Tyrannosaurus Rex (March 11, 1968) BBC Top Gear Session

This broadcast represents one of the earliest professional captures of the embryonic Tyrannosaurus Rex sound, preserving the intimate, cross-legged club atmosphere that defined their underground reputation in 1968.

Venue: BBC Radio 1 – Top Gear Date: Recorded March 11, 1968 Broadcast March 24 & May 5, 1968 Country: United Kingdom

Format: Six-Track Session with Spoken Chat

Overview

A rare surviving BBC session capturing Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took at their earliest and most mystical. Recorded at BBC Studio 1, 201 Piccadilly, this Top Gear appearance documents the duo’s pre-electric, pre-glam identity — a hypnotic blend of acoustic incantation, bongos, pixiephone, and Bolan’s tremulous early vocal style. John Peel, already an admirer, split the session across two broadcasts, helping introduce Tyrannosaurus Rex to a national audience.

• BBC transcription logs listing six tracks recorded at Studio 1, 201 Piccadilly on March 11, 1968.

• Broadcast notes showing two air dates:   – March 24, 1968 (tracks 1‑13 & 1‑14)   – May 5, 1968 (tracks 1‑15 to 1‑18)

• Peel’s handwritten or typed cues introducing several songs with chat.

• Track titles and timings preserved exactly as logged:   

– 1‑13 “Knight” (with chat) – 2:26   

– 1‑14 “Frowning Atahuallpa” (with chat) – 4:41   – 1‑15 “Strange Orchestras”

– 1:53   – 1‑16 “Afghan Woman” (with chat) – 2:04   

– 1‑17 “Deborah” (with chat) – 3:13   

– 1‑18 “Mustang Ford” (with chat) – 3:17

• Notes indicating Peel’s practice of spreading sessions across multiple programmes.

• Layout typical of BBC session documentation: monospaced type, precise timings, and minimal

commentary.

The Story Behind It

In March 1968, Tyrannosaurus Rex were still an underground phenomenon — a Ladbroke Grove duo performing cross‑legged on club floors, weaving mystical folk‑psych spells. Their Top Gear session was pivotal: John Peel championed them relentlessly, sensing that Bolan’s lyrical world and Took’s percussive textures were unlike anything else on British radio.

Recorded on March 11, the session captured six songs, several with Peel’s conversational introductions and Bolan’s whimsical asides. Two weeks later, Peel aired the first pair of tracks; the remaining four followed in early May, a testament to how strongly he believed in the duo.

The performances reveal the embryonic Tyrannosaurus Rex sound that would soon define My People Were Fair and Prophets, Seers & Sages: • sparse yet intense • mystical yet playful • rooted in folk but reaching toward something stranger

This session stands as one of the earliest professional recordings of the group — a rare document of Bolan’s formative songwriting and Took’s rhythmic imagination.

Source Details

Marc Bolan Featuring John's Children, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Marc Bolan & T. Rex – Marc Bolan At The BBC (Radio Sessions And Broadcasts 1967 -1977)

Label:

Universal Music Catalogue – 534 309-2

Format:

6 x CD, Compilation

Box Set

Related Material

• Tyrannosaurus Rex (March 14, 1968) BBC Night Ride Session

• Tyrannosaurus Rex (April 19, 1968) “Biggest Ever” – Manchester Evening News • Tyrannosaurus Rex (May 11, 1968) Middle Earth – Advert

• Tyrannosaurus Rex (1968) My People Were Fair – Album Sessions

• Additional entries listed in the

tag index

All original broadcast material and documentation remain the property of the British Broadcasting Corporation. This scrapbook entry is a transformative, non‑commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference.