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T.Rex music biography continued...

formed by Bolan in 1967. One year later, the group recorded its debut album, My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows, which reached #15 in Britain and garnered them a sizable underground following as a flower band. The band began to achieve widespread success by embracing a full-blown rock attack. The breakthrough was "King of the Rumbling Spires", which used a full rock band. The group's next album, T.Rex, continued the process of simplification by shortening the name, and completed the move to electric guitars. In September 1971, T. Rex released their second album Electric Warrior, which featured bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend on the group's most successful single "Get it On." Renamed in the United States to "Bang a Gong (Get It On)," it also reached #1 in America. T. Rex followed up with a string of 11 successive U.K. Top 10 hits between 1971 and 1974, including, "Jeepster" (#2), and "Telegram Sam" (#1) that put the band at the forefront of the bourgeoning glam rock genre.

Tank (1973) would mark the end of the classic T.Rex line up and the beginning of Bolan's decent into drug and alcohol addiction. Several subsequent albums were erratic in style, although in the summer of 1976, T.Rex released two more singles, "I Love to Boogie" (which charted at number 13) and "Laser Love", which made number 42. In early 1977 Dandy in the Underworld was released to critical acclaim. Bolan had slimmed down and regained his elfin looks, and the songs too had a stripped-down, streamlined sound. A spring UK tour with punk band The Damned on support garnered positive reviews. But it was not to be. Bolan died in a car accident on September 15, 1977, leaving behind a legacy that would greatly influence the glam rock, punk rock and the Britpop genres in the years ahead.