T. Rex (October 22, 1991) – “The Very Best Of Marc Bolan And T-Rex” Reader Offer Advert - The Northern Echo
This full-page Northern Echo reader offer promotes The Very Best Of Marc Bolan And T-Rex, a compilation presented as a collection of the group's biggest hits. Available on both CD and cassette, the advert highlights several major T. Rex recordings while using a large archive photograph featuring Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn as its central image.
Publication:
The Northern Echo (North ed.)
Date: October 22, 1991
Country: United Kingdom
THE STORY
Published beneath the newspaper's “ECHO READER OFFER” banner, this full-page advertisement gives readers the opportunity to purchase The Very Best Of Marc Bolan And T-Rex at a special price.
The album is offered for £6.99 on compact disc and £5.49 on cassette. The promotion describes the release as a comprehensive collection of T. Rex's biggest hits and presents it as celebrating the music that “epitomised the glamour of the early seventies.”
Several recordings are specifically identified in the promotional copy. The advert names “20th Century Boy”, which it notes had recently been used in a Levi Jeans advertisement, together with “Telegram Sam”, “Children Of The Revolution” and “Metal Guru.”
The advert states that both the CD and cassette include an interesting and informative booklet and contain more than an hour of music.
A large black-and-white archive photograph occupies much of the page, presenting a two-person T. Rex image above the ordering information. The photograph serves as the principal visual element and reinforces the retrospective nature of the collection.
The lower section provides a detachable ordering form headed “North Of England T-Rex Offer.” Readers could select either the CD or cassette and order by post, while a telephone hotline was also provided for Visa and Access card purchases.
CONTEXT AND NOTES
The clipping demonstrates the continuing market for T. Rex recordings in 1991, with the newspaper offering the compilation directly to its readership in both of the principal consumer formats of the period.
Importantly, the advert identifies specific recordings rather than simply describing the release as a greatest-hits package. “20th Century Boy”, “Telegram Sam”, “Children Of The Revolution” and “Metal Guru” are all explicitly named in the clipping.
The reference to “20th Century Boy” being associated with a Levi Jeans advertisement is also part of the original promotional text, showing how the compilation was being connected with renewed contemporary exposure for T. Rex's music.
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
Event: Reader offer for The Very Best Of Marc Bolan And T-Rex
Era: 1991 T. Rex catalogue period
Tone: Promotional and retrospective
Photography: Large black-and-white archive photograph featuring two T. Rex figures
WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS
• The Very Best Of Marc Bolan And T-Rex reader offer
• CD price: £6.99
• Cassette price: £5.49
• “20th Century Boy” specifically mentioned alongside its Levi Jeans advertisement association
• “Telegram Sam”, “Children Of The Revolution” and “Metal Guru” listed among the hits
• Both formats described as containing more than one hour of music and an informative booklet
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