ZANG TUMMM TUMB ARTICLES “the first draft of history”

89 Holly Johnson

Singer with quite successful Frankie Goes To Hollywood; born 1960; in the Sudan!

Electric Warrior by Marc Bolan. ‘Beneath the be-bop moon/I wanna croon with you/Beneath the mambo sun/Ive got to be the one for you. These were the first words of the song Mambo Sun to seduce an awkward 12-year-old. A strange black album cover depicting Marc Bolan in a golden Ready Brek aura. Marc later sang one of these songs, Lifes A Gas, as a duet with Cilla Black on her TV show. He gave her his pink feather boa and Ive hated her ever since (even though she sang well). It wasnt just the dark cellos or the breathy vocals, but something intangibly sexual. Maybe it was the free poster of Marc in that armchair in his Little Venice flat or the inner sleeve artwork, a portrait by George Underwood, the man who punched David Bowie in a playground fight. Or the fact that Marc flew near the North Pole with the master tapes, which distorted some of the recordings, resulting in retakes back in England. All these strange memories. This album made me tease my hair and get my first guitar.”