August 13, 2025
FILM: ANGELHEADED HIPSTER
DIRECTED BY: ETHAN SILVERMAN
STARRING: ELTON JOHN, RINGO STARR, NICK CAVE
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
As part of his band T. Rex, Marc Bolan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. He’s one of those artists that probably most people under the age of 60 would have little knowledge of. I was mostly, okay only, familiar with the band’s big 1971 hit, Bang a Gong (Get it On.) The documentary AngelHeaded Hipster takes a deep dive into Bolan’s world as an artist and provides a much-needed encapsulation of the effect he had on the music industry.
His story is mostly told through the many interviews conducted in recent years by those who knew him the most. These include rock legends such as Elton John, Ringo Starr, Billy Idol, the Edge, and Joan Jett. In addition, director Ethan Silverman interviews Gloria Jones who gave birth to his son Rolan Bolan (Yes! That’s his name.) Jones had the original hit Tainted Love in 1964 well before Soft Cell turned it into an 80s New Wave classic. Their relationship might have been brief but she has seemed to keep the legacy of Marc Bolan, who died in a car accident in 1977, alive.
So, other than that big hit, what was Bolan known for? The film illustrates how he was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was one of the first male artists to wear makeup and flashy costumes before Elton John and David Bowie became mega stars around the world doing the same. In fact, the documentary suggests there was a bit of a rivalry between Bolan and Bowie. Interviews conducted with Bowie before his death in 2016 though indicate that the two shared some similar sensibilities and Bowie remembered him quite fondly.
The film features plenty of concert and crowd footage of Bolan as he appeared on stages. While he never was as big here in the U.S. as he was in the U.K. clearly a lot of contemporary artists were influenced by him. Shown throughout the film are various artists such as U2, Nick Cave, Joan Jett, and Beth Orton rehearsing and singing Bolan’s songs for what became a tribute album in 2020. The songs sound great and suggest that Bolan was a prolific and diverse songwriter, something that the filmmakers were clearly attempting to pull off with this project. Why it took so long for it to get a release is a bit of a mystery.
The film does provide a fairly solid chronology of Bolan’s career although details surrounding a crowd that booed him, according to Billy Idol, are left unclear. While he was only opening for another band, we never learn why there was such a dismissive response to Bolan when he came to America. We also don’t get much discussion about that big hit, Bang a Gong (Get it On) or how its success effected Bolan and the rest of T. Rex. In addition, there is some mention of Bolan’s movement toward the sounds of disco and punk by the mid-1970s but the visual support for that is missing from the film.
Still, like the documentary about Jeff Buckley, It’s Never Gone, Jeff Buckley, which I also recently reviewed, this film provides a lot of interesting details about Bolan and why so many people in the industry seemed to have respected and adored him. For fans of the artist or anyone interested in the history of rock and roll, AngelHeaded Hipster is a film worth seeing as it explores the original artist’s contribution to the music scene in the 1960s and 70s.
AngelHeaded Hipster is currently playing in limited theatrical release before it hits digital platforms on September 5th.
FILM: ANGELHEADED HIPSTER
DIRECTED BY: ETHAN SILVERMAN
STARRING: ELTON JOHN, RINGO STARR, NICK CAVE
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
As part of his band T. Rex, Marc Bolan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. He’s one of those artists that probably most people under the age of 60 would have little knowledge of. I was mostly, okay only, familiar with the band’s big 1971 hit, Bang a Gong (Get it On.) The documentary AngelHeaded Hipster takes a deep dive into Bolan’s world as an artist and provides a much-needed encapsulation of the effect he had on the music industry.
His story is mostly told through the many interviews conducted in recent years by those who knew him the most. These include rock legends such as Elton John, Ringo Starr, Billy Idol, the Edge, and Joan Jett. In addition, director Ethan Silverman interviews Gloria Jones who gave birth to his son Rolan Bolan (Yes! That’s his name.) Jones had the original hit Tainted Love in 1964 well before Soft Cell turned it into an 80s New Wave classic. Their relationship might have been brief but she has seemed to keep the legacy of Marc Bolan, who died in a car accident in 1977, alive.
So, other than that big hit, what was Bolan known for? The film illustrates how he was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was one of the first male artists to wear makeup and flashy costumes before Elton John and David Bowie became mega stars around the world doing the same. In fact, the documentary suggests there was a bit of a rivalry between Bolan and Bowie. Interviews conducted with Bowie before his death in 2016 though indicate that the two shared some similar sensibilities and Bowie remembered him quite fondly.
The film features plenty of concert and crowd footage of Bolan as he appeared on stages. While he never was as big here in the U.S. as he was in the U.K. clearly a lot of contemporary artists were influenced by him. Shown throughout the film are various artists such as U2, Nick Cave, Joan Jett, and Beth Orton rehearsing and singing Bolan’s songs for what became a tribute album in 2020. The songs sound great and suggest that Bolan was a prolific and diverse songwriter, something that the filmmakers were clearly attempting to pull off with this project. Why it took so long for it to get a release is a bit of a mystery.
The film does provide a fairly solid chronology of Bolan’s career although details surrounding a crowd that booed him, according to Billy Idol, are left unclear. While he was only opening for another band, we never learn why there was such a dismissive response to Bolan when he came to America. We also don’t get much discussion about that big hit, Bang a Gong (Get it On) or how its success effected Bolan and the rest of T. Rex. In addition, there is some mention of Bolan’s movement toward the sounds of disco and punk by the mid-1970s but the visual support for that is missing from the film.
Still, like the documentary about Jeff Buckley, It’s Never Gone, Jeff Buckley, which I also recently reviewed, this film provides a lot of interesting details about Bolan and why so many people in the industry seemed to have respected and adored him. For fans of the artist or anyone interested in the history of rock and roll, AngelHeaded Hipster is a film worth seeing as it explores the original artist’s contribution to the music scene in the 1960s and 70s.
AngelHeaded Hipster is currently playing in limited theatrical release before it hits digital platforms on September 5th.