T. Rex, Live: 3/18/1972

About a week ago I happened upon an invite on FB, to a T. Rex YouTube performance premiere. The videos (there are two) are (water)marked TREX 50 and the recording is credited to Apple Music, which was Ringo’s baby way back when – funny what we automatically think when we read Apple now. Tyrannosaurus Rex shortened their name to T. Rex in October 1970. On November 7th of this year, Ringo himself inducted T. Rex into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. To add to that, Richard Starkey is listed as one of the 6 cameramen, with Tony Visconti the Track Sound Recordist of these concert videos. I honestly can’t believe these have been hidden for so long. Considering their age, these are really great quality and such a surprise! And how wonderful, T. Rex played these two shows at the Wembley Empire Pool – which was a facility used as a competition pool – seating 10,000, on March 18, 1972, sans water.

The groom wore a blue satin and velvet outfit, the drummer white, the bassist sported yellow and orange, and the confounded looking percussionist was awash in red. The lineup was Marc Bolan along with Mickey Finn on percussion, Steve Currie on bass and Bill Legend on drums. This lineup are the exact band members inducted into the Rock Hall, Legend is the only living member.

I’ve never seen a T. Rex live show before. I popped it on, thinking I’d have the 1 hour concert on in the background while going about my chores. Not a big talker, but Bolan was really magnetic, expressive and inventive, and commanded attention. I kept on rewinding parts of it and eventually just sat down to view the entire thing. I loved hearing him refer to the “upcoming new album” when they played anything off The Slider. The show I watched, was the Matinee show of the two that were released at the same time. The high pitched squeal of teens, transfixed on Bolan and Mickey Finn, who were up front at all times, was intermittent and a little distracting. Steve was pacing back and forth and Bill was holding down the beat, and they were performing as a well-oiled machine. 

Of course they were all in their late 20s, but damn, what a talented and good looking pack of men, no wonder the girls were screaming. Their performance was tight, they were full of swagger and style. Each show was 10 songs; almost no surprises, but a partial set list contains Telegram Sam, Baby Strange, Girl, Cosmic Dancer and their hits. Having not been into them in their actual timeline, it’s hard to know if Bolan’s charming hippie-like appeal – that I could definitely see younger teens being fans of, translated into the heavier rock world; although later accounts certainly testify that they did- in lockstep with the transition of the name from the more folky Tyrannosaurus Rex to the T. Rex most are aware of. The matinee show seemed more convivial and less steamy, but either way the band played a great set, including a few solo acoustic pieces Bolan just plopped his ass down on the stage to play. A cool shot of the venue at the onset shows the venue displaying a huge sign for the then scheduled Badminton Championships, just like MSG with the mix of music and sports. Brings back memories of going to Brew Burger and being in the blue section to see Led Zeppelin a handful of years later. 

As a historical document, gear heads will salivate over the now vintage guitars, mics, amps, etc. and I mentioned the outfits already, but yes, glam lives once again, breathtakingly!

Having just heard the news that the Save Our Stages Act will receive funding within the next COVID-19 relief package, my hopes are that it puts some of those in the entertainment industry at ease. In the meantime, I wonder what other gems people are digging out while there is almost no real live music to be had. If these two T. Rex shows are a result of someone taking on a project that might never have happened, well however it came about, I’m thrilled and grateful. Check out the Matinee show here and the evening one here.