Marc’s real legacy.. child soldiers hope
learn. They will make music and films. This is where Marc’s legacy will survive.”
Glam rock legend Bolan was born Mark Feld and grew up in Hackney, East London. His heyday was 1970-74 and hits include I Love To Boogie, Get It On, Ride A White Swan, Metal Guru, 20th Century Boy, Telegram Sam – and Children of the Revolution.
At his peak he shifted 100,000 records a day.
Advisers told him to squirrel away his fortune – reportedly up to €55million – in off-shore accounts. Marc became a tax exile with Gloria in Monaco after splitting from his wife June. But they couldn’t settle and returned to London when Gloria discovered she was pregnant.
Tragedy struck when Marc – who famously said he was “too beautiful to live and too young to die” – was killed instantly as they drove home from a club at 5am.
Gloria suffered damaged vocal cords and a broken jaw and arm. She was left to bring up Rolan, then two, alone. And with Marc’s money tied up in trusts, she got nothing. Intrigue still surrounds his death and his millions. Wheel nuts on the Mini were loose, even though the car was serviced the day before. Guitars and papers from his home went missing in an apparent breakin. And at 9.30am, hours after the crash, the Inland Revenue turned up at his office demanding €5million in back tax. Rumours persist that looters took updated wills from his home so that royalties flowed into a password-protected trust. Penniless Gloria took Rolan back to America, where the boy’s godfather David Bowie secretly paid for his education. Today, the riddle of Bolan’s riches matter less to Gloria than keeping his legacy alive. She said: “He just wanted to get people to dance.” And it’s happening in Makini where, in Bolan’s honour, the kids just Love To Boogie. lewis.panther@ trinitymirror.com
The kids just love Marc and he’d be absolutely thrilled with what we are doing here GLORIA JONES ON AFRICAN SCHOOL OF ARTS
Gloria & son Rolan