Marc Bolan: Born To Boogie
by Chris Welch & Simon Napier-Bell

Another Bolan book dances itself into the tomb...

30 years on from his death, Marc Bolan remains one of the most fascinating figures in rock history. To coincide with that 30th anniversary comes this latest text to document his life, co-written by a former manager, and approved by his official fan club. In truth, Born To Boogie is largely pieced together by pop scribe Chris Welch, and though not without merit (in particular some excellent photographs of the man himself) it rarely serves this story sufficiently.

This is a dotted, not deep, history of an enigmatic legend, never truly attempting to get under the skin of its subject matter. In its relatively thin 143-page entirety, Born To Boogie retains a curiously cold distance from Bolan: lacking real revelation and largely leaping through periods of his life. Credit to Napier-Bell and, particularly, Welch, for painting Bolan as a usually calculated, always charismatic character, but debit points for saying plenty without ever really saying much at all. In the wake of his death, Bolan’s friend and loved ones were left with many questions unanswered. Unfortunately this is neither the book to ask the questions, nor find those answers we wanted.

2 stars 2 stars

ISBN 9780859654111

Reviewed by Ian Fletcher
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