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Steve Peregrin Took
(born Steve Porter, 28 July 1949) answered Marc’s ad in the International
Times in July 1967. Although Marc’s initial idea of a five-piece group
didn't work, Marc and Steve decided to stay together as an acoustic duo.
The rest is history... It is no doubt that Steve’s contributions, although
often underrated, were an indispensable part of the unique Tyrannosaurus
Rex sound. Even after Took split, Marc admitted: “the one thing he did
really well was sing. He was a very good singer, he really had harmony...”š
After leaving Tyrannosaurus Rex in summer 1969, Steve continued his musical career - he collaborated with Twink on his “Think Pink” album and Mick Farren (“Mona: The Carnivorous Circus”), attempted to form a new band called Shagrat and played solo gigs. In 1974 he was involved in Bob Calvert's cricket project and recorded a single with him (it remained unreleased until 1979).šš Steve sadly died on 27 October, 1980 from choking on a cherry stone.š Drugs and health problems prevented Steve from releasing his solo material during his life, but posthumously issued "The Missing Link To Tyrannosaurus Rex" CD again proved that we lost a major musical talent.šš Steve Took's songs can be
found of the following releases:šš
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Steve Currie (born
20 May, 1947 in Grimsby), the longest serving member of T. Rex, remained
Marc’s bassist for six years, from Electric Warrior to Futuristic Dragon.š
Like Steve Took, Currie answered a newspaper ad for a bass guitarist. Previously he had worked with a semi-jazz band and had his doubts whether Tyrannosaurus Rex was going to be the right group for him. But... "I knew that I was right for the job the first time I met Marc. It was a sort of feeling I had that we would work well together. We had a sort of instinctive response to each other's playing."š After Marc's death Steve Currie said: "He was very good to me. I'll defend him to my death. He was a good bloke; always treated me fairly; never any bullshit".š After T. Rex Steve worked briefly
with Wreckless Eric, contributing the bass line for “Telephoning Home",
and Chris Spedding, working with the latter on “Guitar Graffiti” LP. On
28 April 1981 Steve Currie died in a car crash in Portugal, near his home
at Val Da Parra where he had just moved.š
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The meeting of June
and Marc will always remain in the rock’n’roll history as one of its most
romantic episodes. Says Marc: “We’d known each other only a short while
when I asked her home to tea late one afternoon at my parents’ prefab in
Wimbledon. The sun was bright and hot. We sat with our tea on the lawn.
After we had held hands there was silence for a while. Then I said, “June
— I think I love you.” She replied quietly, “I feel the same way about
you, Marc.”š
Since then June played an essential role in Marc's life and career, she became not only Marc’s wife but his closest ally, organising gigs, co-ordinating media relations, typing lyrics for him, but most important, always supporting him in all of his endeavors. In February 1970 they got married at Kensington Register Office.š Although June and Marc separated in 1974, none of them had the courage to complete the divorce procedure — they never obtained the decree absolute. In 1977 Marc told June: “If you had not left, none of this would have happened.”š "He was my best friend, always, always my best friend" said June.š June’s tragic death on 1 September 1994 made many Marc’s fans feel as if they lost a close friend, no matter whether they knew her personally or not. |
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Marc always
said that he had a very happy childhood and strong family background. When
he became superstar he always tried to keep them out of them public eye
so that the press and fans didn't annoy them. Marc's parents, Simeon and
Phyllis (born Phyllis Winifred Atkins) Feld always supported his interest
in music and encouraged their son to move forward with his career.š
Simeon: "We honestly didn't mind him being expelled, he just didn't have any interest in school so we encouraged him to go ahead with his music. Whatever he did that music thing was the end of it. Marc idolised my Phyllis... and she went out and really worked hard so he could stay at home."š Phyllis said, "We weren't upset when he was expelled because frankly he never went to school very much anyway. And when he did, he went wearing Elvis Presley clothes and winkle-picker shoes which always annoyed them... I 've always said that I was in the same position as mothers whose sons go to college."š Phyllis passed away on 11 January 1991, and Simeon on 19 September the same year. They are buried at the Golders Green under the same rose bush together with their beloved son Mark. |
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Tony Secunda
(born 24 August 1940) was Marc’s manager in 1971, around the period when
Get It On came out. He shared with Marc his knowledge of music business,
setting up for him the T. Rex Wax Co. in 1972. The success of Get It On
in America (in fact, it was the only American hit for T. Rex) is largely
a result of Tony Secunda’s management.š
After Tony and Marc parted company in 1972, he became involved with Steve Took (the other half of Tyrannosaurus Rex). It was only in 1994 that he released Steve’s tapes (The Missing Link to Tyrannosaurus Rex CD). This was to be Tony Secunda’s last legacy — he died of a heart attack on 10 February 1995. |
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Dennis Cordell-Laverack
(b. 1943) is known to T. Rex fans as a co-founder of New Breed/Straight
Ahead Productions and Essex Music Publishing, who were involved with the
Regal Zonophone label. It was Denny Cordell who discovered the American-born
producer Tony Visconti and brought him to London. On seeing Tyrannosaurus
Rex at the UFO club, Tony was so enthusiastic that he convinced Denny Cordell
to sign the band as their “token underground group” — it was Tyrannosaurus
Rex’s first recording contract.š
Denny Cordell produced such bands as The Move and Procol Harum. He died on February 18, 1995 at his home in Ireland.š |
