'David’s generosity helped my mother and me survive': How Bowie saved Marc Bolan's son
My 20th century dad: Marc Bolan
He wore 6in platforms, and had a wardrobe of satin jackets in every vibrant colour from canary yellow to shocking pink, with crushed velvet trousers to match. He made no secret of his bisexuality or his battle with drink and drugs, but shrugged off the dangers.
‘I am too beautiful to live and too young to die,’ he liked to say as he preened defiantly. But he would die, at the age of 29, when his Mini — custom-painted in his favourite colour, electric purple — hit a tree on September 16, 1977.
His legacy were the hits made with his band, T. Rex, including Ride A White Swan, Born To Boogie and Hot Love, and a style of dress and music that inspired stars from Elton John and David Bowie to Guns N’ Roses, Oasis and Morrissey.
Bolan’s name also lives on through his singer/songwriter son, Rolan, who was a few days short of his second birthday when his father died. ‘I have almost no memory of my father,’ says Rolan, now 35, but whenever I hear his music it’s as if I can feel him holding me.’
Rolan’s mother is American-born singer Gloria Jones, Marc’s partner of six years, who was driving the Mini when it crashed. The impact destroyed her vocal cords and ended her singing career, which — combined with complications over Marc’s estate — condemned her to years of financial hardship. She now runs an orphanage in Sierra Leone.
Mother and son will be at the opening of a new musical about Marc, which begins a UK tour next month before heading for the West End. It is called 20th Century Boy, after one of Marc’s hits, and promises to be a no-holds-barred account of the elfin singer’s bizarre life.
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The Mini spun out of control in Barnes, South-West London, a mile from Marc and Gloria’s mansion home. Neither of them was wearing seat belts and Marc, flung out of the front passenger seat, was killed instantly.
‘I’ve seen pictures of the wrecked car,’ says Rolan. ‘If I’d been in my usual place in the back, there was no way I would have survived.’
Happy families: Rolan as a baby with his parents Marc Bolan and Gloria Jones
‘One terrible irony is that when I was born my father had slowed down his lifestyle because he took his responsibilities as a parent very seriously. Apparently he was being reflective about his own future because punk was taking over from glam rock.
‘The royalties were still flooding in from his records, and he and T. Rex were still headlining sell-out shows, but my arrival had sobered up his thinking.’
Marc had discovered he was paying tax at 83p in the £1, so he was setting up a tax-avoidance trust in the Bahamas to give his family financial stability.
Rolan says: ‘Unfortunately, he hadn’t had time to finalise all the details, so although his income was being protected, he hadn’t yet made provision for my mother to have access to the money.’
Indebted to his godfather: Rolan Bolan today
‘My mother went from a millionaire lifestyle to virtual poverty, and I often went without,’ adds Rolan. ‘But even if we had money, it could never have made up for Dad not being there. Mum tells me I often cried for him.
‘But his warmth and love were there so much through his music. When I was six, I’d play his records at home. Apparently my favourite was Born To Boogie.
‘It was one of the few reminders I had of him — that, a gold disc and an autographed tambourine.
‘And with all the photographs that exist, and the stories I’ve heard, I can picture us together in my mind’s eye. I can even hear his kiss — it’s as if I am in my cot and he’s leaning over me to say goodnight.’
Soon after Marc’s funeral — where a wreath in the shape of a huge white swan was placed on the coffin — Gloria decided to go home to America with Rolan.
‘We lived in Los Angeles, and things got very tough,’ says Rolan. ‘Dad’s royalties were still going into the trust fund, but because Mum wasn’t his legal wife, and I wasn’t recognised in law as having any rights to his estate because I was illegitimate, we weren’t allowed to benefit.’
His godfather David Bowie came to the rescue. Without publicity, he paid for Rolan’s education and settled other expenses as he was growing up.
‘This allowed me to go to a good private school and meet children of other celebrities,’ Rolan recalls. ‘The people who knew I didn’t have money of my own said: “Keep your character. Stay who you are.”’
Bowie had been a long-time friend of Marc’s. When Bolan’s career faltered in the mid-Seventies, Bowie encouraged him to make a comeback. Bowie was due to guest star on Bolan’s ITV series — which helped resurrect his career — around the time Marc died.
‘David’s generosity helped my mother and me to survive. It wasn’t just the financial help, but the time and kindness. He never came to see us in California because he lives in New York and hates to travel. But he kept in regular touch by phone and his first and last words every time were: “Don’t hesitate to tell me if there is anything I can do.”
‘He’d shrug off our thanks, saying it was the least he could do for the family of a good friend,’ says Rolan. Extraordinarily, Bowie and the grown-up Rolan have never met. ‘But I’m hoping to visit him soon in New York to tell him how very, very indebted me and my mother are,’ he adds.
Rolan gained a degree in fine arts from university in LA, despite the hard times he and his mother faced. He says: ‘She didn’t want to go back to England and make a fuss about not being able to get access to Dad’s cash.’
Saviour: Legend David Bowie quietly supported his godson
Rolan, who has his father’s delicate cheekbones but, unlike him, dresses in a preppy, casual style, says of Marc: ‘I didn’t realise just how much of a rock icon he’d been until I was in my early 20s.
‘My greatest, most personal treasures are some of my dad’s handwritten letters and poetry, and a little cup with a spoon that his friend Ringo Starr, also my godfather, gave to him for my christening. Almost everything else was pillaged from his home by souvenir hunters soon after he died. ‘They didn’t even leave a guitar plectrum.’
In 1997 Rolan was really made aware of his father’s place in rock history when he went to a screening of the movie Born To Boogie, directed by Ringo.
The film showed Marc and T. Rex performing in sell-out concerts at Wembley Arena. ‘I had never seen him on stage before that and I had never appreciated his magnetism. I was blown away by how powerful he was.’
Rolan formed his own band and toured in America, Europe and the UK, although in a totally different rock style from his father.
He played with the Black Eyed Peas and next month he will be releasing a solo album and single of his own rock and soul compositions. He has included his version of Marc’s enormous hit, Children Of The Revolution — ‘but I’ve made my own take on it’.
The 20th Century Boy musical will feature 27 of Marc’s hits. Heading an 11-strong cast, as Bolan, will be George Maguire, whose credits include Oliver and The Who’s Quadrophenia. It is being directed by director and choreographer Gary Lloyd, who is already enjoying success with the Thriller Live musical about Michael Jackson.
The story will unfold through the adolescent Rolan’s eyes, telling how he sets out to discover more about his late father — not just as a rock star, but as a parent. Rare film footage will show Marc on stage and at home.
Lloyd says: ‘This has taken five years to get to the stage. I’ve always been fascinated by Marc’s ambition-driven story and its tragic ending.’
Co-producer Brian Dunham adds: ‘It is a celebration of Marc’s life, but it will be honest and show all sides of Marc’s character.’
Rolan feels the show will give him more of a chance to learn about his father and for a younger generation to discover him.
Looking back on the difficult life he and his mother have endured, Rolan says: ‘It’s time to move on. It’s been quite a bumpy ride for us, but whenever we’ve talked about Dad, it’s helped us through — it’s almost like therapy.’
He admits, though, that at one time he felt overshadowed when he realised the extent of his father’s enormous fame. ‘I felt lost as a person,’ says Rolan. ‘I felt uncertainty about everything — my heritage, my ambitions, even where my real home was.’
For a year he sought solitude by staying close to the beaches of Santa Monica, California. ‘I’d stare out at the giant crashing waves and try to get my head around who I am and where I am going. I needed that time for reflection.
‘Each time I was in England or Europe people would keep talking to me about my dad, thinking I knew what he was like. It was a lot to live up to. Once, when I was performing with my band in Amsterdam, a guy said to me: “You’re nothing like your father and you never will be.”
‘I
said: “Ok, but I’m not trying to be my dad.” What people don’t realise
is that I have a different outlook, and I want them to judge my music.’
Rolan
adds: ‘So for me, I’ve come a long way. ‘I don’t mind admitting I was
once in danger of following my father’s rock ’n’ roll lifestyle. I was
definitely taking a little excess alcohol, for sure. ‘It was something I had to deal with, so I pulled myself together and now I’m in good shape. I’ve never been happier or healthier.’
- 20th Century Boy, the musical about Marc Bolan’s life and music will open at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, on September 13, with previews from September 8. Visit wolseytheatre.co.uk or call 0
