Lost & Found: Did You Know Marc Bolan Had His Own TV Show?

At the height of his popularity, T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan was all over the place. Along with the slew of albums he released, Bolan also starred in his own movie with Beatles drummer Ringo Star. And in the late '70s, he hosted his own music variety show, called 'Marc.'

The show was, at times, cheesy and self-indulgent. But it also gave many punk and rock bands the chance to reach a larger audience. In the premiere episode, the first band to play that wasn't T. Rex was British punk legends the Jam, who had just debuted earlier that year. Another punk band on this episode, Radio Star, included Andy Ellison, with whom Bolan played in his first band, John's Children.

Admittedly, not all of the musical guests would stand the test of time. Another band to play the show was Showaddywaddy, performing the song 'You Got What It Takes.' Yes, it's as gross a song as you might imagine, and the arcade setting doesn't make it any better. In Bolan's defense, this was the age of disco. Including some of the terrible music of the time was probably mandatory for having a music variety show.

'Marc' lasted only six episodes. The show came to an end after Bolan died in a car crash. His close friend, David Bowie, was at the funeral. Bowie was the last artist to perform on the TV show, playing 'Heroes.' All of the episodes are currently up on YouTube. Also courtesy of YouTube, we have this video of Bolan singing with Elton John. Like most thing Bolan, it's good and weird at the same time.