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T. Rex were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during tonight’s ceremony, which aired on HBO. Ringo Starr inducted the band, honoring the late Marc Bolan in his speech. “People knew him as a great musician, a songwriter, a guitarist, but he was also a poet, and he was very proud of that,” Starr said. “In fact, his poetry was as important to him as his music. He had great style and was really unlike anyone else I have ever met.” Read the speech in full below, and watch the full ceremony on HBO Max.
Following Ringo Starr’s speech, there was a video featuring remarks from Billy Idol and Joan Jett, as well as archival footage of Tony Visconti, Elton John, David Bowie, and John Lydon. “There’s an amazing sexuality to Marc,” Joan Jett said. “I had a major crush on him.”
Billy Idol added: “Marc had this TV show he was doing. What was great is he was having different punk groups on, and he was breaking down certain walls not really caring and having this ‘eff you’ attitude. All of that sort of spoke to us. He championed us [Generation X] and he stood up for us, and I’ve always thanked Marc ever since.”
Marc Bolan’s son Rolan Bolan accepted the Rock Hall’s induction on his father and the band’s behalf. “I really think my dad was put on this Earth not only to play music, but to show off his unique magnetism and charisma,” Bolan said. Find his full speech below, too.
Read all of Pitchfork’s coverage of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020 ceremony.