Marc Bolan (October 1, 1981) – You Scare Me To Death Album UK: LP. PD.

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You Scare Me To Death is a posthumous album credited to Marc Bolan and released by Cherry Red Records in October 1981. It was the first LP of previously unreleased Marc Bolan material to appear following his death in 1977. The album is built around demos and outtakes originally recorded during 1966, many of which would later be revisited in different forms during the Tyrannosaurus Rex period.

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RECORDING

The original vocal and acoustic guitar recordings were made during 1966 at De Lane Lea Studios. In 1981 additional backing instrumentals were recorded at Radio Luxembourg Studios and The Townhouse and added to Bolan's original recordings. The project was supervised by Simon Napier-Bell.

STYLE & THEMES

The album captures Marc Bolan during his pre-Tyrannosaurus Rex period, presenting intimate acoustic performances driven by vocals and guitar.

The material showcases early versions of songs and ideas that would later become associated with Bolan's developing songwriting style. The 1981 overdubs combined contemporary instrumentation with the original 1966 recordings.

TRACK-BY-TRACK NOTES

• You Scare Me To Death — Opening track of the album. Originally titled "Horrible Breath".

• You've Got The Power — Early Marc Bolan composition from the 1966 sessions.

• Eastern Spell — Drawn from the original demo recordings.

• Charlie — Features Bolan's early acoustic style.

• I'm Weird — Included from the 1966 recordings.

• Hippy Gumbo — Early version of a song later associated with Bolan's developing catalogue.

• Mustang Ford — One of Bolan's best-known early compositions.

• Observations — Recorded during the original demo sessions.

• Jasmine '49 — Included among the surviving 1966 recordings.

• Cat Black — Early Bolan composition.

• Black And White Incident — Acoustic recording from the session archive.

• The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith — Closes the album.

RELEASE HISTORY

The album was released by Cherry Red Records in 1981. Many of the recordings had previously appeared in original form on The Beginning Of Doves (1974). For this release, newly recorded backing tracks were added to the original recordings. The album reached No. 88 on the UK Albums Chart.

The UK edition was issued as a gatefold LP and included a 24-page booklet entitled The Marc Bolan Story.

CHARTS & CERTIFICATIONS

EUROPE

UK Albums Chart — Peak: No. 88

PERSONNEL

Marc Bolan — vocals, acoustic guitar

Brian Odgers — bass guitar

Graham Jarvis — drums

Bernie Holland — guitar

Graham Todd — piano

Dyan Birch — backing vocals

Frank Collins — backing vocals

Paddy McHugh — backing vocals

PRODUCTION

Produced by Simon Napier-Bell

Label: Cherry Red

NOTES

The album came with a 24-page booklet titled The Marc Bolan Story.

The title track was originally known as "Horrible Breath" and was written as a proposed television jingle for Amplex tablets.

The album consists of 1966 recordings enhanced with newly recorded 1981 backing tracks.

Running Time: 31:41

Recorded: 1966 at De Lane Lea Studios; 1981 at Radio Luxembourg Studios and The Townhouse.

RELEASE VARIANTS TABLE

Artist	Album	Label	Country	Catalogue	Date	Format
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	UK	ERED 20	1981	LP, Gatefold
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	UK	PERED 20	1981	LP, Picture Disc
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	UK	E Red 20	1981	LP, White Label
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	Germany	INT 148.201 / ERED 20	1981	LP
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	Greece	ERED 20	1981	LP
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	Ireland	ERED 20	1981	LP
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red / Planet Records	Sweden	ERED 20	1981	LP
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Victor	Japan	VIP-6809	1981	LP, Promo
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Rio Records	Canada	RIO 1024	1981	LP, Gatefold
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Disc'AZ	France	AZ/2 395	1981	LP
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Cherry Red	Australia	EMC 2752	1981	LP
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	EMI	Australia	TC-EMC-2752	1981	Cassette
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	EMI / Cherry Red	Australia	EMC 2752	1981	LP, Promo
Marc Bolan	You Scare Me To Death	Plexus	US	KMH 709229	1981	LP

TRACKLIST TABLE (ALL FORMATS)

Format	Catalogue	Tracklisting
LP	ERED 20	Side One A1. You Scare Me To Death A2. You've Got The Power A3. Eastern Spell A4. Charlie A5. I'm Weird A6. Hippy Gumbo Side Two B1. Mustang Ford B2. Observations B3. Jasmine '49 B4. Cat Black B5. Black And White Incident B6. The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith
Cassette	TC-EMC-2752	Side One 1. You Scare Me To Death 2. You've Got The Power 3. Eastern Spell 4. Charlie 5. I'm Weird 6. Hippy Gumbo Side Two 1. Mustang Ford 2. Observations 3. Jasmine '49 4. Cat Black 5. Black And White Incident 6. The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith

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Released on 11 September 1981, this Cherry Red 7" single presents Marc Bolan’s posthumous track You Scare Me To Death, drawn from 1966 demos later enhanced with newly recorded backing instrumentals. Issued four years after Bolan’s passing, the single formed part of Cherry Red’s album project of the same name, compiling early outtakes and songwriting experiments from Bolan’s pre‑Tyrannosaurus Rex period. The single reached number 51 on the UK chart and early pressings included an interview flexidisc.

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Both tracks originate from Bolan’s 1966 demo recordings. In 1981, producer Simon Napier‑Bell added new instrumentation and arrangements to Bolan’s original vocals and acoustic guitar.

The B‑side, The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith, also stems from these early sessions.

STYLE & THEMES

The A‑side blends Bolan’s youthful, quirky vocal delivery with a newly constructed 1981 backing track. The B‑side retains the same era’s lyrical eccentricity and acoustic roots, expanded with added production.

TRACK‑BY‑TRACK NOTES

• You Scare Me To Death — A 1966 demo rebuilt with 1981 instrumentation, showcasing Bolan’s early songwriting tone.

• The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith — Another 1966 composition, later enhanced with new production for Cherry Red’s posthumous release.

Initial pressings included an interview flexidisc. The single reached number 51 on the UK chart. Issued as part of the You Scare Me To Death   posthumous album campaign.

PERSONNEL

Marc Bolan — vocals, acoustic guitar Simon Napier‑Bell — production, arrangement

Artist: Marc Bolan

Title: You Scare Me To Death Label: Cherry Red

Country: United Kingdom Catalogue: CHERRY 29

Date: September 11, 1981

Format: 7" Single

Tracklist (7"):  

A — You Scare Me To Death

B — The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith

Notes:   Initial pressing included interview flexidisc. Posthumous release based on 1966 demos with 1981 overdubs.

RECORDS LTD

53, KENSINGTON GARDENS SQUARE, LONDON W2 4BA. Tel: 01229 8854/5..

MARO POLANA NEW SINGLE, ALBUM AND BIOGRAPHY

There was never anyone more sure of himself or directly to the point

than Mare Bolan. In 1966 he got hold of my home number and called me up. "I'm a singer and I'm going to be the biggest British rockstar ever, so I need a good manager to make all the arrangements."

I told him to send a tape to the office, but he said he just happened to be near where I lived. Could he drop it in?

Ten minutes later he rang the bell and walked through the door with a guitar around his neck. He said, "To tell the truth, I don't have a tape, but I could sing for you right now."

He was dressed in Dickensian street-urchin clothes, about five-foot-two with a mop of black curly hair, and unlike most mall people he was delighted with his sise. He played down to it.

To further diminish himself he chose the biggest armchair and sat in it cross-legged. He put a capo on the neck of his guitar and said, "I don't play guitar too well but the songs are fantastic. You're going to love them."

He wasn't boasting or being immodest. To him the songs really were amazing and exciting. The fact that he'd found them inside himself rather than lying around lost in the street was no reason to lessen the praise he gave them. He didn't think of them as specifically his. He just happened to have come across them and he wanted to share them with everyone.

But he never did

Because, one way or another, although I did become his manager and recorded all those early songs just as he'd played them to me, they never got properly finished, and they spent the next fifteen years in a cellar full of mildewing tapes.

Then, ten weeks ago, I suddenly decided to make the album with Maro that I'd always wanted to make, so I searched out the tape of those original songs and went off to the recording studios.

I tried to imagine myself in exactly the creative state of mind that Maro would be in if he were still alive today. He'd be contemporary. He'd be a perfectionist, but he'd still want that rough edge of vitality in everything. He'd know recording techniques from the past and would want to make use of them, but not to the detriment of natural atmosphere and spontaneity

During the time I was making this new album, I listened a lot to his other albums, and by the time I'd finished, there was so much Bolan swirling around in my head that I decided I should finish off the project by coupling the record with a book. So I got together with music-business journalist Chris Welch, and together we are producing a definitive biography. Not one of those quickly knocked-out sulogies of top-ten stars, but a properly researched story of Marc's life, both private and public, and an appraisal of his importance in the history of popular music.

SIMON NAPIER-BELL, August 1981

The single "You Soare Me To Death" is now released on Cherry Red Records (Cherry 29), and the first 20,000 copies come with a limited edition flexi-disc featuring Marc talking about famous people.

The album and book will follow together as a package in October

P.R. by Connie Filippello, Connie Filippello Ltd. 45/53 Sinclair Rd. London W14

Director: Lain McNay

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SOURCES Discogs, 45 World, Wikipedia. BBC Official Charts Prince Vault, Sleeveographia2

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