Bring the Glam to East Kilbride
East Kilbride Art Centre
Glam Cafe exhibition: Sept 16th – 30th 2006... you can still see it until Oct 29th
Glam event: Sept 23rd 2006
The Dvd of the Tattoo of Marc Bolan with Rachel Devine, Chris
Hladowski, Stevie Jackson & Aby Vulliamy.
MY TEENAGE DREAMS
By Nicola Atkinson Davidson
16 Sept 2006
As I walked towards the interview at the East Kilbride Arts Centre, I listened to “Teenage Dream” by Marc Bolan on my i pod. It played from station to Arts Centre door, and gave me such a feeling of joy that East Kilbride and song became linked. When asked at the end of the interview what would I do for the residency, I said it would just have to feature the song “Teenage Dream” I felt it was a slightly mad idea as I left, and later I thought that I might have blown it. I got a call the following day however, to say I would start in a few weeks. I weakly dismissed the idea of the T.Rex as too crazy but the day before starting, as I walked down Victoria Road in Queens Park, Glasgow, I noticed several T.Rex & Marc Bolan LPs on display in the window of the Oxfam shop. The idea was given new vigour by a conversation with Eddy, the Marc Bolan super fan and volunteer in Oxfam, who talked fondly of the 2000 Scottish fans that have to go down to England to celebrate their hero. It made me wonder, “Could I create an event and a new venue in EK, introducing a new community to this new town?”
A few weeks into my residency I was exploring the town, and suddenly
caught sight of a plaque, which commemorated the declaration of
EK as a New Town by King George VI in 1947. It was then that I realised
that Marc and EK were almost twins, being born in the year of post
war utility Britain, and that ‘Bring the Glam to East Kilbride’
made real sense as an idea.
I decided that I needed an item that the fans would come to see
in EK. In late June I took my autumnal trip to Los Angeles to see
friends and found out that Marc Bolan’s son, Rolan Bolan,
was living in L A. It became a quest to try and meet him, hoping
to link me to him, to EK with perhaps a picture that I could display.
I e-mailed him from his web site and upon landing contacted friends
in LA Weekly, who forwarded my request to music journalists. The
searching continued, with me bringing the idea up at every opportunity.
As I walked with my friend Britt on Venice Boardwalk one day, he
called his friend Larry, who was at that very moment in a recording
studio that Rolan was in two months ago. Larry would get back to
me, but on second thoughts his girlfriend (who was just flying in
from Chicago) had a story... and picture... and it all looked good…
but she left town before we could meet. I decided to join My Space,
since Rolan has a site there, maybe this would be a way. So I wrote
to him again and waited. In the meantime I went to the Hollywood
Bowl to see Belle & Sebastian play, it was a beautiful night
and afterwards we gathered in the area put aside for guests of the
band. I was introduced to a man ‘who knows everyone‘
by my friend Cindy, and who thought he might be able to get Rolan’s
number. Intensely he searched his cell phone/small computer but
no luck. He gave me his card to call him the next day, which I did
but only got through to his assistant. I left without meeting Rolan.
Back in Glasgow I spoke to Stevie Jackson from Belle & Sebastian.
During our conversation Stevie mentioned, “You’ll never
guess who was at the Hollywood Bowl, Rolan Bolan! Stuart met him,
if only I had seen him, it would have been great for you both to
meet.” I am so pissed off, so close yet so far. But there
is strength in the ending, since I have meet Stuart Murdoch I am
only one person away from Rolan and therefore only two from Marc,
so touch me.
Nicola has produce only 10 vinyl LP. It was recorded in her front
room and the East Kilbride Underpass by Rachel
Devine (The Porch Song Anthology), Chris
Hladowski (Nalle, Scatter & The One Ensemble),
Stevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian & Bill Wells Trio)
& Aby Vulliamy (Nalle & Scatter,
The One Ensemble). The insert features the writing of Duncan McLaren’s
teenage angst and memories of a ball-game. The Glam Cafe exhibition
is created with Nicola & Eddy Steele the Super Marc Bolan fan...encompassing
an investigation of his music, album covers, fans and memories and
borrowed objects.
Made possible by : South Lanarkshire Council in partnership with Community Regeneration Partnership Changing Places, South Lanarkshire Greenspace and the National Trust for Scotland the David Livingstone Centre.
