📰 This Is T. Rex‑tasy? – Article: Mar. 1972

Writer: Ron Berler / Chicago Tribune

Date: March 2 1972

Length: 5–6 min read

A sharply observed Chicago Tribune feature capturing the chaotic, awkward, and often surreal American reception of T. Rex during their early‑’72 U.S. push — from a malfunctioning concert moment to a disastrously staged press conference that revealed Marc Bolan’s discomfort with American promotional culture.

A Midwestern reporter watches the T. Rex hype machine misfire in real time.

Ron Berler recounts a night at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater where Marc Bolan’s microphone dies mid‑song, the audience shouts for Uriah Heep, and the promised “T. Rex‑tasy” never quite materialises. The following day’s press conference proves no smoother, with Bolan visibly adrift amid staged publicity and lukewarm teenage curiosity.

📰 Key Highlights

• Chicago concert moment: Bolan’s mic dies mid‑lyric

• Audience impatience and calls for Uriah Heep

• Warner Bros. stages a lavish press conference to boost U.S. visibility

• Bolan appears disoriented, unsure, and uncomfortable

• Reveals T. Rex outdrew David Cassidy in Philadelphia

• Early American scepticism toward glam‑era Bolan

📰 Overview

By early 1972, T. Rex were superstars in Britain — but in the United States, their fame lagged behind the hype. Warner Bros., eager to replicate the U.K. phenomenon, launched a promotional campaign that included a Chicago press conference and a high‑profile concert at the Auditorium Theater.

Ron Berler’s Chicago Tribune feature captures the gulf between expectation and reality. The concert, though sold out, falters when Bolan’s microphone dies mid‑song, prompting confusion and heckling. The next day’s press event — staged in the ornate Windsor Room of the Continental Plaza Hotel — fares no better. Bolan, cross‑legged on a yellow divan, seems unsure of his role, while the assembled teenagers offer timid questions and muted reactions.

The article stands as one of the clearest American documents of the moment when T. Rex’s British glam‑rock stardom collided with U.S. indifference.

📰 Source Details

Publication / Venue: Chicago Tribune

Date: 2 March 1972

Format: Feature Article / Music Commentary

Provenance Notes:

• Based on a surviving newspaper clipping

• Only the T. Rex article used

• Summary only — no copyrighted text reproduced

📰 The Story

Berler opens with a vivid scene: Marc Bolan sitting cross‑legged on the stage floor, singing “I know I’m small, but I can still enjoy life,” just as his microphone cuts out. The audience, restless and unimpressed, begins shouting for Uriah Heep, the evening’s opening act. The moment encapsulates the uneasy relationship between T. Rex and their American audience — curious, but not yet convinced.

The following day, Warner Bros. attempts to manufacture excitement with a press conference. The setting is lavish: a yellow divan, Hawaiian punch, and a room full of teenage girls recruited to create buzz. But Bolan appears lost, admitting he has “no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.” He asks for liquor, sits cross‑legged again, and smiles uncertainly at the crowd.

The teenagers, unsure how to engage, ask timid questions. One attendee, Maureen Mulvey of Regina Dominican High School, leaves unimpressed. Bolan’s most confident moment comes when he notes that T. Rex recently outdrew David Cassidy in Philadelphia — a statistic that seems to surprise even the Warner Bros. staff.

Berler’s tone is sympathetic but unsparing, capturing the awkwardness of a British star trying to navigate American promotional culture — and the cultural mismatch that made T. Rex’s U.S. breakthrough so elusive.

📰 Visual Archive

• Feature article titled “This Is T. Rex‑tasy?”

• Photograph of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn

• Early‑1970s Chicago Tribune entertainment layout

• Adjacent content unrelated to the band (not included here)

A Chicago Tribune feature documenting T. Rex’s uneasy early‑’72 push into the American market.

📰 Related Material

• T. Rex U.S. Tour (1972)

• Electric Warrior (1971) American reception

• Early glam‑rock coverage in U.S. regional press

📰 Closing Notes

This Chicago Tribune feature captures the tension between British superstardom and American scepticism. Berler’s account — part concert report, part cultural critique — reveals a Marc Bolan caught between confidence and confusion, navigating a promotional landscape that never quite fit his glam‑rock persona. It remains one of the most revealing American documents of T. Rex’s early attempts to conquer the U.S. market.

#TRex #MarcBolan #MickeyFinn #1972Press #ChicagoTribune

📰 Sources

• Chicago Tribune (2 March 1972)

• Contemporary U.S. coverage of T. Rex

• Secondary context on Bolan’s American promotional campaigns

📝 Copyright Notice

All newspaper 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.