What happened here?
At around 5am on 16 September 1977, a purple Mini 1275GT driven by Gloria Jones left the road on a bend on Queen's Ride in Barnes, south-west London. The car struck a fence post and then a sycamore tree. Marc Bolan, the 29-year-old frontman of T. Rex, was in the passenger seat. He was not wearing a seatbelt and died instantly. Jones, who was wearing hers, survived but was critically injured and spent months in hospital.
Bolan had been one of the defining figures of the early 1970s. As the leader of T. Rex, he helped invent glam rock — the feather boas, the glitter, the corkscrew hair, the electric boogie of "Get It On" and "Ride a White Swan" and "Metal Guru." He sold millions of records and inspired a generation of musicians, from the punks who were just emerging in 1977 to the Britpop bands who would follow decades later. At the time of his death, he was in the middle of a creative resurgence, hosting his own television show, Marc, on ITV.
From the day of the crash, the sycamore tree on Queen's Ride became a place of pilgrimage. Fans began leaving flowers, messages, scarves, and photographs at the base of the trunk. In 1997, a memorial stone was unveiled at the site. In 2002, a bronze bust of Bolan — sculpted by Canadian artist Jean Robillard and funded by T-Rex Action Group founder Fee Warner — was unveiled by Bolan's son, Rolan Bolan.
The T-Rex Action Group was granted an in-perpetuity lease on the site and takes responsibility for the upkeep of the tree and the surrounding shrine. Every year on 16 September, fans gather at the spot to mark the anniversary of Bolan's death. The tree is decorated year-round with tributes — ribbons, photos, handwritten notes, teddy bears — and the memorial remains one of the most visited rock shrines in London. It is a short walk from Barnes Bridge station.