Dandy in the Underworld
Marc Bolan & T Rex
Miscellaneous Items
Here you will find the items which in some way relate to the Dandy in the Underworld period but do not easily fit into any of the other categories. Although some of the items may appear 'random', they contribute to a greater understanding of the period.
Dandy in the Underworld tambourine
Strange to think, but on at least one gig Marc used a tambourine from the 1974 Truck Off tour.
The Truck Off tambourines were produced for the tour of the same name and thrown out into the audience during the show. As you can see from the photos below, they were 'Made in China'.
It is unknown which venue the photo opposite was taken at, but as Marc is wearing white trousers and Dandy t-shirt, the likely contenders are Manchester, Bristol or Portsmouth.
Dandy in the Underworld album cover photo
The portrait photo of Marc used for the Dandy in the Underworld cover was taken by the well known photographer Allan Ballard (1943-2011) at his studio in Primrose Hill, London.
Allan Ballard had previously worked under top fashion photographer John Cowan in the early 1960s but by the 1970s had established himself as a top music photographer, photographing the likes of Bob Marley, Rod Stewart, Elton John and many more.
For the photo, Marc was wearing the blue jacket from the Futuristic Dragon period. A few years ago an 'alternative' photo, though not a very flattering one, from the studio session showing Marc in a front facing portrait was released. Presumably other poses, possibly in colour, were shot at the same time but these have never been released.
Christmas Supersonic 1976
This was a charity concert performed live in front of Princess Margaret at The Royal Theatre, Drury Lane, London on the 19th December 1976 and then broadcast as 'Christmas Supersonic' a few days later on Christmas Day. Although T Rex performed 3 songs on the evening only 'New York City' was broadcast (the other two songs performed were 'I Love to Boogie and 'The Soul of my Suit'). It was intended that T Rex would be top of the bill at the show, however, Marc kindly let Gary Glitter take that honour as he was making a 'comeback' from retirement. The show ended with an all-star finale including Marc, stood between Twiggy and Marti Caine, singing 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'.
The three T Rex songs performed on the evening, along with all the songs from the Rollin' Bolan TV show, are available on The Supersonic Years bootleg CD. More recently, the performed songs were released on the T Rex Drury Lane EP, issued on the Easy Action label in 2019. Note: The EP sleeve incorrectly states that I Love to Boogie was broadcast on Christmas Day.