T. Rex (October 27, 1971) – Brighton Dome Concert Review - Evening Argus (October 28, 1971)
This sharply critical Evening Argus review by Ray Miller covers T. Rex’s concert at Brighton Dome on October 27, 1971. Despite a capacity audience, Miller describes an evening dominated by delays, frustration and disappointment, criticising both the shortened performance and the heavier electric direction of Marc Bolan’s music while acknowledging renditions of major hits including “Ride A White Swan” and “Hot Love.”
Publication: Evening Argus
Date: October 28, 1971
Concert Date: October 27, 1971
Venue: Brighton Dome
Country: United Kingdom
THE STORY
Published under the headline “Somehow the magic had gone”, Ray Miller opens with an uncompromising verdict on T. Rex’s Brighton appearance.
A capacity audience had gathered at Brighton Dome expecting T. Rex’s autumn tour to deliver the excitement generated by the group’s growing popularity.
Miller, however, believed the performance had abandoned much of the quality encountered during the earlier Tyrannosaurus Rex period. The evening is described in terms of delay, frustration and disappointment.
The problems began before T. Rex even reached the stage.
Doors were due to open at 7 p.m., but according to the review they opened 35 minutes late.
The concert itself had been scheduled to begin at 7.30 p.m., but by 8 p.m. a compere announced that records would be played for half an hour.
Miller sarcastically compares this to turning the Dome into an enormous static discotheque.
There was then another interval for refreshments and poster buying before T. Rex finally appeared at approximately 8.50 p.m.
THE PERFORMANCE
Miller was equally dissatisfied with the duration of the concert itself.
After the lengthy wait, T. Rex are described as playing for just over an hour, with the show finishing before 10 p.m.
The reviewer complains that the concert contained only one encore.
Marc Bolan’s choice of material is described as predictable, with the set drawing heavily upon familiar chart successes.
Songs explicitly identified in the review include:
Ride A White Swan
Hot Love
Debora
Summertime Blues
Miller acknowledges “Debora” and “Summertime Blues” as gestures towards listeners who remembered Bolan from the earlier Tyrannosaurus Rex period with Mickey Finn.
THE ELECTRIC T. REX SOUND
The strongest criticism is reserved for the group’s electric sound.
Miller specifically mentions Steve Currie on bass and complains about what the reviewer regards as excessively muffled amplification.
The writer contrasts the heavier electric performance with the “magical delicacy” associated with Bolan’s earlier work.
Instead of finding the new direction exciting, Miller characterises the sound as pounding and compares aspects of it unfavourably with straightforward early rock ’n’ roll.
For Miller, commercial success had changed what had once made Bolan distinctive.
FROM TYRANNOSAURUS REX TO T. REX
The review is particularly interesting because it captures resistance to Marc Bolan’s transformation from underground acoustic performer into mainstream electric pop star.
Miller remembers the earlier Bolan very differently and suggests that the performer once associated with the more delicate Tyrannosaurus Rex sound had effectively disappeared.
The closing argument is that commercial success may have trapped Bolan into becoming a more conventional teenage pin-up.
Rather than celebrating the rapidly developing phenomenon surrounding T. Rex in late 1971, the article presents that success as potentially responsible for diminishing some of the qualities Miller had previously valued.
The reviewer ends with a deliberately self-aware observation, admitting that perhaps the problem was partly personal resistance to change.
CONTEXT AND NOTES
The review appeared the day after T. Rex’s October 27, 1971 Brighton Dome concert.
The clipping is especially valuable because it provides a strikingly different perspective from the enormous commercial enthusiasm surrounding T. Rex during this period.
Rather than retrospectively treating every Electric Warrior-era appearance as triumphant, Miller documents substantial irritation with the organisation of the evening and expresses genuine disappointment with the musical direction of the band.
For the archive, that criticism is important to retain. It demonstrates that T. Rex’s transition from their earlier underground identity to a hugely successful electric rock group was not universally welcomed by contemporary critics.
The review also confirms several practical details of the night, including the capacity audience, delayed opening, the approximate 8.50 p.m. appearance of T. Rex and the concert concluding before 10 p.m.
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
Event: T. Rex live at Brighton Dome
Concert Date: October 27, 1971
Publication Date: October 28, 1971
Reviewer: Ray Miller
Era: Electric Warrior era
Tone: Highly critical and disappointed
Audience: Capacity
Scheduled Start: 7.30 p.m.
T. Rex Stage Time: Approximately 8.50 p.m.
Performance Length: Just over one hour
WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS
• T. Rex performing before a capacity audience at Brighton Dome
• The doors opening 35 minutes later than planned
• A scheduled 7.30 p.m. concert start being substantially delayed
• Records being played while the audience waited
• T. Rex eventually appearing at approximately 8.50 p.m.
• The show lasting just over an hour and ending before 10 p.m.
• Only one encore reported
• “Ride A White Swan,” “Hot Love,” “Debora” and “Summertime Blues” identified in the review
• Steve Currie specifically mentioned on bass
• Ray Miller strongly criticising the heavier electric T. Rex sound
• A contemporary critic questioning whether commercial success had diminished some of Marc Bolan’s earlier musical qualities
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