Biography
From 1970 until 1973, T. Rex encountered a popularity in the UK comparable to that of the Beatles, with a run of eleven singles in the UK top ten. One of the most prominent acts in British popular culture, they scored four UK number one hits, “Hot Love”, “Get It On”, “Telegram Sam” and “Metal Guru”. The band’s 1971 album Electric Warrior received critical acclaim as a pioneering glam rock album. It reached number 1 in the UK. The 1972 follow-up, The Slider, entered the top 20 in the US. Following the release of “20th Century Boy” in 1973, which reached number three in the UK, T. Rex began to experience less commercial success but continued recording one album per year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Rex_(band)
Album & Cover
Electric Warrior is the sixth studio album by English glam rock act T. Rex. It is the group’s second album released under the name “T. Rex”, with the first four billed as “Tyrannosaurus Rex”. It was released on 24 September 1971 by record label Fly in the UK and Reprise in the US. The album marks a turning point in the band’s sound, dispensing with the folk-oriented music of the group’s previous albums and pioneering a new, “glammier” style of rock known as glam rock. The album also drew attention to the band in the United States with the top 10 hit “Bang A Gong (Get It On)”. This would prove to be the band’s only successful single in America, deeming the band a “one-hit wonder” there. Electric Warrior was released on 24 September 1971 by record label Fly in the UK and Reprise in the US. Electric Warrior reached number Thirty-Two in the US Billboard 200 chart and went to number One on the UK Albums Chart, staying there for several weeks and becoming the best-selling album in the UK in 1971. Two singles were released from the album: “Get It On” and “Jeepster”. “Get It On” was T. Rex’s biggest selling single, and became the band’s only top-ten US hit. In the United States, “Get It On”‘s title was originally changed to “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” to distinguish it from Chase’s song “Get It On”, which was also released in late 1971. The printing of the song title “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” on the back cover of original Reprise Records North American pressings of Electric Warrior is in a different typeface from the surrounding text, with the song’s original title retained on the lyric sheet.
The cover is based on a photo taken by Kieron “Spud” Murphy at a T. Rex concert at the Albert Hall, Nottingham on 14 May 1971. Aubrey Powell explains there was a lot of air brushing and spraying on the photograph which was then coloured gold at the printers.
Cover Location: Albert Hall, Nottingham, UK
Who Did What: Photography – K. ‘spud’ Murphy. Cover Design – Hipgnosis.
Label: Reprise RS6466(US), Fly HIFLY6(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell
Tracklist
| Side One Mambo Sun Cosmic Dancer Jeepster Monolith Lean Woman Blues |
Side Two Get It On Planet Queen Girl The Motivator Life’s A Gas Rip Off |
Credits
Backing Vocals – Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman
Bass – Steve Currie
Drums – Will Legend
Engineer – Malcolm Cecil, Martin Rushent, Rik Pekkonen, Roy T. Baker
Flugelhorn – Burt Collins
Mastered By – George Peckham
Percussion, Vocals – Micky Finn
Producer – Tony Visconti
Saxophone – Ian McDonald
Sleeve [Inside] – George Underwood
Vocals, Guitar, Composed By, Written-By – Marc Bolan
Notes
First edition released with a picture portraits liner and lyrics printed on rear sleeve.
Initial copies distributed with a free foldout poster advertised by a sticker on front.
