>> T. REX :: ZINC ALLOY AND THE HIDDEN RIDERS OF TOMORROW

Is the title slightly reminiscent of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars? Marc was slipping behind, Bowie was getting ahead -- this was his year of growing from strength to strength. This was a very tired album. Cocaine and Cognac were fueling the T.Rex engine this time this time, which were eschewed on all the previous albums. There is a Polaroid picture of me in the inner sleeve looking absolutely wasted. June Bolan was out as Marc's wife, replaced by Gloria Jones -- a fabulous talent in her own right -- but her inclusion in the group lineup always posed the question, "What's wrong with this picture?" The heart of T.Rex, the rhythm section, Bill, Steve and Mickey, were almost scorned by Marc and regulated to the back of the bus.

They had never enjoyed royalties, being paid a basic wage even after all those years of success. Marc invited session musicians to play on this album, and the T.Rex sound changed irretrievably.

Some of the songs were still great! "Whatever Happened To The Teenage Dream" is an incredibly strange anthem. But the writing was on the wall. I pleaded with Marc to take a year off, to discover new musical ideas, to nourish himself, but he insisted we had to make one more pop record for the fans.

I reminded him that we had the demos of a rock opera he had demo'ed at my house, The Children of Rarn, and we could make that the next album instead. My suggestions weren't getting through. My time with Marc was over.

This album never made the top ten, for the first time since the Tyrannosaurus Rex days -- only we were on our way up then.