Marc Bolan & T.Rex - Born To Boogie (2005) [Special Edition] [2xDVD]

Original Motion Picture & Concert Performances
Hours of Rare and Never-Seen-Before Material

May 16th 2005

London, England - Sanctuary Visual Entertainment announce the most significant T.Rex event in over twenty-five years. Set for simultaneous May 16th 2005 release are BORN TO BOOGIE double-DVD and double-CD collections. Eagerly awaited by Marc Bolan, T.Rex and Beatles fans, the DVD includes Ringo Starr’s legendary 1972 film ‘Born to Boogie’, the only two full concerts ever recorded with T.Rex and a wealth of extra material.

In the early ‘70s Ringo’s ‘Born to Boogie’ was shown at cinemas throughout the UK, and had a limited VHS release in the early ‘90s. Since then the film’s fate has been the source of much speculation. Featuring Ringo Starr, Marc Bolan and Elton John with a cameo from Geoffrey Bayldon (Catweazle), only a few well-used 35mm cinema prints of the completed film were thought to survive. Having lain scattered and undiscovered for over 30 years, ‘BORN TO BOOGIE’ finally brings together all the extra material from the filming of Ringo’s epic 1972 rock ‘n’ roll motion picture. At 5 hours and 25 minutes, ‘BORN TO BOOGIE’ DVD, shows T.Rex at the height of their success, bringing Ringo’s visionary film back to its true colour and vibrancy, and revealing hours of material never used in the final cut.

A stunning sound and vision experience ‘Born to Boogie’ has been painstakingly restored and remixed from the original 16-track recordings and original colour film negative. Cleaned, repaired and transferred to high definition video the picture is presented in the best possible condition. The original audio recordings have been remastered by Tony Visconti at his NY studio and encoded in Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 Surround Sound, and the new DTS 96/24 format. The DVD also includes further rare, never before seen footage throughout the 2 discs and DVD menus.

Almost 2 years in the making, the DVD and CD are a unique opportunity to rediscover the true T.Rex sound. Legendary music producer and close friend of Marc’s, Tony Visconti says of the live T.Rex experience, “[He made] this great music in the spirit of every great rock and roller like Chuck Berry or Little Richard or Elvis, (Bolan) was one of them. He was one of the icons. In the new millennium there are T.Rex sounds everywhere. Every so often you get a new group coming out and ‘oh it's a T.Rex sound’, it's not glam rock, it's T.Rex… glam rock was something else.”

DVD extras stretch to over 90 mins and are presented by Marc’s only son, Rolan Bolan. They feature newly recorded interviews with the sole surviving member from the ’72 T.Rex line-up – drummer, Bill Legend. Also interviewed are Tim Van Rellim (Producer of Born to Boogie and now a Hollywood Exec, responsible for films including ‘A Knights Tale’), Tony Visconti, Geoffrey Bayldon (famous for playing Catweazle), Radio institution Bob Harris, photographer Keith Morris, Wembley Compere Emperor Rosko, Mick Gray (Roadie) and fans of T.Rex. Also included is unique cine-8 footage recorded by Marc of T.Rex on the road, plus equally unique footage of Marc and Ringo backstage between performances at the Wembley gigs.

Tony Visconti, “When I first knew [Marc] we were walking around with holes in our jeans… and I stuck with him through all those times and having those concerts filmed by Ringo Starr was the apex of my career and I know his. This is everything we worked for came true… it was such an exciting time for all of us; it was the beginning of a new era… No one quite had the impact since then…. Marc was definitely one of those people who changed things forever… things were never the same after that.”

Excerpts from the evening concert at Wembley formed the base of Ringo’s film; the DVD restores this concert to its original length and order, including 3 extra tracks, ‘Cadilac, Girl’ and ‘Summertime Blues’. The matinee performance has not been seen since T.Rex performed it in front of 10,000 screaming fans in 1972. It is presented here for the first time ever. Original T. Rex producer Tony Visconti recorded both gigs from a truck outside the Wembley venue. “This was the ONLY time I recorded them live”, says Tony. The precious original multi-track recordings lay gathering dust for over thirty years until being rediscovered for this project after months of searching. Visconti was the natural choice to re-mix the audio for this DVD, a job lovingly undertaken at the NY studio he shares with David Bowie.

Slated for simultaneous release, ‘BORN TO BOOGIE’ CD is a 2-disc set, including the restored soundtrack for Ringo’s film, the previously unheard matinee concert from 18th March 1972, as recorded and remixed (over 30 years apart) by Tony Visconti. Also included is a 12 minute ultra-rare interview with Marc from late 1971, not included on the DVD.

* * * * *

T.Rex, Thin Lizzy and David Bowie became renowned worldwide for breaking new musical ground at a time when ‘flower power and check shirts weren’t working for anybody anymore’. Considering Marc’s departure overseas in the mid-70s and untimely death in 1977, the story of the success of T.Rex is all the more remarkable. At the height of their success in 1972, newspapers famously referred to T.Rex as being “Bigger than the Beatles”. By 1972, the band was reportedly able to sell up to 100,000 records per day.

While their work in the studio created an unmistakable sound, the live experience was transforming. In concert, T.Rex displayed a raw power that would have stunned anyone who had only previously heard the gentle sounds of Marc’s previous band – Tyrannosaurus Rex. Taking the opportunity to bring something new to fans, in concert Marc loved to turn electric songs into acoustic numbers and transform studio recordings in to raw rock ‘n’ roll experiences.

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