David Bowie, U2 & More Featured in New T. Rex Documentary

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

September 15th, 2023 3:30 PM

T. Rex and Marc Bolan’s influence on rock is the subject of a new documentary titled AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex.

The film explores the life and career of Bolan and also chronicles the making of a 2020 tribute album of the same title. This tribute album featured an absolutely stacked lineup that included U2, Elton John, Joan Jett, Kesha, Todd Rundgren, Perry Farrell and many more. Much like the tribute album, the AngelHeaded Hipster documentary also features a stacked lineup of guests. Among them are David Bowie, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Billy Idol and more.

AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex will hit On Demand services on September 22. Its trailer is available below, and full details on the film can be found at Dogwoof.com.

T. Rex was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. The ceremony that year was done remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rolan Bolan, the son of the late force behind T. Rex, accepted the band’s honor.

During Rolan’s touching speech, he said, “As I reflect on this incredible honor of my dad and his band being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I think about how I really didn’t have a chance to know him very well. He was taken away from all of us so early in his life. I discovered his music pretty much the same way you have, through my eyes and ears.”

He continued, “When I was a kid watching MTV, Def Leppard’s ‘Rocket’ video came on and it had clips of T. Rex’s performance of ‘Get It On.’ That was my daily hello to my father. … I know my dad would be very proud to receive this. He always aimed for the top and here he is now.”

14 Great T. Rex Songs that Aren't 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)'

• '20th Century Boy'

  Some of T.Rex’s best songs in their catalog are their stand-alone singles, and “20th Century Boy” might just be their best. Simply put, the track is glam perfection.

• 'Jeepster'

  Walking the line between bouncy pop and rock, “Jeepster” was the second single from T.Rex’s breakthrough 1971 album Electric Warrior following the smash first single “Bang a Gong (Get It On).”

• 'Mambo Sun'

  “Mambo Sun” is the opening track on Electric Warrior and it helps set the entire tone for the groove-laden album.

• 'Metal Guru'

  “Metal Guru” is the opening track on 1972’s The Slider and it signals that T.Rex’s follow-up to Electric Warrior more than doubles-down on all of the glam fun.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EloSJ_9ZsO0

• 'Children of the Revolution'

  A stand-alone single released following The Slider, “Children of the Revolution” was notably covered by U2’s Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer for the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! 

• 'Hot Love'

  Another stand-alone single, “Hot Love” was released in 1971 before Electric Warrior. The video below shows T. Rex performing the song on U.K.’s Top of the Pops with Marc Bolan wearing glitter makeup. This moment is often referenced as the start of the ’70s glam rock explosion. This song would become T.Rex’s first number one song in the U.K.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oaJ6x-k0Kk

• 'Telegram Sam'

  “Telegram Sam” was the first single off of The Slider and would become T.Rex’s third number one in the U.K.

• 'Dandy in the Underworld'

  The title track from T.Rex’s 1977 album and final LP while Marc Bolan was alive, “Dandy in the Underworld” was a return to form for the band after struggling creatively on their previous three albums 1974’s Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow and Bolan’s Zip Gun and 1975’s Futuristic Dragon.

• 'Teenage Dream'

  The lone single from 1974’s Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, “Teenage Dream” features (pun intended) dreamy backing vocals on the chorus. Among the backing vocalists was Gloria Jones, best known for the 1965 hit “Tainted Love.” Jones and Bolan would soon begin a relationship that would yield a son, Rolan, in 1975. Sadly, Jones was driving the car during the tragic accident that would kill Bolan on September 16, 1977 at the age of 29.

• 'Groove A Little'

  If you didn’t know “Groove A Little” was featured on Dandy In The Underworld, it could easily be mistaken for a track off of Electric Warrior thanks to its simplistic, bouncy melody.

• 'Chariot Choogle'

  An underrated track from The Slider, “Chariot Choogle” is what the theme from Jaws would sound like if it were a glam rock song.

• 'Ride a White Swan'

  “Ride a White Swan” was the first track released under the name T. Rex and not their original name Tyrannosaurus Rex. Cited as one of the first glam rock songs, the stand-alone single still has one foot very much in the folk genre, but it definitely was a signal of the change that was to come.

• 'The Slider'

  So sleek it appropriately slides easily into anyone’s ears, “The Slider” was recorded in the famed Paris recording studio Château d’Hérouville on the recommendation of Elton John who recorded some of his biggest albums there including Honky Château, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

• 'Debora'

  While T.Rex’s influence is often cited for their glam work, their early folk catalog definitely deserves some recognition, especially their first single “Debora.” Notably, the song appeared in the 2017 film Baby Driver and on its corresponding soundtrack.

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

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