Born as Mark Feld in Hackney, East London (UK) on 30 September 1947. At 15, he was expelled from school for bad behaviour. He briefly joined a modelling agency and became a “John Temple Boy”, appearing in a clothing catalogue for the menswear store. He used his stage name Mark Bolan for the first time in 1965, releasing the single ‘The Wizard’ as a solo artist. A few months later the second single ‘The Third Degree’ followed, but both singles did not chart.
In 1967 he joined the band John’s Children, then formed the band Tyrannosaurus Rex. The band released four albums and shortened their name to T. Rex in 1970. During the 1970’s T. Rex became a leading glam rock band. Among their biggest hits were ‘Get it on (Bang a gong)’, ‘Metal Guru’ and ’20th Century Boy’.
Bolan died on 16 September 1977 when he was involved in a car accident.
Kate mentions Bolan in the lyrics of her song Blow Away (For Bill).