My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair, But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows - Tyrannosaurus Rex, Regal Zonophone Label 1968

THEY say you should never judge a book by the cover, and the same rule should probably apply to music. We all know that we should focus on what's inside the record sleeve, especially if we do not know or have never heard of the artiste. A stunning cover design can generate enough interest to take out the 12" vinyl, play it and listen to it. If a record company signed up a new act, there was little point in putting on a photograph of the singer or band if no one had ever heard of them or knew what they looked like. This example of marketing strategy, made the album cover so attractive that potential buyers would pull the vinyl out and want to listen to it. Many record shops had a succession of listening booths where you put on headphones and listened to the album giving it your undivided attention before deciding whether to buy it or not. This album eventually made the top 20 UK album charts.

Marc Bolan issued three more albums all based on the then current trend of fantasy mythology by authors like JRR Tolkien. This music genre was best described as psychedelic folk.

Marc Bolan reinvented himself as a glam rock star, shortened the band name to T Rex and had ten successive hit singles, as well as top selling albums right up to his untimely death in 1977; by then glam rock was beginning to wane as punk rock became the following trend. Lots of his fans tried to buy copies of his earlier material only to find that his record company had deleted the albums. Many fans advertised in established music magazines wishing to buy copies of these records, sometimes offering huge amounts of money. To the best of my knowledge this was probably the beginning of record collecting. Following the success of T Rex albums, Electric Warrior and The Slider, Regal Zonophone were quick to spot the opportunity and re-released Bolan's earlier music on double backed albums. My People Were Fair coupled with Prophets, Seers, Sages made the top of the album charts, making it the longest titled record to reach the No1 spot.

Tyrannosaurus Rex album values: My People Were Fair £100; Prophets, Seers, Sages, The Angel of the Ages £100; Unicorn £120; A Beard of Stars £60

Marc Bolan and T.Rex recordings will be discussed at a later date.