Bolan's birthday

Today we visited the Marc Bolan Rock Shrine on what would have been the 62nd birthday of the T-Rex singer.

The shrine is along a wooded stretch of road in southwest London. It marks the spot where Bolan died in a car crash Sept. 16, 1977.

We met a Bolan uberfan there -- Mark Chapman, who'd brought flowers. After we were done, Chapman (not the guy who shot John Lennon) showed us Bolan's house. Then he planned to go to the crematory where Bolan's ashes remain. We passed on that.




This guy was a repository of Bolan knowledge.

"Gotta keep him alive," he said.

The shrine was built in 1999. For years before that, fans had been visiting the tree, but the site was in disrepair. The new site has a stone and bust dedicated to Bolan, a couple of boards with photos, messages, and the like, and a staircase which includes plaques memorializing other T-Rex members who have died. I didn't know they were such a tragic band. They rival Badfinger and the New York Dolls for for deaths.

Mark told us the big night for the shrine is not Bolan's birthday but rather the anniversary of his death. People come to sing songs and hold a vigil.



Bolan lived on King's Road, by the way.

(From left: Keith Drummond, John O'Rourke, Mark Chapman -- note T-Rex t-shirt)

I'm not as familiar with T-Rex as I am with Mott the Hoople and Thin Lizzy, but it seemed a pretty heartfelt memorial.