Celebrity Graveland

September 30, 1947 – September 16, 1977

Little Mark Feld grew up in the boroughs of London idolizing rock and roll pioneers like Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran. At the age of 9, he was given his first guitar and by the time he was 17 was already on his way to “Rock Star Legend” status.

By 1965, he had changed his name to “Marc Bolan” and was recording with the likes of Jimmy Page and the Ladybirds. Failing to make any sort of breakthrough success, Bolan leaned heavily on the ideas in his imagination. Fantasy and mythology filled his mind. If he could somehow find a way to translate that into music, he would probably be on to something.

In 1967, he founded the band Tyrannosaurus Rex.

T. Rex (as they eventually became known) became a huge hit in England. As prototypical glam-rockers, the band influenced dozens of new sub-genres of rock including – but certainly not limited to – punk, prog rock, britpop and alternative rock. Bolan remained front and center as the band’s voice, central personality and only consistent member. T. Rex released 12 albums and had hits like “Get it On,” “Hot Love” and “Metal Guru.” Bolan became a flamboyant and electric frontman and the fans loved it with some critics claiming that the “T. Rextacy” hysteria in the U.K. was second only to “Beatlemania” from the previous decade. In 2020, T. Rex was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Like one of his childhood heroes, Eddie Cochran, Bolan had a prescient fear of dying before he turned 30. For this reason, he never learned to drive. Be that as it may…on the night of September 16, 1977, Bolan was riding with his partner in south London when their car struck a fence and then a tree. Bolan was killed instantly. He was two weeks shy of turning 30.

Burial

Golders Green Crematorium – London, UK

Specific Location

Marc’s plaque is located in the West Memorial Court on the left as you enter from the car park. Just to the right side of the brick arch. His ashes were scattered under a rose bush in West Statue Bed #5. Just walk the southern path until you reach a memorial bench dedicated to Marc on your right, and the rose bed is to your left.

This entry was posted on June 17, 2024 at 10:09 am and is filed under Golders Green Crematorium with tags Cremated, Golders Green Crematorium, Musicians. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.