Overview
Marc is a British pop‑music television programme presented by Marc Bolan, the lead singer of the glam‑rock band T. Rex. Produced by Granada Television in Manchester for the ITV network, the series aired weekly from 24 August to 28 September 1977. It comprised one season of six episodes, each with a running time of approximately 25 minutes.
Production
The show was produced by Muriel Young and directed by Nicholas Ferguson. It employed a multi‑camera setup typical of music programmes of the era. Marc was conceived as a low‑budget pop‑music platform that allowed Bolan to showcase both his own performances and contemporary acts, particularly emerging punk bands such as Generation X, The Jam, Radio Stars, and Eddie and the Hot Rods. Guest appearances also included established artists like Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
Format and Content
Each episode featured a mixture of live or lip‑synced performances by Bolan (often accompanied by T. Rex), guest musical acts, and dance interludes performed by the troupe “Heart Throb.” The programme’s opening theme was Bolan’s song “Sing Me a Song,” which he also composed. While primarily focused on pop and emerging punk music, the series occasionally incorporated novelty segments and collaborations, such as a brief duet rehearsal with David Bowie that was interrupted when Bolan tripped over a microphone cable.
Cancellation
A second series had been planned; however, production ceased after Marc Bolan died in a car crash on 16 September 1977. The final episode aired posthumously on 20 September 1977, shortly after his funeral.
Home Media and Legacy
Selective performances from the six episodes were released on DVD in the United Kingdom in 2005, with an expanded Region 2 edition issued by ITV Studios in 2017 that added additional T. Rex performances from related Granada programmes. A complete set of all six shows was released exclusively in Japan in 2007.
Marc remains a notable artifact of late‑1970s British music television, reflecting both the waning glam‑rock era and the rise of punk influences within mainstream broadcast media.