Marc's Early Life - A London Boy Marc was born the second son of Simeon and Phyllis Feld at Hackney General Hospital on September 30th 1947. Their new son was named Mark, after one of Sid's brothers who had died the previous year. The Felds were a working class Jewish family. Simeon, known as Sid, was a van driver and sometime cosmetics salesman; who also ran a stall in Petticoat Lane at weekends, selling jewellery. Phyllis ran a fruit stall in Berwick Street Market, in the Soho district of London where Marc helped out when not at school. The family lived in flat in a terraced house at 25 Stoke Newington Common, Hackney (see right) and Marc lived there from his birth to the age of fourteen. For many of his fans, particularly younger ones or those not familiar with England, his birth in 1947 meant that he arrived into a London where food rationing was still in place and was still marked by the bomb-damaged houses from World War II. For those not familiar with the 'characteristics of different parts of London (Boroughs), Hackney is in the 'East End' of London an area which has always been considered a somewhat poor part of the city. 25 Stoke Newington Common was split into three flats (apartments). The Felds occupied four rooms on two levels. The kitchen and bathroom were situated at the top of the long flight of stairs, with a back bedroom (Phyllis and Sid's) and a large front living room which looked across the common a few steps higher. The front living room was also Marc and Harry's bedroom boy's bedroom. In this living room Marc and Harry spent their time listening to Saturday Night Theatre radio show. A few years later Rock'n'Roll records replaced BBC radio. "Noisy? When you came in that front door and he had that radiogram on, you could hear him down three flights of stars,"- remembers Mrs. Perrone, the Felds' landlady. He fell in love with the rock and roll of Gene Vincent and Chuck Berry at an early age. When Marc was Nine he talked his mother into spending a huge amount of money (as a percentage of their income) on a Suzuki acoustic guitar. This was bought on the newly arrived 'Hire Purchase', where people on lower incomes could pay weekly for expensive items they would not have otherwise been able to afford. Everyone does that now, but in the 1950's it was 'new' and many people were suspicious of it having been brought up not to expect to own something you couldn't pay for in full. He became a Mod and hung out at the Hackney Empire, where the show " Oh Boy!" was playing, and the 2i's coffee bar in Soho, and saw British rockers like Cliff Richard (then touted as the UK's answer to Elvis!) and for a long while Marc sounded like Cliff Richard when he performed. When he was eleven, Marc moved school to William Wordsworth Secondary Modern School. He started in September 1958 and it was here that Marc joined his first group, called Susie and the Hula-Hoops, who featured Helen Shapiro on Vocals. As he turned into a teenager, he found school boring and uninspiring, unlike his new obsession with Modernist lifestyle. It consumed most of his time, and school was often neglected. "I always had trouble in school... I was an okay pupil in Arts and History, but I wanted to find out about things that you couldn't just look up in books." Sharp Suits Even as a teenager, he was already seeking fame and was well known as a sharp dresser. In 1962, fascinated by the newly emerging Mod Movement and the sharp suits Marc was spotted and featured in the men's magazine "Town" as a 'face' on London's emerging Mod scene. Ironically the Felds moved before the article was published in September 1962. "Feld is fifteen years old, and still at school. His family has just moved from Stamford Hill to a pre-fab out in Wimbledon. Of this he does not approve. The queues of Teds outside the cinemas in Wimbledon look just like a contest for the worst haircut, he says. At least the boys of Stamford hill dress sharply, and who would want a new, clean house if it is in unsympathetic surroundings? Nonetheless cleanliness is of vital importance to him. Shining with soap and health, he is apparently tireless and often goes for days on end without any sleep; there is never a trace of fatigue or boredom in his face. "What is the point of all this energy and all the soap and water? Where is the goal towards which he is obviously running as fast as his impeccably shod feet can carry him? It is nowhere. He is running to stay in the same place and he knows by the time he has reached his mid-twenties the exhausting race will be over and he will have lost." Marc registered with a modelling agency and this netted Marc a couple of jobs including the Littlewoods catalogue and one stint of modelling for John Temple. However he was not booked again. 1962 - Leaving Hackney - Summerstown, Wimbledon In 1962, when he was fourteen the Felds moved from Stoke Newington to one of the new Sun Cottages in Summerstown. This was across London. For his parents it was a dream. A complete, newly built house compared with a flat in an old house. But Marc hated it. He was no longer 'King of Three Streets in Hackney' and he missed the company of his old mates. To compensate for living away from Hackney, Marc spent most of his time in Soho enjoying its flourishing club scene. He left school early, although by all accounts as he got older his attendance was not good at the best of times. This is scarcely surprising as he was quite clearly dyslexic - a condition not hear of in the 1950's. Despite dyslexia, he soon began writing poetry and he also showed an interest in poetry and romantic literature, his main influences being Dylan Thomas and Rimbaud. His father Sid said: "We honestly didn't mind him being expelled, he just didn't have any interest in school so we encouraged him to go ahead with his music. Whatever he did that music thing was the end of it." Phyllis said, "We weren't upset when he was expelled because frankly he never went to school very much anyway. And when he did, he went wearing Elvis Presley clothes and winkle-picker shoes which always annoyed them... I've always said that I was in the same position as mothers whose sons go to college." Although after leaving school Marc had countless small jobs such as the bit of modelling he did and working in a Wimpy Bar, the main person who 'kept him going' was his mum Phyllis. Just as she'd bought him his first guitar at the age of nine, she paid the model agency registration fees and he could rely on her to provide him with a roof over his head and food on the table while he pursued his goal of fame. Some might say that Marc; the younger of two brothers was 'spoilt' by his mum. His father Sid said: "We honestly didn't mind him being expelled, he just didn't have any interest in school so we encouraged him to go ahead with his music. Whatever he did that music thing was the end of it. Marc idolised my Phyllis... and she went out and really worked hard so he could stay at home." In 1963, after seeing 'Summer Holiday' Marc declared to his friend Jeff Dexter "I'm gonna be as big as Cliff Richard". Jeff was horrified as Cliff was 'old school'. Dexter recalled that "Marc never talked about being a musician. He wanted to be a star. He wanted to be Cliff." 1964 - The End of 'The Mod Marc' In 1964 'Marc the Mod' disappeared, as he discovered Bob Dylan. While Marc and David Bowie were two young hopefuls hanging around the set of 'The Five O'clock Club', Marc met the man who would become his first manager, Allan Warren, the former teenage progeny. In 1964, still aged sixteen, Marc moved in with him. He lived with Alan for six or eight months. Alan recalls "Marc was "one of those people that would say, 'I've had enough talking about me. Now what do you think of me?' I'd think God another three hours talking about him". Warren arranged the first recording session for Marc, however of his rendition of Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' was poor and sounded more like a Cliff Richards copy. Through Warren Marc gained an audition at EMI in February 1965, but to no effect. Of the much discussed 'bisexual side' to Marc, Warren recalled that at the time, in the 'hipster scene' he and Marc now frequented "He went to bed with everyone because everyone did in those days … People were into beauty and Mark was young and very pretty. Many people enjoy taking young men out to dinner; there doesn't have to be anything sexual about it. You didn't need money if you were a pretty boy in the right part of London in the sixties. If you had a modicum of talent, and you were persistent, you could get the break very easily". By the Spring of 1965 Marc had, through Warren met Riggs O'Hara, a serious and successful actor. Marc's horizons were expanded as O'Hara introduced him to London's swinging elite, whisking him to first nights and restaurants, in his car complete with on-board record player! Marc moved in with O'Hara and his flatmate James Bolam (of Likely Lads fame). The Wizard - Riggs O'Hara Seemingly unconnected with 'Riggs O'Hara' was the story Marc told of having spent time with a wizard who gave him secret knowledge in France. In early accounts, these included sacrificed live cats, eating human flesh, and other wild flights of fancy. He claimed to have been in France for months when the whole trip was actually a weekend. It is widely know that 'The Wizard' was 'Riggs O'Hara' and O'Hara's memories are somewhat tamer. Interestingly, Marc's first single release would be entitled 'The Wizard'. Of course, as O'Hara was older than Marc, he no doubt did learn some 'secret knowledge' during that weekend. As for mystical? It was Marc's first ever trip outside England so on that level it was. In 1965, O'Hara recalled that Marc "wasn't doing gigs when I knew him". As Mark Feld, Marc had toyed with other names including 'Toby Tyler' taken from a Disney character who ran joined a circus and found fame, 'Riggs' (O'Hara's first name) before settling on 'Bolan'. One train of thought is that he took the name 'Bolan using 'Bo' from 'Bob' and 'lan' from Dylan. However James Bolam was convinced that his name was the source of Marc's new surname. He was not amused. However, it may be that he took his name from the French fashion designer of the day Marc Bohan. After a brief stint back home Marc moved into a flat with Mike Pruskin, who became Marc's publicist. The rent on the flat was paid by an older man, Geoffrey. In October 1965 Pruskin was able to secure an article in the Evening Standard where Marc stated "The prospect of being a materialist idol for four years does appeal". Marc's hope of being the 'British Bob Dylan' were dashed when Donavan's first single reached the top five, but he was still Dylan influenced in singing style and dress. In August 1965 Marc was offered a one record deal with Decca Records. The single 'The Wizard' was released in November 1965 and despite several TV appearances it bombed. Decca's press release for the Wizard single read: "Marc Bolan was born in September 1947. After 15 years had passed he traveled to Paris and met a black magician called The Wizard, He lived for 18 months in The Wizard's chateau with Achimedies, an owl, and the biggest, whitest Siamese cat you ever saw. He then felt the need to spend some time alone so he made his way to woods, near Rome. For two weeks he strove to find himself and then he returned to London where he began to write. His writings mirror his experiences with mentionings of the magician's pact with the great god Pan. In London, walking down Kings Road, Chelsea in the dead of night, he chanced to meet a girl named Lo-og who gave him a magic cat. This cat, named after the girl, is now his constant companion and is a source of inspiration to him. Now The Wizard's tale is set down for all to hear on Marc's first recording for Decca." A second single The Third Degree' in June 1966 suffered a similar fate. Once again Marc moved home and began writing inspired by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Late in 1966 Marc contacted Simon Napier-Bell and minutes later arrived on his doorstep, with his guitar because he didn't have a demo tape, but could perform for him live. Napier Bell, with his delight in pretty young things could not have failed to be impressed by this cheeky seventeen your old street urchin, still sporting the 'East End' accent Marc would so carefully lose within a couple of years. Napier Bell loved being charmed and Marc could be very charming when he needed to be. Napier-Bell became his manager and eventually Napier-Bell used his contacts, as manager of The Yardbirds, to get Marc his third single release: "Hippy Gumbo" with Parlophone. At the time, despite Marc's self confidence, Napier-Bell remembers that "his guitar playing was appalling … he was absolutely unaware of his shortcomings". Marc appeared on 'Ready Steady Go' but television exposure failed to convert to record sales and "Hippy Gumbo" too failed to make an impact. One review read "a crazy mixture of an incredibly bad Negro blues singer and Larry the Lamb'. Napier Bell's Book "You don't have to say you love me" (see right) has some interesting recollections of his time with Marc.   1967 - A 'stint' with John's Children In 1967 Napier Bell decided his singing voice was 'un-saleable' as lead vocals. He placed Marc in the tough flower children/Mod band 'John's Children' song writing, guitar and singing backing vocals. That way Napier Bell deduced, the public could get used to Marc's 'Larry the Lamb' vocals in 'snippets'. Napier-Bell admits "I knew 'John's Children' were about to succeed and I knew I couldn't sell Marc's voice to the public". Marc was playing a Gibson SG at the time (1967) and, according to Chris Townson of the band, "His first rehearsal with us was deafening, even by our standards! I think the band got worse when Marc first joined, because all he did was stand there and make this messy blurge. It was so bad, that I used to sneak round before a gig and retune his guitar ... He seemed to think it didn't matter." John's Children had some success as a live band but sold few records. Marc was only in the band a few months although he penned several of their popular songs (including the infamous 'banned by the BBC' single Desdemona'). While Marc was in 'John's Children' they played at the 'All-night 14 Hour Technicolor Dream concert' at Alexandra Palace, alongside 'Pink Floyd', 'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown', 'the Deviants', and 'the Soft Machine'. 'John's Children' initially decided to perform with no clothes on, but changed their mind and tried to make a happening instead. Andy Ellison screamed and threw feathers everywhere, Chris Townson demolished his drum kit, and Marc walked around with guitar on his head, producing endless feedback. Not exactly a musical performance then! But Marc wanted to be in his own band, not singing backing vocals in someone else's band! 'John's Children' supported 'The Who' and spent time on stage smashing up equipment and whirling metal chains round above their heads causing the audience to back away in terror. In a bid to outdo the headliners, The bill for destroyed equipment came to £25,000, which was a LOT of money in 1967! Lead singer Andy Ellison recalls that for the first few performances Marc was drunk on stage. It seems he'd needed wine to steady his nerves. Go on to The Tyrannosaurus Rex Years BACK TO TAG'S MARC BOLAN & T-REX INFORMATION PAGES