Table of Contents

The 20th of February 1974

Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd of February 1974

Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 16th of February

Results counted from Sunday the 17th,

published on Tuesday the 19th,

and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 24th of February 1974.

Marc Bolan And T. Rex

Teenage Dream

At No.16, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, are Marc Bolan And T. Rex with Teenage Dream.

A new single for Marc,..

…and also a change of dynamic in many aspects, since T. Rex as a whole had last appeared along my Musical Road.

T•Rex – No.2 in the UK Singles Chart on My Birth Day

T•Rex – No.2 in the UK Albums Chart on My 2nd Birthday

The frontman…

…is increasingly outgrowing the band at this stage. That is evident by comparing the label on the single to its predecessors, with his name separate to the band. The old styles are getting tiresome, the music world is moving onwards, and so Marc is looking into taking new directions, surveying the musical landscape, and as always, gazing skyward.

From his recent tours of the U.S., he’s acutely aware of the growing musical evolvements emanating out of there, especially the Philedelphia sound which is sweeping the western world. The issue is that the band aren’t able to keep up with him.

This is a new, determined Marc Bolan, doing what comes naturally to him, stretching out beyond his reach while everyone else around him, not just the group but also his management, even his producer Tony Visconti are not sure if this is a genuine thing, or if the increased drug intake is taking its toll (he’s noticably ballooned in weight due to this addiction, and as quite a few have picked up on, so has his seemingly conceited ego).

They can only watch and witness, and hope that Marc is on to something they can’t see yet. More importantly, will the fans go for this new sound?

This, after all, is the lead single from his (or their; T. Rex are still a group after all) forthcoming album. The music buying public don’t have a clue if this new track is how the whole LP is going to sound just yet.

The single…

…had been a New Entry a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of February, when it went straight into the Top 20 at No.18, and last week it had climbed up to No.13, but it seems that’s as far as it was prepared to go, with a climb-down of three places this week.

From here,..

…it will drop out of the Top 20 next week when it lands at No.21, and as it gets to March, it will tumble further back to No.26 and then out of the chart altogether after the 9th of that month.

Comparing this single…

…to when Telegram Sam had appeared in the chart exactly two years before on the day of my birth, and had spent almost three months in the chart, the difference in selling performance was striking, This current single has spent just over one third of that single’s duration in total.

It seems, whatever road Marc is intending to travel, his followers aren’t as keen to travel it with him. Most will probably say in this fledgling year of 1974, that he’s gone a step too far.

However, with the gift of over half a century of hindsight,..

…it can be clearly seen he was way ahead of the game, a visionary; and still true to form.

He knew what was coming, and went with his gut. The problem was, he was so ahead of the curve that he got there too soon. His good friend and rival, David Bowie, would follow the same path, but over a year later, with much greater success.

Due to this, it goes to show that David really did take Marc seriously, and watched studiously where and when Marc would make his next move, as did other artists of his calibre.

Marc was intent on taking his own path, whether his fans and followers, and even his own group, liked it or not. He wasn’t going to stay in a box of familiarity. He wanted so passionately to reach beyond the known musical universe and see what was beyond the stars.

He truly was cosmic.

The “A” Side

Marc Bolan And T. Rex – Teenage Dream

The “B” Side

Marc Bolan And T. Rex – Satisfaction Pony