Cosmic Dancer: The Life and Music of Marc Bolan

by Paul Roland

"Roland knows more about Bolan than any other living being," (Tom Hibbert, New Music News)
Marc Bolan was the biggest pop star in post-Beatles Britain and in 1972 the Beatles acknowledged Bolan and his group T.Rex as their natural successor. His singles outsold the combined sales of Jimi Hendrix and The Who. But just when Bolan was at the summit of his success it all went sour.
This is the incredible story of Marc Bolan's rollercoaster rise to fame and his resurrection as the self-styled 'Godfather of Punk' that promised to put him back on top until the fatal accident in 1977 which cut short his life and hopes of a comeback - an accident mysteriously accurately predicted by Bolan himself.
Paul Roland chronicles the life and music of the vibrato-voiced glam rock idol and 20th century boy who created some of the most instantly appealing and enduring songs of the 70s - 'Ride A White Swan', ''Hot Love', 'Get It On', 'Telegram Sam', 'Children of the Revolution' and 'Solid Gold Easy Action' - in what appears to have been a fevered rush to cheat Fate. Cosmic Dancer is a truly definitive account of one of the most colourful and contradictory characters in rock, and features a cover by the renowned artist George Underwood and is illustrated with many rare and previously unpublished photographs.
"This is going to be my year Everybody remembers Rudolph Valentino and I am determined that everybody will remember me." (Marc Bolan 1977)
"I never had any competition except from Marc Bolan I fought like a madman to beat him." (David Bowie)
"Sometimes I get a funny feeling inside me that I shan't be here very long and I'm not talking in terms of things like success. It frightens me sometimes." (Marc Bolan 1971)
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Genres: Music, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2012

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roland

Reviews

[Roy Szweda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book, well, Bolan was whether you like it or not, one of the best-known pop stars of the late 20th Century. Personally I really liked the "middle period" from Swan to Slider but the beginning and end of his output left me cold. Still liked him as a "pop personality" and even Bowie did some toons that were not IMHO up to much. Both, however, figured prominently in my teen years and beyond so I often revisit their music.
This book is a good attempt to bring us the man from his humble origins to the decline and fall. The milestones we likely all know but here are nuggets and gems along the timeline from the records, the fans and his friends (some less so in due course) that show how the music evolved somehow bringing some kind of order to the tumbling stream of inspiration Marc contended with from the earliest of days.
At times I was astounded at what I took for granted turning out to be altogether different. OK I knew about the mod stuff and his falls from grace, maybe too the sadder times of indulgence and losing the plot. But it escaped me how slight his education had been. This and other factors were, however, the book contends perhaps what provided his unique approach to his work, and especially his lyrics and instrumental progress. Many had good things to say about this uniquely gifted man but the book balances these nicely with words from others who Marc left behind. The music biz can be cruel. Is usually cruel more times than kind.
You get the passion for the man and his music in the words and profuse illustrations that the author brings to bear in this tome. Whether he still feels he did the subject as complete justice as he would have liked I can only wonder. Bolan was an enigma but that is at the core of his charm... read this book and gain more insight into the man and his times then maybe get those headphones on and revisit the marvelous music he brought us.

[Jim Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably the most detailed bio we'll ever see of Marc Bolan and for fans of T Rex, there is a lot of good info. The writing tends to get tedious with some overused catch phrases (especially about his cocaine and cognac addictions, and his dyslexia) and we don't really get a sense of what made him tick (other than he wanted to be mega-famous). He does not come off as a very likeable person, but then neither do Bowie or Jagger in their standard bios. I got a much better sense of how he moved from cosmic hippy to the queen of glam rock though, and his relationships with Visconti, June Child and Gloria Jones are very well done, but I would have liked more about his relationship with his arch rival and friend David Bowie. The big difference between them seems to be that Bowie was always open to change and stealing from popular culture, while Bolan seemed stuck in 1950's RNR and would not change with the times. Would he have completed his comeback by latching onto the New Wave as the "Godfather" of punk, or was his time up in the spotlight? His tragic death in 1977 ensures we will never know.

[Paul]

Record Collector review by Mr Rathbone

http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews...