📰T. Rex Fever! - Article: Mar. 1972

Writer: Jörg Flemming (BRAVO)

Photography: W. Heilemann

Date: March 1–7, 1972

A three‑page BRAVO special documenting the eruption of “T. Rex fever” in Germany — from airport chaos to concert hysteria — as Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn arrive for two test shows that ignite scenes reminiscent of Beatlemania.

A nation overwhelmed: T. Rex arrive in Germany and trigger the loudest fan reaction since the Beatles.

BRAVO’s report captures the frenzy surrounding T. Rex’s arrival in Hamburg and Münster — thousands of fans screaming, crying, stamping, and blocking streets as Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn step onto German soil for the first time.

📰 Key Highlights

• Three‑page BRAVO feature, March 1–7, 1972

• Coverage of T. Rex’s test concerts in Hamburg and Münster

• Scenes compared directly to the height of Beatlemania

• Airport arrival chaos with fans storming the tarmac

• Autograph session shuts down Mönckebergstraße

• Concert hysteria: 2,000 fans screaming, stamping, crying

• Backstage interviews with Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn

• Confirmation of a full German tour to follow

• Four worldwide hits at the time: “Ride a White Swan,” “Hot Love,” “Get It On,” “Jeepster”

📰 Overview

By early 1972, T. Rex had become one of the most explosive rock phenomena in Europe. BRAVO’s three‑page feature documents the moment Germany caught fire. The magazine positions the band as the first act since the Beatles to provoke such intense fan hysteria — a level of excitement that had been absent from German pop culture for years.

The report follows Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn through two “test concerts” in Hamburg and Münster, designed to gauge whether Germany was ready for a full tour. The answer was immediate and overwhelming: streets blocked, police unable to control crowds, and concert halls transformed into boiling cauldrons of noise.

BRAVO frames the moment as the beginning of a new era — the arrival of T. Rex fever.

📰 Source Details

Publication / Venue: BRAVO Magazine

Date: March 1–7, 1972

Format: Three‑page feature (report + photography + adverts)

Provenance Notes: Sourced from original print scans; includes full article text, crowd photography, and promotional material.

📰 The Story

Hamburg: The Return of Beatlemania

BRAVO describes Hamburg’s Mönckebergstraße brought to a standstill as T. Rex sign autographs outside a record shop. Traffic halts for minutes. Police struggle to contain the crowd. Over the noise rises a chant not heard in years: “Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

Airport Chaos

Despite the band’s arrival time being kept secret, the airport is packed. Fans storm the tarmac. Two teenage girls, Petra and Babs, push forward with a banner reading “We love T. Rex.” Petra clutches a handwritten poem for Marc. When he appears, she bursts into tears as he hugs her and signs her hand.

Marc laughs: “The German girls are sexy!”

Backstage at the Musikhalle

After the Hamburg concert, Marc tears off his sweat‑soaked shirt, revealing a gold chain engraved with “Love.” Mickey Finn listens to the roar of the crowd still chanting “T. Rex! T. Rex!” long after the show ends.

“Unbelievable,” Marc says. “That was the greatest.”

Concert Hysteria

Inside the hall, 2,000 fans whistle, scream, clap, and stamp their feet. BRAVO describes scenes of boys dancing wildly and girls trembling with emotion. After the third encore, hundreds of hands reach for Marc as he bows.

Four Worldwide Hits

BRAVO emphasises that T. Rex now have four global hits — “Ride a White Swan,” “Hot Love,” “Get It On,” and “Jeepster” — and have risen to stardom with dizzying speed.

A Promise Kept

Two years earlier, Marc and Mickey told BRAVO: “When we have four hits, we’ll tour Germany.”

BRAVO promised: “We’ll bring you over.”

Now, both promises are fulfilled.

What Comes Next

Marc confirms: “We’re off to America next — and then it’s your turn.”

BRAVO ends with a plea to readers: “Receive T. Rex as they deserve! They’ve earned it!”

📰 Visual Archive

Three‑page BRAVO spread featuring crowd scenes, airport arrival photos, backstage images, and live shots of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn.

📰 Caption

T. Rex ignite Germany with scenes of hysteria unseen since the Beatles — BRAVO Magazine, March 1–7, 1972.

📰 Related Material

• T. Rex – German Tour 1972

• BRAVO – Marc Bolan Features (1971–73)

• T. Rex – “Get It On” (1971)

📰 Closing Notes

This BRAVO feature captures the exact moment T. Rex became a cultural force in Germany — a feverish eruption of sound, emotion, and fandom that marked the beginning of their continental superstardom.

#TRex #MarcBolan #MickeyFinn #BRAVO1972 #GlamRock #TRexFever #GetItOn #HotLove #Jeepster #ReleaseChronicle

📰 Sources

• BRAVO Magazine, March 1–7, 1972 – three‑page feature

• Contemporary German tour documentation

• Minimal provenance references from collector archives

📝 Copyright Notice

All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non‑commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.

"Caution, T. Rex fever!

After this show, one thing is certain:

Marc & Mickey

Rock fans are coming to Germany

Forget what's been happening in recent years! Now there's T. Rex. And with them comes the fever back, the packed venues, the burning hands, the tears of joy. BRAVO experienced it firsthand: At two T. Rex test concerts in Hamburg and Münster, we saw scenes like in the best Beatles days. Read this report to find out more.

Hamburg:

Crowds block Mönckebergstraße as T. Rex sign autographs in front of a record store. Traffic is at a standstill for minutes; even the police are powerless. And over the heads of the crowd echoes an almost forgotten cry: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

T. Rex fever in Hamburg:

2000 whistling, clapping, stamping down

"Huge," gasps Marc Bolan, "that was the greatest!" The T. Rex frontman tears his wet shirt off, and a gold chain with an oval tag flashes on his bare chest. "Love" is written on it. Nothing else.

After the T. Rex concert in Germany, I'm sitting in their dressing room. A scrap of green tissue paper hangs above the mirror light, spreading green light. T. Rex like it green. The room is quiet. A few snatches of conversation now and then. SO

"Do you hear it?" asks Mickey Finn. We listen. Then I hear it too.

T. Rex! T. Rex! T. Rex! It sounds muffled, like a drum roll approaching. 2,000 rock fans are turning Hamburg's Musikhalle into a cauldron of noise. They're whistling, screaming, clapping, and stomping. Honestly,

I haven't experienced anything like this in years.

Not these screams, the crying, and the laughter. "I'm proud that the fans in Germany like us," says Mickey, taking a sip from his glass of Coke/whiskey. He has every right to be: T. Rex are the new gods of rock music

Two years ago, at the beginning of their career, Marc and Mickey told me in London: "When we have four hits, we'll go on tour. And then we'll come to you." And I promised them: "BRAVO will book you! It'll be a big, wild tour like the BRAVO Beatles tour was back then."

Now T. Rex are there. They have four worldwide hits: "Ride a White Swan," "Hot Love," "Get It On," and "Jeepster." They've shot to rock stardom at breakneck speed, with managers, luxury cars, and loads of money. England is already gripped by T. Rex fever. Now it's spreading to us too. "We're not doing anything to make it happen," says Marc with an innocent smile, "it's our fans who are driving us to the top."

Marc is right. I experienced it myself when I waited for T. Rex at Hamburg Airport that morning. They were coming to Germany for two test concerts, to gauge the atmosphere in Münster and Hamburg for their first German tour. Their arrival time was top secret, but the airport terminal was teeming with fans. Two girls, Petra (15) and Babs (16), were pushing in front of me. For hours

A favor for Mickey: His girlfriend Irene bandaged his fingers after the two-hour marathon show. Mickey Finn had drummed them raw on his bongos.

Reception on the tarmac: These girls crowded around the rock stars' plane upon arrival in Hamburg. Marc Bolan was thrilled: "The German girls are sexy!"

They waved a banner. "We love T. Rex." Petra confessed to me that she had a lump in her throat. With her left hand, she clutched a love letter in verse for Marc; she had read in BRAVO magazine that he also wrote poetry.

Rodents and roadies, eleven people in total. Petra dropped her banner, ran towards Marc, and sobbed, hugged him. Marc laughed, kissed her, and signed her hand. Petra had tears of joy in her eyes - Marc Bolan knows exactly how to handle girls.

At 4:20 p.m., the plane carrying the T. Rex landed. I drove across the tarmac in the special bus, directly to the aircraft, and took the two girls with me. Marc was the first to appear on the gangway. Mickey, in his thick fur coat, pushed him down the stairs. Behind them came Marc's wife, June.

Evening, 11:10 PM. T. Rex's first German concert is over. After the third encore, Marc and Mickey take a bow. In the background, bassist Steve Currie and drummer Will Legend bow. I'm standing backstage when all hell breaks loose in the audience. Hundreds of hands reach out to T. Rex, grabbing for Marc Bolan. I see boys dancing to the rock rhythm and girls trembling, fighting back tears.

"Yeahhhhh!" a scream echoes through the hall. We flee to the dressing room

"We've sold twelve million records in fourteen months with four hits, believe me. Sometimes, I think this is all just a dream," Marc says to me in the green twilight of the dressing room. I can understand him. Anyone else would have gone crazy by now. But Marc remains grounded. The guy who sticks glittering bits of glitter under his right eye and bewitches fans on stage with a top hat on his head has remained a friend who keeps his word. "Now we're off to America, and then it's your turn," he says.

Meanwhile, the phones are ringing off the hook between Munich and London. Soon, BRAVO will bring the hottest rock group since the Beatles to Germany. My plea already: Receive T. Rex as they deserve! They've earned it!

Jörg Flemming

Photos: W. Heilemann