AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex, a documentary about the making of the 2020 tribute album of the same name and about the life and legacy of late British glam-rock legend Marc Bolan, will get its first-ever wide theatrical release in the U.S. starting this Friday, August 8.
Videos by American Songwriter
The AngelHeaded Hipster album was the final project of acclaimed late music Hal Willner. Willner assembled an impressive cast of music artists to record new renditions of songs by Bolan and his famous band, T. Rex. Among the well-known musicians who contributed to the 26-track album were U2, Elton John, Joan Jett, Kesha, Lucinda Williams, Perry Farrell, Todd Rundgren, David Johansen, Nick Cave, Julian Lennon, and Sean Lennon.
The AngelHeaded Hipster film features behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions, and interviews with the participating artists. It also boasts archival clips of Bolan and T. Rex and conversations with Elton, David Bowie, Ringo Starr, Billy Idol, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Marc’s widow Gloria Jones, and many others.
A press release about the film describes AngelHeaded Hipster as “a visually rich and musically daring … documentary.” It adds that the movie “reimagines Bolan’s world as a vibrant collision of glam, poetry, and personal evolution.”
Premiere screenings of the documentary will take place in a variety of U.S. theaters on August 8. Additional screenings also are scheduled for the coming weeks.
AngelHeaded Hipster also will be available on demand starting on September 5.
About Special AngelHeaded Hipster Screening Events
A number of special screening events featuring Q&A sessions with the film’s director, Ethan Silverman, and other people associated with the movie will be held at select cinemas.
The Roxy Cinema in New York City will host special screenings on four consecutive days, August 8-11. Each event will feature Silverman in conversation with a different person.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch star John Cameron Mitchell, who contributed to the album and appears in the film, will chat with Silverman on August 8. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker with take part in the Q&A on August 9. Musician and rock journalist Jeff Slate will appear on August 10. Bongos frontman Richard Barone, who also contributed to the album and was featured in the film, will talk with Silverman on August 11.
Bolan’s widow, Gloria Jones, and their son, Rolan, will participate in two Q&A and screening events in California. The first will be held August 8 at Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills. The second is scheduled for August 12 at Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica.
Meanwhile, Silverman will take part in additional screening events on September 13 at Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California, and September 14 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco.
More About Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was born Mark Feld in 1947 in London. He changed his last name when he launched his music career as solo artist in the mid-1960s. Bolan briefly joined the garage rock group John’s Children in 1967, before forming the psychedelic folk-rock duo Tyrannosaurus Rex. The band eventually expanded its lineup and began embracing a harder rock sound.
Bolan shortened the band’s name to T. Rex in 1970, the same year the group begam an impressive string of hits in the U.K. From 1970 through 1972, T. Rex released eight songs that peaked at either No. 1 or No. 2 on the U.K. singles chart. Their only major hit in the U.S., though, was “Bang a Gong (Get It On),” which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.
Along with Bowie, T. Rex was considered the most influential rock act of the glam-rock era.
Sadly, Bolan died in a car crash in London in September 1977. He was just 29. Marc was a passenger in the car, which was driven by Jones.
(Courtesy of Neal Preston)
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.