any diaries from that period, so I can’t say with any certainty what was said on a particular day or done on another… but at least I have some photos. It was usually me who actually had a camera to hand, most of the girls were just pleased to go there and meet Marc, talk to him and touch him. So, most of the photos they have of meeting him are the ones I took.
On one occasion, we were directed to EMI’s offices in Manchester Square. Marc appeared at an upper floor window, and waved to us below – and then pulled up his shirt (i.e. he flashed his bare chest at us!) Gloria was happy to pose for photos with us while Marc was still upstairs with EMI staff...
DK: At this stage, did Marc still turn up at the office in the Roller that you mentioned?
RC: I think he’d given the Roller to his parents, who were elderly and living in Putney. I never saw him with the Roller after that day in July 1974. In 1975 he would get around London in a chauffeur driven black Volvo – or sometimes a mustard-coloured Daimler - which were hired through a company called Miles and Miles. The drivers changed from one day to the next, but the vehicle was usually the same.
RC: I think he’d given the Roller to his parents, who were elderly and living in Putney. I never saw him with the Roller after that day in July 1974. In 1975 he would get around London in a chauffeur driven black Volvo – or sometimes a mustard-coloured Daimler - which were hired through a company called Miles and Miles. The drivers changed from one day to the next, but the vehicle was usually the same.
DK: What about the girls in the ‘social club’ – did they have jobs?
RC: I don’t know. Most of them were my age, or a bit younger than me. I think that most of them were either bunking off school or college.
DK: Any other stories…?
RC: By this time Marc had nicknamed me “Mopsy” because of my mop of blonde hair…. many of the girls would always ask Marc for a kiss – and he would dutifully oblige. Marc never asked my sexual orientation - he never asked if I was gay (and I’m not). However, I would also pucker-up and put my lips out and say “What about me? Marc, for months, would say “No. Not for you Mopsy, not for you”.
However, on one day in June 1975 he obliged – and I was floored. And so were the girls – as they’d never seen Marc kiss another guy on the lips. (I must say, this wasn’t a sexual kiss. It was just a quick peck – no tongues involved!) I think that by doing this Marc wanted me to feel included, and not left out!
Another memorable occasion that month was when Tony Howard motioned for me to come inside the office. This was the first time that any of the gang had been into the office, the ‘inner sanctum’. I was worried – I thought I was going to get told off. I followed Tony up to the main office overlooking New Bond Street - this was the office where Marc had all his paraphernalia, his rocking horse, his several gold discs and his huge stereo.
Tony asked if I had a job. I responded that of course I hadn’t – that was why I was at the office every day. He asked if I’d like a job. He said T.Rex were starting a UK tour soon – and in preparation they were doing a secret gig at Exeter University - he asked if I’d like to help out on the crew. It didn’t take me long to say yes! I didn’t ask about money; but I think it was Tony who said that I would not be paid very much – just about enough to cover my expenses – and I would have to make my own way down there.
On the day of the gig I made my way to Exeter, on the train, with the girls. We arrived very early (I would say mid-morning) – having set off from London very, very early! When the Avis vans with the equipment arrived, I was summoned inside the venue. I had to roll the flight cases from the car park, into the venue and over to the stage, and then unpack them. I particularly remember lifting Dino’s Hammond B3 organ and Leslie cabinet – absolute buggers to lift. The Hammond looked like it was about to fall apart – it had obviously seen better days, and had “Hemlock” stencilled all over it. Hammonds are particularly fragile, but I didn’t know this at the time. It gives me horrors to think I was lifting such a valuable instrument!
I then helped to set up the backline on stage – Marc’s gear at that time consisted of an HH IC100s amp, with a single HH 4x12. I’m not sure now whether he was using any pedals – possibly a Colorsound wah-wah. Certainly, I remember seeing several Coloursound effects in a flight case, along with many sets of Picato guitar strings, in their distinctive green cylindrical boxes. After a while Marc turned up with Gloria. It surprised me that immediately Marc seemed to accept that I’d ‘crossed the fence’ – that I was inside the venue, rather than with the girls outside. It was as if he had been told to expect me inside the venue. He then proceeded to hit me with a bull-whip that he was carrying - this wasn’t Marc’s kinkiness – it was a prop that he used onstage at the time. He gave me a couple of playful whacks with it – which of course I loved!
After the short sound check was completed, the band and the crew, including me, adjourned to a rather large dressing room – where we spent a couple of hours. This was the first time I had a chance to observe Marc being ‘natural’. There were no cameras, no recording equipment, and no need for Marc to play the star. He was simply one of the guys in the dressing room - and with that, it struck me just how much charisma he had. He was witty, calm, gentle and funny – even without any need to perform.
I was in my element that day. I was obviously not trying to draw attention to myself. I wouldn’t have wanted to produce my camera, or ask for an autograph, as I had “crossed the divide,” at least temporarily.
At one stage in the dressing room Marc picked up an acoustic guitar and sang a song that I had never heard before. It was so gentle – and unlike any other song I’d heard from Marc. It was clearly a heartfelt love song to Gloria, and I had to fight back the tears in my eyes, hearing him perform so intimately and at such close quarters. The song later turned up in T.Rex’s set that night – and he introduced it as ‘You Damaged the Soul of My Suit’. It was another two years though, before it turned up on the ‘Dandy’ album.
The show that night was a very strange bill – T.Rex went on after Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance and before a prog-rock band called Caravan. My job on the night was to stand in the wings “to look after Marc”… in other words, to keep his glass topped up with mineral water, to make sure his gear was functioning perfectly (although if it had broken down, I wouldn’t have been able to do much about it) and to deal with any security issues, such as fans rushing the stage. However, there was no question of that at Exeter University – this was a low key, unpublicised gig and not an exercise in T.Rextasy. Myself and the girls were the only staunch fans there that night – and there was no “rushing the stage”.
Things hotted up a few weeks later, when T.Rex undertook a short tour of seaside ballrooms - the first was at Tiffany’s in Great Yarmouth.
Also in June 1975, Tony Howard invited several of us up into the main office at Bond Street one day. Marc wasn’t there, and the purpose was to play us two new tracks, to help decide which was to be released as the next single. The two tracks we heard that day were New York City and either Savage Beethoven or Jupiter Liar – I can’t now remember which. We were played both tracks a couple of times (very loudly on the office stereo!) and the group’s decision was in favour of New York City. When the single was released a little while later, we were each given a copy which had “Demonstration Copy – Not For Sale” printed on the familiar blue/red label. I still have mine (somewhere!)
DK: Did you get to help out on the road crew again?
RC: Yes, I did – having not disgraced myself too much at Exeter, I was asked to repeat the job of casual roadie at the ballroom gigs in July. After unloading the gear and setting up in Great Yarmouth, my memory is of spending quite a lot of time with Marc in the dressing room before the show. The guitars he was using that night were a three-tone Sunburst Stratocaster and a white Les Paul SG custom – which I’d never seen before. I asked Marc where his usual Les Paul was - he didn’t answer that directly. He merely handed me the Stratocaster and said “this used to belong to Buddy Holly”. In hindsight that wasn’t entirely true… yes, Buddy Holly played a Stratocaster (and I think Marc had taken a lot of notice of Buddy Holly in his early days) but I’m sure it wasn’t Buddy Holly’s actual guitar. Nevertheless, what he said was typical of the amiable bullshit that Marc used to dispense to everybody!
The significant moment that night was that I actually got to play guitar with Marc for a few minutes. As a fledgling guitarist, I had started to notice other guitarists, such as Jimi Hendrix. I asked Marc if he’d met Jimi, and he claimed they had been very close – later I found out that they actually appeared together once on ‘Ready Steady Go’ – and by no means were they close friends!
I was allowed to play Marc’s white Les Paul SG custom, and I remember remarking to him how slim the neck was, and how low the action was on the SG; while Marc played the Strat. I said “I bet you can’t play the intro to ‘Johnny B Goode’ like Hendrix does?” – and to my amazement he reeled it off note perfectly. I was floored, because I’d never given him credit to be such a competent guitar player. He seemed to abandon much of his musical technique when he went onstage, and instead concentrated on playing to the audience. He was more of a showman than a guitarist onstage – but in private he was one hell of a player.
Another memorable moment that day was before the show, the band decided to send me out for food. I went round with a notebook and pencil taking everyone’s orders… Marc’s order was “Cod and chips with a wally”. I asked “What the fuck’s a wally?”
Marc roared with laughter – as he had probably assumed that a fellow cockney like me would know that term for a pickled gherkin. Marc shouted “Hey Glo - Mopsy doesn’t know what a wally is – what a wally!” It caused a lot of amusement in the dressing room – and I was then sent out to get the food from the local chippy. When I returned, the band and the crew – including me - all sat together eating our fish and chips out of the paper.
At Great Yarmouth I was again in the wings “looking after Marc”… changing any guitar strings if they broke, ensuring his glass was topped up and dealing with any security issues… (there weren’t any). After the gig I remember getting a lift home with the band - Steve Currie, Davey Lutton and Dino Dines. I can’t remember what vehicle it was. I know at the time Steve Currie had a Land Rover – but it definitely wasn’t that, neither was it Dino’s VW Beetle. I think it was a hired car – something along the lines of a Ford Escort, maybe? I sat in the back with Dino. Steve Currie was driving and Davey was in the front passenger seat. It was late at night and we were chatting all the way home. I remember at one point one of them rolled a joint and passed it around. It didn’t faze me and wasn’t of any interest to me – but I do remember thinking “How safe is Steve going to be driving? However, I was safely dropped off at Brent Cross, which was near to where I lived, and I walked home from there in the early hours.
Steve Currie and Davey Lutton were generally friendly with the girls and me – I remember going for a pint or two with them in The Bunch of Grapes pub, just around the corner from the office. A couple of years later – in summer 1977, by which time Steve had left T.Rex – I rang him up (like you do!) and asked whether he’d like to come and have a play with my band. He agreed, and turned up at a scruffy rehearsal studio in Queens Park, North London with his white Fender Precision bass. He jammed with us, and it only occurred to me much later that he might not have been delighted to play Get It On and 20th Century Boy, which we were covering in our set. One of my pals in the band remembers that afterwards, he commented that “the band’s ok, but you’ll never get anywhere – you’re having far too much fun”.
RC: I don’t know. Most of them were my age, or a bit younger than me. I think that most of them were either bunking off school or college.
DK: Any other stories…?
RC: By this time Marc had nicknamed me “Mopsy” because of my mop of blonde hair…. many of the girls would always ask Marc for a kiss – and he would dutifully oblige. Marc never asked my sexual orientation - he never asked if I was gay (and I’m not). However, I would also pucker-up and put my lips out and say “What about me? Marc, for months, would say “No. Not for you Mopsy, not for you”.
However, on one day in June 1975 he obliged – and I was floored. And so were the girls – as they’d never seen Marc kiss another guy on the lips. (I must say, this wasn’t a sexual kiss. It was just a quick peck – no tongues involved!) I think that by doing this Marc wanted me to feel included, and not left out!
Another memorable occasion that month was when Tony Howard motioned for me to come inside the office. This was the first time that any of the gang had been into the office, the ‘inner sanctum’. I was worried – I thought I was going to get told off. I followed Tony up to the main office overlooking New Bond Street - this was the office where Marc had all his paraphernalia, his rocking horse, his several gold discs and his huge stereo.
Tony asked if I had a job. I responded that of course I hadn’t – that was why I was at the office every day. He asked if I’d like a job. He said T.Rex were starting a UK tour soon – and in preparation they were doing a secret gig at Exeter University - he asked if I’d like to help out on the crew. It didn’t take me long to say yes! I didn’t ask about money; but I think it was Tony who said that I would not be paid very much – just about enough to cover my expenses – and I would have to make my own way down there.
On the day of the gig I made my way to Exeter, on the train, with the girls. We arrived very early (I would say mid-morning) – having set off from London very, very early! When the Avis vans with the equipment arrived, I was summoned inside the venue. I had to roll the flight cases from the car park, into the venue and over to the stage, and then unpack them. I particularly remember lifting Dino’s Hammond B3 organ and Leslie cabinet – absolute buggers to lift. The Hammond looked like it was about to fall apart – it had obviously seen better days, and had “Hemlock” stencilled all over it. Hammonds are particularly fragile, but I didn’t know this at the time. It gives me horrors to think I was lifting such a valuable instrument!
I then helped to set up the backline on stage – Marc’s gear at that time consisted of an HH IC100s amp, with a single HH 4x12. I’m not sure now whether he was using any pedals – possibly a Colorsound wah-wah. Certainly, I remember seeing several Coloursound effects in a flight case, along with many sets of Picato guitar strings, in their distinctive green cylindrical boxes. After a while Marc turned up with Gloria. It surprised me that immediately Marc seemed to accept that I’d ‘crossed the fence’ – that I was inside the venue, rather than with the girls outside. It was as if he had been told to expect me inside the venue. He then proceeded to hit me with a bull-whip that he was carrying - this wasn’t Marc’s kinkiness – it was a prop that he used onstage at the time. He gave me a couple of playful whacks with it – which of course I loved!
After the short sound check was completed, the band and the crew, including me, adjourned to a rather large dressing room – where we spent a couple of hours. This was the first time I had a chance to observe Marc being ‘natural’. There were no cameras, no recording equipment, and no need for Marc to play the star. He was simply one of the guys in the dressing room - and with that, it struck me just how much charisma he had. He was witty, calm, gentle and funny – even without any need to perform.
I was in my element that day. I was obviously not trying to draw attention to myself. I wouldn’t have wanted to produce my camera, or ask for an autograph, as I had “crossed the divide,” at least temporarily.
At one stage in the dressing room Marc picked up an acoustic guitar and sang a song that I had never heard before. It was so gentle – and unlike any other song I’d heard from Marc. It was clearly a heartfelt love song to Gloria, and I had to fight back the tears in my eyes, hearing him perform so intimately and at such close quarters. The song later turned up in T.Rex’s set that night – and he introduced it as ‘You Damaged the Soul of My Suit’. It was another two years though, before it turned up on the ‘Dandy’ album.
The show that night was a very strange bill – T.Rex went on after Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance and before a prog-rock band called Caravan. My job on the night was to stand in the wings “to look after Marc”… in other words, to keep his glass topped up with mineral water, to make sure his gear was functioning perfectly (although if it had broken down, I wouldn’t have been able to do much about it) and to deal with any security issues, such as fans rushing the stage. However, there was no question of that at Exeter University – this was a low key, unpublicised gig and not an exercise in T.Rextasy. Myself and the girls were the only staunch fans there that night – and there was no “rushing the stage”.
Things hotted up a few weeks later, when T.Rex undertook a short tour of seaside ballrooms - the first was at Tiffany’s in Great Yarmouth.
Also in June 1975, Tony Howard invited several of us up into the main office at Bond Street one day. Marc wasn’t there, and the purpose was to play us two new tracks, to help decide which was to be released as the next single. The two tracks we heard that day were New York City and either Savage Beethoven or Jupiter Liar – I can’t now remember which. We were played both tracks a couple of times (very loudly on the office stereo!) and the group’s decision was in favour of New York City. When the single was released a little while later, we were each given a copy which had “Demonstration Copy – Not For Sale” printed on the familiar blue/red label. I still have mine (somewhere!)
DK: Did you get to help out on the road crew again?
RC: Yes, I did – having not disgraced myself too much at Exeter, I was asked to repeat the job of casual roadie at the ballroom gigs in July. After unloading the gear and setting up in Great Yarmouth, my memory is of spending quite a lot of time with Marc in the dressing room before the show. The guitars he was using that night were a three-tone Sunburst Stratocaster and a white Les Paul SG custom – which I’d never seen before. I asked Marc where his usual Les Paul was - he didn’t answer that directly. He merely handed me the Stratocaster and said “this used to belong to Buddy Holly”. In hindsight that wasn’t entirely true… yes, Buddy Holly played a Stratocaster (and I think Marc had taken a lot of notice of Buddy Holly in his early days) but I’m sure it wasn’t Buddy Holly’s actual guitar. Nevertheless, what he said was typical of the amiable bullshit that Marc used to dispense to everybody!
The significant moment that night was that I actually got to play guitar with Marc for a few minutes. As a fledgling guitarist, I had started to notice other guitarists, such as Jimi Hendrix. I asked Marc if he’d met Jimi, and he claimed they had been very close – later I found out that they actually appeared together once on ‘Ready Steady Go’ – and by no means were they close friends!
I was allowed to play Marc’s white Les Paul SG custom, and I remember remarking to him how slim the neck was, and how low the action was on the SG; while Marc played the Strat. I said “I bet you can’t play the intro to ‘Johnny B Goode’ like Hendrix does?” – and to my amazement he reeled it off note perfectly. I was floored, because I’d never given him credit to be such a competent guitar player. He seemed to abandon much of his musical technique when he went onstage, and instead concentrated on playing to the audience. He was more of a showman than a guitarist onstage – but in private he was one hell of a player.
Another memorable moment that day was before the show, the band decided to send me out for food. I went round with a notebook and pencil taking everyone’s orders… Marc’s order was “Cod and chips with a wally”. I asked “What the fuck’s a wally?”
Marc roared with laughter – as he had probably assumed that a fellow cockney like me would know that term for a pickled gherkin. Marc shouted “Hey Glo - Mopsy doesn’t know what a wally is – what a wally!” It caused a lot of amusement in the dressing room – and I was then sent out to get the food from the local chippy. When I returned, the band and the crew – including me - all sat together eating our fish and chips out of the paper.
At Great Yarmouth I was again in the wings “looking after Marc”… changing any guitar strings if they broke, ensuring his glass was topped up and dealing with any security issues… (there weren’t any). After the gig I remember getting a lift home with the band - Steve Currie, Davey Lutton and Dino Dines. I can’t remember what vehicle it was. I know at the time Steve Currie had a Land Rover – but it definitely wasn’t that, neither was it Dino’s VW Beetle. I think it was a hired car – something along the lines of a Ford Escort, maybe? I sat in the back with Dino. Steve Currie was driving and Davey was in the front passenger seat. It was late at night and we were chatting all the way home. I remember at one point one of them rolled a joint and passed it around. It didn’t faze me and wasn’t of any interest to me – but I do remember thinking “How safe is Steve going to be driving? However, I was safely dropped off at Brent Cross, which was near to where I lived, and I walked home from there in the early hours.
Steve Currie and Davey Lutton were generally friendly with the girls and me – I remember going for a pint or two with them in The Bunch of Grapes pub, just around the corner from the office. A couple of years later – in summer 1977, by which time Steve had left T.Rex – I rang him up (like you do!) and asked whether he’d like to come and have a play with my band. He agreed, and turned up at a scruffy rehearsal studio in Queens Park, North London with his white Fender Precision bass. He jammed with us, and it only occurred to me much later that he might not have been delighted to play Get It On and 20th Century Boy, which we were covering in our set. One of my pals in the band remembers that afterwards, he commented that “the band’s ok, but you’ll never get anywhere – you’re having far too much fun”.
DK: Did you play the same role of part-time roadie on the other dates on the tour?
RC: I certainly didn’t go to the Isle of Wight Palace Lido gig. I think it was too far for me to travel…
The next gigs were the Hastings Pier Pavilion and the Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall - I think they were on successive nights. On both those gigs my role changed - I don’t know why. I was asked to operate a “follow spot” at the back of the hall. It is a large tripod-mounted spotlight – which you stand behind while receiving instructions via a headset from the sound desk. My instructions would have been something like: “Pick him up in blue. No! BLUE you idiot, not red!” I had never worked a Follow Spot before in my life, and why they asked me I don’t know. They got my school mate Fred to cover the other spotlight. All I can imagine is that the lighting crew must have failed to show that day or something.
DK: That seems quite amateurish
RC: Totally. Nowadays you would never assign a couple of kids to operate a piece of equipment like that in a professional show. Can you imagine Britney Spears doing that? Or One Direction?
There wasn’t a lot of personal contact between me and Marc on the other dates on the tour. He was conducting press interviews backstage at the gigs. He definitely did at Folkestone…and I seem to remember at Hastings that he turned up at the gig, which was at the end of a pier, quite late and by boat. I think maybe Caron (Willans) who was also there might have a better recollection about that.
A few days later, at the BBC’s Delaware Road studios in Maida Vale, I saw T.Rex record four tracks for transmission on the David Hamilton show on Radio 1. When Marc and Gloria showed up, I remember that Gloria laughingly berated me for my performance with the follow spot. She said “Who was that on the spotlights the other night - was that you, Mopsy? I couldn’t see a damn thing… the light was off, on, off, on, red, green, red, blue! What on earth was going on?” And Marc had a good laugh about it as well.
Marc’s usual guitar – until the recent dates – had been a Les Paul Standard, which had been fitted with a Les Paul custom neck. I was very interested to see that old Les Paul sitting in a battered old white Gibson case on top of a piano in the studios. I asked Marc if I could have a look at it – and he said “sure”. I opened the case, and lifted the guitar out. I could have licked it – but that would have been terribly un-cool! I ran up and down the fret board a few times. I remember how light the strings were - nowadays 9’s or perhaps 10’s would be usual. I feel pretty sure that guitar was strung with 8’s - that’s 8-38 - which is impossibly light by today’s standards. I feel privileged to have been able to inspect and touch that guitar at close quarters. I remember thinking at the time that it looked very much more battered and scruffy up close – than it did under TV or stage lights.
DK: Helping out on these gigs… what did the girls think about all of this? They were obviously excluded, was there any resentment there?
RC: I have thought about that subsequently, - but no, they seemed to accept it in good grace. But what might have been said behind my back, I don’t know! I feared that this might have driven a wedge between us, but it didn’t appear to.
I think they would ask me: “What was said in the dressing room? What was Marc wearing in the dressing room?...” I would always tell them as honestly as I could what I had seen and heard. I think they regarded me now as an “eye on the inside”.
DK: Did you ever see the more nasty side of Marc?
RC: No, not directly - although on one occasion, Marc and Mickey Marmalade left the office in a car. I had my motorbike parked there – and I got one of the girls to jump on and we followed them through the streets of London. They drove past Manchester Square and stopped outside the offices of Lewis Cutner and Company, who I later found out were Marc’s lawyers in his divorce from June. Marc’s car pulled up – and Marmalade strode up to me and said – menacingly - right into my face “Marc’s not in the mood today – I could easily have had you off that bike - now fuck off, Mopsy.” I think that message probably came straight from Marc – understandably, he must have been under a lot of stress with the divorce proceedings…. especially considering how difficult Marc’s business affairs must have been, with lots of his assets being held offshore in the Bahamas.
DK: Was there one time that you and the girls got to hear the band rehearse in a pub in Islington?
RC: Tony Howard gave us one of his cryptic clues – said that Marc was rehearsing somewhere “that Desperate Dan would like”. We had no idea what he was on about. Later in the day, he found us all still sitting on the office doorstep, and said “haven’t you got it yet? Do you need another clue?.... A Cow Pie’s husband”. Still the penny didn’t drop – by now exasperated, he said “Oh, for God’s sake – it’s the Pied Bull”. One of the group – Sue McGarry – said “there’s a pub by that name near where I live – in Liverpool Road, Islington”. So we set off – I jumped on my motorbike with one of the girls on the pillion, and found the place. Parked up, and climbed a fire escape at the rear of Woolworth’s, from which we could clearly hear T.Rex playing (I think) Teenage Dream. They were rehearsing in a function room at the rear of the pub, and must have had the windows open as it was a warm June day. We crept into the pub - probably ordered half a shandy and two straws - and sat down. The pub was pretty empty, and the function room was only separated from the public bar by a frosted glass screen, so we were able to easily hear the remainder of the rehearsal. When the band emerged some time later, the rest of our group had showed up, and one of the group – Kate Martino – clearly remembers Marc getting into Steve Currie’s Land Rover which she found very un-Bolan!
RC: I certainly didn’t go to the Isle of Wight Palace Lido gig. I think it was too far for me to travel…
The next gigs were the Hastings Pier Pavilion and the Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall - I think they were on successive nights. On both those gigs my role changed - I don’t know why. I was asked to operate a “follow spot” at the back of the hall. It is a large tripod-mounted spotlight – which you stand behind while receiving instructions via a headset from the sound desk. My instructions would have been something like: “Pick him up in blue. No! BLUE you idiot, not red!” I had never worked a Follow Spot before in my life, and why they asked me I don’t know. They got my school mate Fred to cover the other spotlight. All I can imagine is that the lighting crew must have failed to show that day or something.
DK: That seems quite amateurish
RC: Totally. Nowadays you would never assign a couple of kids to operate a piece of equipment like that in a professional show. Can you imagine Britney Spears doing that? Or One Direction?
There wasn’t a lot of personal contact between me and Marc on the other dates on the tour. He was conducting press interviews backstage at the gigs. He definitely did at Folkestone…and I seem to remember at Hastings that he turned up at the gig, which was at the end of a pier, quite late and by boat. I think maybe Caron (Willans) who was also there might have a better recollection about that.
A few days later, at the BBC’s Delaware Road studios in Maida Vale, I saw T.Rex record four tracks for transmission on the David Hamilton show on Radio 1. When Marc and Gloria showed up, I remember that Gloria laughingly berated me for my performance with the follow spot. She said “Who was that on the spotlights the other night - was that you, Mopsy? I couldn’t see a damn thing… the light was off, on, off, on, red, green, red, blue! What on earth was going on?” And Marc had a good laugh about it as well.
Marc’s usual guitar – until the recent dates – had been a Les Paul Standard, which had been fitted with a Les Paul custom neck. I was very interested to see that old Les Paul sitting in a battered old white Gibson case on top of a piano in the studios. I asked Marc if I could have a look at it – and he said “sure”. I opened the case, and lifted the guitar out. I could have licked it – but that would have been terribly un-cool! I ran up and down the fret board a few times. I remember how light the strings were - nowadays 9’s or perhaps 10’s would be usual. I feel pretty sure that guitar was strung with 8’s - that’s 8-38 - which is impossibly light by today’s standards. I feel privileged to have been able to inspect and touch that guitar at close quarters. I remember thinking at the time that it looked very much more battered and scruffy up close – than it did under TV or stage lights.
DK: Helping out on these gigs… what did the girls think about all of this? They were obviously excluded, was there any resentment there?
RC: I have thought about that subsequently, - but no, they seemed to accept it in good grace. But what might have been said behind my back, I don’t know! I feared that this might have driven a wedge between us, but it didn’t appear to.
I think they would ask me: “What was said in the dressing room? What was Marc wearing in the dressing room?...” I would always tell them as honestly as I could what I had seen and heard. I think they regarded me now as an “eye on the inside”.
DK: Did you ever see the more nasty side of Marc?
RC: No, not directly - although on one occasion, Marc and Mickey Marmalade left the office in a car. I had my motorbike parked there – and I got one of the girls to jump on and we followed them through the streets of London. They drove past Manchester Square and stopped outside the offices of Lewis Cutner and Company, who I later found out were Marc’s lawyers in his divorce from June. Marc’s car pulled up – and Marmalade strode up to me and said – menacingly - right into my face “Marc’s not in the mood today – I could easily have had you off that bike - now fuck off, Mopsy.” I think that message probably came straight from Marc – understandably, he must have been under a lot of stress with the divorce proceedings…. especially considering how difficult Marc’s business affairs must have been, with lots of his assets being held offshore in the Bahamas.
DK: Was there one time that you and the girls got to hear the band rehearse in a pub in Islington?
RC: Tony Howard gave us one of his cryptic clues – said that Marc was rehearsing somewhere “that Desperate Dan would like”. We had no idea what he was on about. Later in the day, he found us all still sitting on the office doorstep, and said “haven’t you got it yet? Do you need another clue?.... A Cow Pie’s husband”. Still the penny didn’t drop – by now exasperated, he said “Oh, for God’s sake – it’s the Pied Bull”. One of the group – Sue McGarry – said “there’s a pub by that name near where I live – in Liverpool Road, Islington”. So we set off – I jumped on my motorbike with one of the girls on the pillion, and found the place. Parked up, and climbed a fire escape at the rear of Woolworth’s, from which we could clearly hear T.Rex playing (I think) Teenage Dream. They were rehearsing in a function room at the rear of the pub, and must have had the windows open as it was a warm June day. We crept into the pub - probably ordered half a shandy and two straws - and sat down. The pub was pretty empty, and the function room was only separated from the public bar by a frosted glass screen, so we were able to easily hear the remainder of the rehearsal. When the band emerged some time later, the rest of our group had showed up, and one of the group – Kate Martino – clearly remembers Marc getting into Steve Currie’s Land Rover which she found very un-Bolan!
DK: Did Marc ever see your photos?
RC: Yes. I have loads of photographs from this time taken with my Instamatic camera– blurred, poorly framed pictures that mean the world to me. Marc even autographed the album in which I kept them. At one point, having looked through the album, he said “these are fucking hopeless, Mopsy. Give me that camera and let me show you how to take a proper photograph.” He took the camera from me, and took an equally poor pic of me….
RC: Yes. I have loads of photographs from this time taken with my Instamatic camera– blurred, poorly framed pictures that mean the world to me. Marc even autographed the album in which I kept them. At one point, having looked through the album, he said “these are fucking hopeless, Mopsy. Give me that camera and let me show you how to take a proper photograph.” He took the camera from me, and took an equally poor pic of me….
On another occasion – probably in Autumn 1975 – Marc emerged from Air Studios in Oxford Street quite late one night. He was carrying an unfamiliar guitar, with no case. The guitar was a weird green colour, and I asked him about it. He said “This is my Jaguar, Mopsy – look at the vibrato on this baby - woooo-hooo”…..while fingering the guitar high up the neck, and demonstrating how its very low action facilitated easy string-bending.
It’s difficult for me to put into words just how much little incidents like this affected me and motivated me as a beginner guitarist. Marc was so accessible, generous with his time, and trusting with his instruments. I can’t imagine that any of today’s world-class musicians – Eric Clapton, say – would bother with an 18 year old kid who was forever hanging about. Why should they?
DK: What happened next?
I actually started a proper 9-5 job in the middle of August 1975, and immediately my regular visits to the office stopped. The Delaware Road experience must have happened right before I started work. Real work meant that my freedom to be able to turn up at the office every day was gone – and my appearances there became very much less frequent.
I initially worked at a High Street bank in Hampstead….. one day I heard that Marc was recording at Scorpio Sound Studios – only a couple of miles away - and in my lunch hour I went down there and managed to meet up with the girls and Marc. Marc couldn’t believe my haircut and the suit I was wearing (for my bank job). That day he was carrying a Polaroid camera and he got someone - Mick O’Halloran, I think - to take a picture of us all during a break in recording. He gave the Polaroid picture to me to keep, and I have it to this day. (RC shows DK the actual Polaroid).
It’s difficult for me to put into words just how much little incidents like this affected me and motivated me as a beginner guitarist. Marc was so accessible, generous with his time, and trusting with his instruments. I can’t imagine that any of today’s world-class musicians – Eric Clapton, say – would bother with an 18 year old kid who was forever hanging about. Why should they?
DK: What happened next?
I actually started a proper 9-5 job in the middle of August 1975, and immediately my regular visits to the office stopped. The Delaware Road experience must have happened right before I started work. Real work meant that my freedom to be able to turn up at the office every day was gone – and my appearances there became very much less frequent.
I initially worked at a High Street bank in Hampstead….. one day I heard that Marc was recording at Scorpio Sound Studios – only a couple of miles away - and in my lunch hour I went down there and managed to meet up with the girls and Marc. Marc couldn’t believe my haircut and the suit I was wearing (for my bank job). That day he was carrying a Polaroid camera and he got someone - Mick O’Halloran, I think - to take a picture of us all during a break in recording. He gave the Polaroid picture to me to keep, and I have it to this day. (RC shows DK the actual Polaroid).
I was amazed to see a copy of my Polaroid in the book ‘Marc – The Words and Music’ a few years later. I thought I had the only copy of the shot – so how could it be in the book when I hadn’t given it to the publishers? All I can think is that maybe I lent the picture to Steve Finney to get a copy done for himself; and it was this copy that was reprinted in the book… Steve went on to tell the publishers a fanciful story about Marc paying for all the fans to get taxis home - this was not entirely true!
What was true was that we could hear through the door Marc recording ‘Dreamy Lady’ and another song ‘Rockin’ and a Rollin’ and a Reelin’ and a Bowlin’ which was never officially released in Marc’s lifetime.
DK: You got to gigs on the 1976 Futuristic Dragon tour though?
RC: I managed to wangle some days off work to rejoin the girls for the (much longer) 1976 tour – think I was at shows in Chatham, St Albans, London Lyceum, Southend, Dunstable and Folkestone (again!). The shows were generally pretty disorganised and musically poor, as Marc was at this time drinking rather heavily.
By this time a girl from Birmingham called Caron Thomas (Willans), who was a big fan, had become a regular at Bond Street. She and her friends hired a mini bus and went to all the shows. She had a great relationship with Marc, and met him many times.
DK: Did you get to meet Caron?
RC: Yes. I remember she turned up at the New Bond Street office one day in 1975. She came up to our group and was pleasant and friendly. However, we didn’t take kindly to outsiders, including this young lady with a Birmingham accent. One by one we made our excuses and walked away “to buy something from Fenwicks”, or whatever. We ended up leaving poor Caron standing there by herself – whilst we all reconvened in a local café. We treated her very poorly – because she wasn't one of the regulars in 'our' crew.
Years later I met Caron at a T.Rextasy gig. We spoke about this and I apologised for my terrible behaviour - Caron just laughed it off, and said that it was water under the bridge. However, I feel awful now about the way we treated her, and other visiting fans.
DK: You only went to the Rainbow show on the 1977 tour?
RC: Yes. In early 1977 I saw T.Rex play at The Rainbow in Finsbury Park. Musically, this was the most proficient show I’d seen Marc do. He was busy promoting his new album, and had become peripherally involved in the punk scene. It looked like his career might take an upward turn again, as suddenly for the first time in years, it was cool to admit to liking Marc. I didn’t meet him at the gig - I hung around afterwards by the stage door – but didn’t get to see him. Maybe he left the gig straight after the show –or stayed inside longer than I was prepared to wait.
DK: When was the last time you saw Marc?
RC: It was sometime in summer 1977. I was strolling with a mate in Kings Road, Chelsea, when we happened upon Marc and Gloria. A joyous reunion – Marc threw his arms around me – and we spent a while just chatting on the pavement. Marc was recording his own TV series, and was full of it. He looked great, having lost a lot of weight. The band I was playing in had just recorded our first set of studio demos, and I was very pleased with them. I told Marc about it. "Great" he said, “bring them along to the office – love to hear them”. Sadly when I did get to the office in my lunch-hour a few days later, he wasn’t in, and I had to leave the tape. Days later, I learned of his death.
DK: So how did you learn of Marc’s death?
RC: On that Friday morning, I got up a little late, and walked to work at the Cricklewood bank branch where I was now working. When I got there, some staff seemed surprised to see me – my boss particularly so. “Didn’t expect to see you today” he said. “Why not?” said I. “Haven’t you heard?” – he was looking uncomfortable. “I think you’d better come with me for a moment” he said, and led me to the rest-room. “Your friend Marc Bolan was killed in a car crash this morning – I’m amazed you haven’t heard, it’s been on the radio all morning, even the TV”.
I went numb. Couldn’t believe it. Had to hear it again. Didn’t cry – just froze. Went home at my boss’s suggestion – stopped at an off licence and bought half a bottle of scotch (I’ve always hated scotch). Went home and drunk it down, pretty much in one go.
DK: Did you go to Marc’s funeral?
RC: I found out Marc’s funeral was taking place at Golders Green Crematorium the following week. It was the second time that year that I went to the crem – I had been there 6 months earlier to bury my dad. In fact, Marc ended up interred just yards from my dad – I guess they allocated spaces month-by-month. I was still absolutely numb – all the Bond Street girls were too. There were so many people there - hundreds. The service was broadcast to us standing outside. After it finished, the celebrities like David Bowie were whisked away in their limos. I stayed, and fans congregated around the white swan floral tribute.
The funeral was awful but at least there was a sense of closure – although getting over both my dad and Marc probably took longer than it should have, because I wasn’t allowing myself to grieve. Gloria remained in hospital for weeks, eventually making a recovery, and then having to leave the country quickly and quietly to avoid the possibility of charges of drink/driving, and possibly manslaughter.
DK: What happened next?
RC: Well, over the next few years, my obsession with Marc fizzled out. My contact with the girls evaporated, and I was left with a void in my life which took quite a while to fill…..
In about 1994 I went with a friend to see T.Rextasy at a little gig in Hackney– they were one of a number of ‘tribute bands’ that had sprung up. I was curious, and a little sceptical – who were these people? Were they about to defile Marc’s legacy? I needn’t have worried - I had tears streaming down my face for most of the performance - tears of sheer joy at seeing Marc and his music recreated so accurately. The main man – Danielz – had been a staunch fan during Marc’s lifetime, and had replicated Marc with eerie accuracy in every detail – his singing voice, his playing, his mannerisms, his clothes and (of course!) his hair– the overall impact on me was quite uncanny. What a mix of emotions it produced! Bear in mind that I was in my late thirties by then, and Marc’s death some 17 years earlier no longer haunted me.
I’ve seen T.Rextasy a few times since, and while the effect is no longer quite so startling, they’re always entertaining, and I sometimes wonder whether any of the girls might turn up, for old time’s sake. I’ve also had the opportunity to chat with Danielz a few times – and I have to say that I think he does a fantastic job. He has found a way to turn his obsession with Marc into a living; and in doing so provides so much pleasure to fans like myself. And with all of that, he’s still approachable and willing to spend time with fans – just like Marc himself used to be. I have a lot of respect for the guy.
To sum it all up – I got hooked on Marc for reasons I just can’t quite put my finger on; obsessed about him for a long time, and finally got to know him a bit. Meeting him could so easily have turned out to be a major disappointment, but to my surprise and pleasure he was all that I had expected, and a whole lot more besides. I wouldn’t trade my memories of those days for anything – a mis-spent youth perhaps, but in terms of my education, those days probably taught me far more about real life than any of the abstract bullshit I’d sat through at school.
I had loved Marc, and not even his death could change that.
Dave Kemp interviewed Robin Carr in August 2014
Feedback: [email protected]
All photos used (apart from the two annotated) are owned by Robin Carr - please do not reproduce without permission.
Interview copyright Dave Kemp and Robin Carr 2015
What was true was that we could hear through the door Marc recording ‘Dreamy Lady’ and another song ‘Rockin’ and a Rollin’ and a Reelin’ and a Bowlin’ which was never officially released in Marc’s lifetime.
DK: You got to gigs on the 1976 Futuristic Dragon tour though?
RC: I managed to wangle some days off work to rejoin the girls for the (much longer) 1976 tour – think I was at shows in Chatham, St Albans, London Lyceum, Southend, Dunstable and Folkestone (again!). The shows were generally pretty disorganised and musically poor, as Marc was at this time drinking rather heavily.
By this time a girl from Birmingham called Caron Thomas (Willans), who was a big fan, had become a regular at Bond Street. She and her friends hired a mini bus and went to all the shows. She had a great relationship with Marc, and met him many times.
DK: Did you get to meet Caron?
RC: Yes. I remember she turned up at the New Bond Street office one day in 1975. She came up to our group and was pleasant and friendly. However, we didn’t take kindly to outsiders, including this young lady with a Birmingham accent. One by one we made our excuses and walked away “to buy something from Fenwicks”, or whatever. We ended up leaving poor Caron standing there by herself – whilst we all reconvened in a local café. We treated her very poorly – because she wasn't one of the regulars in 'our' crew.
Years later I met Caron at a T.Rextasy gig. We spoke about this and I apologised for my terrible behaviour - Caron just laughed it off, and said that it was water under the bridge. However, I feel awful now about the way we treated her, and other visiting fans.
DK: You only went to the Rainbow show on the 1977 tour?
RC: Yes. In early 1977 I saw T.Rex play at The Rainbow in Finsbury Park. Musically, this was the most proficient show I’d seen Marc do. He was busy promoting his new album, and had become peripherally involved in the punk scene. It looked like his career might take an upward turn again, as suddenly for the first time in years, it was cool to admit to liking Marc. I didn’t meet him at the gig - I hung around afterwards by the stage door – but didn’t get to see him. Maybe he left the gig straight after the show –or stayed inside longer than I was prepared to wait.
DK: When was the last time you saw Marc?
RC: It was sometime in summer 1977. I was strolling with a mate in Kings Road, Chelsea, when we happened upon Marc and Gloria. A joyous reunion – Marc threw his arms around me – and we spent a while just chatting on the pavement. Marc was recording his own TV series, and was full of it. He looked great, having lost a lot of weight. The band I was playing in had just recorded our first set of studio demos, and I was very pleased with them. I told Marc about it. "Great" he said, “bring them along to the office – love to hear them”. Sadly when I did get to the office in my lunch-hour a few days later, he wasn’t in, and I had to leave the tape. Days later, I learned of his death.
DK: So how did you learn of Marc’s death?
RC: On that Friday morning, I got up a little late, and walked to work at the Cricklewood bank branch where I was now working. When I got there, some staff seemed surprised to see me – my boss particularly so. “Didn’t expect to see you today” he said. “Why not?” said I. “Haven’t you heard?” – he was looking uncomfortable. “I think you’d better come with me for a moment” he said, and led me to the rest-room. “Your friend Marc Bolan was killed in a car crash this morning – I’m amazed you haven’t heard, it’s been on the radio all morning, even the TV”.
I went numb. Couldn’t believe it. Had to hear it again. Didn’t cry – just froze. Went home at my boss’s suggestion – stopped at an off licence and bought half a bottle of scotch (I’ve always hated scotch). Went home and drunk it down, pretty much in one go.
DK: Did you go to Marc’s funeral?
RC: I found out Marc’s funeral was taking place at Golders Green Crematorium the following week. It was the second time that year that I went to the crem – I had been there 6 months earlier to bury my dad. In fact, Marc ended up interred just yards from my dad – I guess they allocated spaces month-by-month. I was still absolutely numb – all the Bond Street girls were too. There were so many people there - hundreds. The service was broadcast to us standing outside. After it finished, the celebrities like David Bowie were whisked away in their limos. I stayed, and fans congregated around the white swan floral tribute.
The funeral was awful but at least there was a sense of closure – although getting over both my dad and Marc probably took longer than it should have, because I wasn’t allowing myself to grieve. Gloria remained in hospital for weeks, eventually making a recovery, and then having to leave the country quickly and quietly to avoid the possibility of charges of drink/driving, and possibly manslaughter.
DK: What happened next?
RC: Well, over the next few years, my obsession with Marc fizzled out. My contact with the girls evaporated, and I was left with a void in my life which took quite a while to fill…..
In about 1994 I went with a friend to see T.Rextasy at a little gig in Hackney– they were one of a number of ‘tribute bands’ that had sprung up. I was curious, and a little sceptical – who were these people? Were they about to defile Marc’s legacy? I needn’t have worried - I had tears streaming down my face for most of the performance - tears of sheer joy at seeing Marc and his music recreated so accurately. The main man – Danielz – had been a staunch fan during Marc’s lifetime, and had replicated Marc with eerie accuracy in every detail – his singing voice, his playing, his mannerisms, his clothes and (of course!) his hair– the overall impact on me was quite uncanny. What a mix of emotions it produced! Bear in mind that I was in my late thirties by then, and Marc’s death some 17 years earlier no longer haunted me.
I’ve seen T.Rextasy a few times since, and while the effect is no longer quite so startling, they’re always entertaining, and I sometimes wonder whether any of the girls might turn up, for old time’s sake. I’ve also had the opportunity to chat with Danielz a few times – and I have to say that I think he does a fantastic job. He has found a way to turn his obsession with Marc into a living; and in doing so provides so much pleasure to fans like myself. And with all of that, he’s still approachable and willing to spend time with fans – just like Marc himself used to be. I have a lot of respect for the guy.
To sum it all up – I got hooked on Marc for reasons I just can’t quite put my finger on; obsessed about him for a long time, and finally got to know him a bit. Meeting him could so easily have turned out to be a major disappointment, but to my surprise and pleasure he was all that I had expected, and a whole lot more besides. I wouldn’t trade my memories of those days for anything – a mis-spent youth perhaps, but in terms of my education, those days probably taught me far more about real life than any of the abstract bullshit I’d sat through at school.
I had loved Marc, and not even his death could change that.
Dave Kemp interviewed Robin Carr in August 2014
Feedback: [email protected]
All photos used (apart from the two annotated) are owned by Robin Carr - please do not reproduce without permission.
Interview copyright Dave Kemp and Robin Carr 2015