The White Duke's noble gesture

A purple Mini crashes into a tree on Queen's Ride, in Barnes, southwest London. It's 16 September 1977, and this tragic image marks the end of the ride for the White Swan of glam rock. Marc Bolan, the golden boy of T. Rex and author of already-immortal hits like "Get It On", "20th Century Boy", "Cosmic Dancer" and "Children Of The Revolution", dies at just 29. His partner Gloria Jones, who was driving the Mini 1275 GT, survives with serious injuries. Their two-year-old son Rolan had stayed at his grandparents' house that evening - a circumstance that saves his life.

Bolan's death plunges into despair all the "dudes", the followers of that glam revolution that had turned their hippie cousins' eco-pacifist gatherings into an unrestrained, multicoloured festival of cross-dressing and sexual freedom, awash in glitter and sequins, feathers and eyeliner, boots and space-age jumpsuits.

But alongside the tragedy comes a legal issue with sadly concrete consequences. Bolan is still legally married to his first wife, June Child. His will dates back to 1973, predating Rolan's birth. The paperwork needed to protect his new family was never finalised. Under British law at the time, then, Gloria Jones and their son have no immediate claim to his estate.

Within a few weeks, the financial situation spirals. Rolan would recount years later that his mother - former Northern soul queen behind "Tainted Love", the song that, thanks to Soft Cell's synth-pop cover in 1981, crossed generations - went from an affluent lifestyle to serious hardship, moving to Los Angeles and facing real difficulties. Yet nobody seemed to notice...

Among those present at Marc Bolan's funeral, on that sad Tuesday, 20 September 1977, at Golders Green Crematorium in north London, is also David Bowie. The two had stood side by side just nine days earlier, on the TV show "Marc", hosted by Bolan himself. Their relationship - built on friendship, creative rivalry and mutual respect - was one of the defining pillars of the glam era. "I'm devastated," confides the former Ziggy Stardust. "All I can say is that Marc was the best."

Bowie is also Rolan's godfather. And he decides to take that role fully to heart. Without any announcements, he starts financially supporting the family: he pays Rolan's private school fees, contributes to everyday expenses, and keeps in regular phone contact. According to Rolan himself, their conversations always ended with the same line: "Don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything I can do." Whenever Gloria tried to thank him, Bowie played the gesture down, seeing it simply as a duty owed to a friend's family.

This support would continue for seventeen years. Only in 1994, following June Child's death and Rolan's subsequent access to his father's inheritance, would Bowie step back. But the English artist never spoke publicly about this story, always choosing to keep it in absolute confidence.

Meanwhile, Rolan would go on to become a musician and artist in his own right, carrying with him a double legacy: the biological one of Bolan, and the moral one of a godfather who gave him stability in a critical moment.

It was only on the occasion of Bowie's death, in 2016, that Rolan Bolan would reveal this story, also writing a particular tribute to David: “Thank you for always being there, through thick and thin. You were a true friend to my father and to me.” Rolan would comment on the White Duke's support thus: “David's generosity helped us survive… It wasn't just financial help. He kept in regular phone contact with us, he was always there for us.”

Today, the tree in Barnes that Marc Bolan's car crashed into is a place of memory and pilgrimage for fans, covered in flowers and messages. It is the public symbol of a loss that marked an era. But behind that tragedy lies the story of a great act of solidarity, one that went unnoticed in an age when there was no need for social media validation of one's noble deeds.

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28/03/2026