Why T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” Ruined a Friendship Between the Band’s Frontman and a Long-Time Radio DJ

The relationship between musicians and the broadcasting companies that distribute music to the masses can often be testy. Both parties typically think their professional interests are the most important. And that’s made even worse by the fact that creative endeavors like these are almost always rooted in ego. Such was the case for T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan and his longtime friend and radio DJ, John Peel, following the release of “Bang A Gong (Get It On)”.

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“Bang A Gong (Get It On)” was T. Rex’s follow-up to their 1971 single, “Hot Love”. It was also the track that helped solidify the English band’s place in rock ‘n’ roll radio in the United States. Based on chart performance alone—the track peaked at No. 1 in the United Kingdom and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100—it was clear that most people enjoyed the 1971 single. But Peel was not most people.

The BBC Radio 1 host spun his friend’s record on air one day and decided to interject with his personal opinion about the track. He thought that he could speak freely without offending someone who had become a family friend. He was wrong.

T. Rex’s Marc Bolan Hardly Spoke to John Peel After That

In John Peel’s part-autobiography, finished by his wife, Sheila Ravenscroft, after his death, she described the events that unfolded after her husband shared his admittedly blunt opinions about T. Rex’s second No. 1 single during his show. “John had admitted on air that he was less than enamored of the latest T. Rex single,” Ravenscroft wrote. “‘Well, that was called ‘Get It On’,’ he said, ‘but I couldn’t wait to get it off.’ He had, I think, imagined that his friendship with Marc was built on something more substantial than flattery. That it would survive John’s dislike of the occasional record that Marc made.”

Peel’s on-air comment seemed to reflect a growing disdain or disillusionment toward his friend as T. Rex’s star rose. In a diary entry dated September 19, 1971, Peel wrote of Electric Warrior, “It’s beautifully done. But the worst side of Marc’s personality seemed to have been unleashed. We’ve not heard from them since ‘Hot Love’ got to No. 1. Very sad.” His widow continued, “In hindsight, Marc’s sudden success was the beginning of the end for him and John.”

On the one hand, it’s easy to see why a musician would take offense to a comment like that, regardless of whether he considered the radio host to be a close friend. On the other hand, if they had reached the stage of being family friends, one would think that the two men could have talked out the issue together. Instead, the silence between them grew louder and louder—save for one awkward run-in encounter in July 1976—until Bolan’s sudden death in a car crash in 1977.

It just goes to show: even the most upbeat rock songs sometimes hide tension and drama behind the scenes.

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