NEWS
David Bowie could have collaborated with Marc Bolan
20 April 2022
David Bowie could have collaborated with Marc Bolan.
The glam rock icon - who died liver cancer at the age of 69 back in 2016 - shared a music producer in Tony Visconti with the late T.Rex star, who claimed that the David had suggested that the pair work together after they had been reunited on his show 'Marc' after initially losing touch.
However, any potential collaboration between David, Marc and Tony never came to fruition because a short while later - on September 16 1977 - the 'Get It On' rocker was involved in a car crash with Gloria Jones and was killed instantly when she drove her Mini into a tree just two weeks before his 30th birthday, while she survived.
Before his untimely death, Marc had been propelled to instant chart success with his fellow rockers in the late 1970s and enjoyed chart success with hits such as 'Hot Love', 'Get It On', 'Telegram Sam' and 'Metal Guru' but his success in glam rock was ultimately eclipsed by his "rival" Bowie, with Tony - who has also worked extensively with the likes of Hazel O'Connor and Elaine Paige - being down to the fact that he had adopted an alter ego in the form of Ziggy Stardust.
He told The Times: "By the time he released ['Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow'], he was copying David Bowie. David trumped Marc by creating a persona with Ziggy Stardust, and Marc, who definitely saw David as his rival, tried to copy him with Zinc Alloy. It was sad."
However, Tony did go on to explain that Marc - who shot to fame around the same time as David - was, along with T.Rex, "revolutionary" when it came to glam rock, implying that it all began with their performance of 'Hot Love' on BBC show 'Top of the Pops.'