T. Rex "Songs From 'Marc'" (2026 Record Store Day LP)
For Record Store Day 2026, the U.K.-based Demon label issued a T. Rex record titled Songs From "Marc", containing ten tracks recorded by the Marc Bolan-led band for Bolan's 1977 TV series Marc. The LP was limited to 2,500 copies, and was pressed in orange vinyl.
Marc aired on British television for six weeks in the late summer of 1977, exactly around the time of Bolan's untimely death in a car crash on September 16th of that year. The show promised an intriguing new phase in the career of the then-faded glam-rock star. He served as the show's host, and lip-synced songs recorded and mimed by the final T. Rex lineup. The show spotlighted other U.K. musical acts from the time, and also showed sequences of a dance troupe called Heart Throb moving to the sounds of recorded songs. For fans of Bolan, the low-budget show is fun to watch, but is also saddening, because it shows the not-quite-30-year-old singer and guitarist during his final days, when he was clearly working hard to achieve a comeback. In fact, the show is glorified by some, because it provided a TV showcase for some of the early punk rock bands (including The Jam, Boomtown Rats, and Generation X -- the latter band fronted by a youthful Billy Idol). But that's not all you will see when you watch the show. Some other interesting U.K. bands were spotlighted (including Thin Lizzy, the Bay City Rollers, Hawkwind, and Roger Taylor of Queen), but the show also featured some bland pop and soft rock acts who have been largely forgotten, not to mention those kitschy dance numbers. Each of the six episodes of Marc is approximately 25 minutes long, and they are worth checking out if you find them on YouTube or elsewhere. The final episode culminates in a performance of "Heroes" by David Bowie, followed by a truncated duet of Bowie and Bolan doing a song called "Sleeping Next To You". That short sequence was something of a blooper, but it was Bolan's unintended goodbye to the world; it was taped nine days before his death, and was broadcast twelve days after that tragic event.
The Songs From "Marc" album does not contain songs from any of those non-T. Rex performers. It has, as you might have guessed, songs sung by Marc Bolan, recorded with the final lineup of T. Rex. That lineup consisted of bassist Herbie Flowers, keyboardist Dino Dines, and drummer Tony Newman. These ten songs were lip-synced and mimed by the band on the first four episodes of the show, and were recently discovered on a 1/4" tape and newly mastered. (Original tapes of the songs recorded for the last two episodes, as well as the show's opening theme "Sing Me A Song", have not been located, and those songs therefore were not included on this LP).
Heard in this medium, eight of these ten tracks basically come across as alternate recordings of previously released songs, with less splashy production than the versions recorded for the proper T. Rex studio albums and singles. Some of the rerecorded songs were drawn from Bolan's glam rock heyday ("Jeepster", "Hot Love", "Ride A White Swan"), while others were from his late period ("Celebrate Summer", "I Love To Boogie", "Groove A Little"). In either case, these tracks show that Bolan still maintained his charm without being dressed up in bigger production, and his latter-day band was adept with the material. "Hot Love" featured a nice, simple harmony vocal by Lynn Garden, in place of the more grandiose Flo & Eddie background vocals on the original single. The rockabilly tune "I Love To Boogie" has a brighter tone here than the version on the Dandy In The Underworld album. Speaking of rockabilly, this record also contains two notable and decent cover songs, one of Jody Reynolds' "Endless Sleep" from 1958, and another of Chris Montez's 1962 "Let's Dance" (no relation to Bowie's '83 hit of the same name). The only disappointing track is the instrumental version of the song "Dandy In The Underworld"; not that it sounds bad, but Bolan's unique vocals are missed when they are gone -- just as Marc himself still is.
At the end of most of the episodes of the TV series, Bolan used to tell his viewers to "keep a little Marc in your heart". It's good to still hear newly unearthed recordings that help us to do so, nearly half-a-century after Bolan's passing -- especially when they are as entertaining as Songs From "Marc".
T. Rex "Songs From 'Marc'" (Demon DEMREC1331) 2026
Track Listing:
1. Jeepster
2. I Love To Boogie
3. Endless Sleep
4. Celebrate Summer
5. Ride A White Swan
6. Hot Love
7. New York City
8. Let's Dance
9. Groove A Little
10. Dandy In The Underworld (instrumental)
Marc aired on British television for six weeks in the late summer of 1977, exactly around the time of Bolan's untimely death in a car crash on September 16th of that year. The show promised an intriguing new phase in the career of the then-faded glam-rock star. He served as the show's host, and lip-synced songs recorded and mimed by the final T. Rex lineup. The show spotlighted other U.K. musical acts from the time, and also showed sequences of a dance troupe called Heart Throb moving to the sounds of recorded songs. For fans of Bolan, the low-budget show is fun to watch, but is also saddening, because it shows the not-quite-30-year-old singer and guitarist during his final days, when he was clearly working hard to achieve a comeback. In fact, the show is glorified by some, because it provided a TV showcase for some of the early punk rock bands (including The Jam, Boomtown Rats, and Generation X -- the latter band fronted by a youthful Billy Idol). But that's not all you will see when you watch the show. Some other interesting U.K. bands were spotlighted (including Thin Lizzy, the Bay City Rollers, Hawkwind, and Roger Taylor of Queen), but the show also featured some bland pop and soft rock acts who have been largely forgotten, not to mention those kitschy dance numbers. Each of the six episodes of Marc is approximately 25 minutes long, and they are worth checking out if you find them on YouTube or elsewhere. The final episode culminates in a performance of "Heroes" by David Bowie, followed by a truncated duet of Bowie and Bolan doing a song called "Sleeping Next To You". That short sequence was something of a blooper, but it was Bolan's unintended goodbye to the world; it was taped nine days before his death, and was broadcast twelve days after that tragic event.
The Songs From "Marc" album does not contain songs from any of those non-T. Rex performers. It has, as you might have guessed, songs sung by Marc Bolan, recorded with the final lineup of T. Rex. That lineup consisted of bassist Herbie Flowers, keyboardist Dino Dines, and drummer Tony Newman. These ten songs were lip-synced and mimed by the band on the first four episodes of the show, and were recently discovered on a 1/4" tape and newly mastered. (Original tapes of the songs recorded for the last two episodes, as well as the show's opening theme "Sing Me A Song", have not been located, and those songs therefore were not included on this LP).
Heard in this medium, eight of these ten tracks basically come across as alternate recordings of previously released songs, with less splashy production than the versions recorded for the proper T. Rex studio albums and singles. Some of the rerecorded songs were drawn from Bolan's glam rock heyday ("Jeepster", "Hot Love", "Ride A White Swan"), while others were from his late period ("Celebrate Summer", "I Love To Boogie", "Groove A Little"). In either case, these tracks show that Bolan still maintained his charm without being dressed up in bigger production, and his latter-day band was adept with the material. "Hot Love" featured a nice, simple harmony vocal by Lynn Garden, in place of the more grandiose Flo & Eddie background vocals on the original single. The rockabilly tune "I Love To Boogie" has a brighter tone here than the version on the Dandy In The Underworld album. Speaking of rockabilly, this record also contains two notable and decent cover songs, one of Jody Reynolds' "Endless Sleep" from 1958, and another of Chris Montez's 1962 "Let's Dance" (no relation to Bowie's '83 hit of the same name). The only disappointing track is the instrumental version of the song "Dandy In The Underworld"; not that it sounds bad, but Bolan's unique vocals are missed when they are gone -- just as Marc himself still is.
At the end of most of the episodes of the TV series, Bolan used to tell his viewers to "keep a little Marc in your heart". It's good to still hear newly unearthed recordings that help us to do so, nearly half-a-century after Bolan's passing -- especially when they are as entertaining as Songs From "Marc".
T. Rex "Songs From 'Marc'" (Demon DEMREC1331) 2026
Track Listing:
1. Jeepster
2. I Love To Boogie
3. Endless Sleep
4. Celebrate Summer
5. Ride A White Swan
6. Hot Love
7. New York City
8. Let's Dance
9. Groove A Little
10. Dandy In The Underworld (instrumental)
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