BMG to release Marc Bolan tribute album featuring Elton John, Marc Almond, Nick Cave and more
By Classic Pop | April 29, 2020
In celebration of producer Hal Willner, who passed away recently due to COVID-19, BMG will release his final work: an extraordinary tribute album to one of rock’s great composers.
BMG have announced today that they will release a Marc Bolan tribute album on 4 September 2020.
AngelHeaded Hipster will feature reimagined versions of some of Bolan’s greatest hits from major artists including Elton John, Marc Almond, Nick Cave, U2, Joan Jett and Peaches.
Bolan, who found fame with rock band T. Rex, has been cited as a major influence by some of the biggest names in music from David Bowie to Johnny Marr. Tragically, he died in 1977 aged just 29 after a car crash in Barnes, London, but his reputation has only grown.
The tribute album, which features solo work as well as T. Rex hits, was created under the direction of the late Hal Willner: his last work before passing away from COVID-19 in early April. AngelHeaded Hipster is not only a tribute to Marc Bolan, but also to Hal.
“I became immersed in this artist by listening to everything, talking to Bolan experts & fans, researching his reviews and interviews,” Willner explained while working on the album. “And I found that Bolan was hardly ever talked about as a “composer”. It was all about what a great rocker he was, how innovative he was, how David Bowie took his essence and Bolan was in his shadow… But I put him in the same pantheon as other composers that I’ve explored before. So, the concept for the album became to show Bolan as a composer with our typical cast of artists from different worlds that one rarely sees in the same place.”
As a taster, you can find Nick Cave’s cover of Cosmic Dancer here:
- Children Of The Revolution – Kesha
- Cosmic Dancer – Nick Cave
- Jeepster – Joan Jett
- Scenescof – Devendra Banhart
- Life’s A Gas – Lucinda Williams
- Solid Gold, Easy Action – Peaches
- Dawn Storm – Børns
- Hippy Gumbo – Beth Orton
- I Love To Boogie – King Khan
- Beltane Walk – Gaby Moreno
- Bang A Gong (Get It On) – U2 feat. Elton John
- Diamond Meadows – John Cameron Mitchell
- Ballrooms Of Mars – Emily Haines
- Main Man – Father John Misty
- Rock On – Perry Farrell
- The Street and Babe Shadow – Elysian Fields
- The Leopards – Gavin Friday
- Metal Guru – Nena
- Teenage Dream – Marc Almond
- Organ Blues – Helga Davis
- Planet Queen – Todd Rundgren
- Great Horse – Jessie Harris
- Mambo Sun – Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl
- Pilgrim’s Tale – Victoria Williams with Julian Lennon
- Bang A Gong (Get It On) Reprise – David Johansen
- She Was Born To Be My Unicorn / Ride A White Swan – Maria McKee
Preorder the album here.
