Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine — Barnes, London

On 16 September 1977, Marc Bolan — the singer and guitarist of T. Rex, one of the defining figures of glam rock — was killed when the Mini he was travelling in struck a fence post and a tree on Queen's Ride in Barnes, south London. He was a passenger; his girlfriend, American soul singer Gloria Jones, was driving. Bolan died at the scene at the age of 29, two weeks before he would have turned 30. The Mini had left the road on a hump-backed bridge near Gipsy Lane. The accident site quickly became a makeshift memorial as fans began leaving tributes at the tree that had been struck.

Marc Bolan had been one of the most commercially successful and visually striking figures of the early 1970s glam rock movement. T. Rex's run of hit singles from 1970 to 1973 — 'Ride a White Swan', 'Hot Love', 'Get It On (Bang a Gong)', 'Telegram Sam', 'Metal Guru', 'Children of the Revolution' — defined the glam era's blend of boogie rock, sexual provocation, and acoustic poetry. His influence on subsequent generations of musicians was enormous: the Smiths, the Cure, David Bowie (who produced Bolan's Electric Warrior), and countless others cited him as formative.

The memorial at the accident site has been maintained and developed over the decades. A small garden with a bronze bust of Bolan, plaques, and tributes from fans surrounds the tree. The T. Rex Action Group maintains the shrine and organises annual memorial events. The location is freely accessible on Queen's Ride in Barnes, close to the Richmond Park boundary. Barnes is accessible from central London by rail or bus and is a pleasant residential area whose connection to Bolan gives it an unexpected place in rock heritage.