Since Marc Bolan's death in 1977 many of his belongings have come under the hammer. As a long standing fan I consider myself very lucky to have been able to purchase one of them. I saw an article in a Marc Bolan fanzine advertising the sale of 'Marc's rocking horse' and detailing some of its history. Fortunately the horse was being held in an antique shop in Sidmouth, Devon, England - where my father lives. I got him to view it straight away and was lucky and quick enough to put in a successful bid. I requested written documentation of it's history from the then owner Duart Perrin, and this I duly received. A local newspaper, The Sidmouth Herald, also ran several articles detailing the sale of 'a rocking horse once owned by glam rocker Marc Bolan'. With Duart's account sent to me by letter and with help from Danielz (of T.Rextasy) I was also able to obtain information from Tony Howard (Marc's manager between 1972-77), thus completing the main history of the horse.
Duart's mother (who was selling the horse on his behalf) gave me her son's account of the story - that Tony had bought the horse on Marc's instruction, with the intention that Marc would reimburse him, but he never did! Tony, in conversation with Danielz, confirmed that "he had purchased the horse, not Marc....from either Liberty's or Hamley's Toy Store in London" (Tony couldn't remember which). It was kept at Marc's management offices (run by Tony) at 69 New Bond Street, London.

I didn't manage to discover whether the purchase was logged in the management company's accounts as an office furnishing or not. It therefore might be open to debate who actually owned the horse. As a business owner myself (and with experience of the music industry) I know that amounts of money get swapped around all over the place and it can be difficult to determine who owns what. The horse could certainly be perceived to be Marc's, seeing as he was the producer of all money going into the management pot (Tony didn't manage anyone else, so only earnt money through Marc). It could have been Tony's, if indeed he bought it with his own money. It is most likely to have belonged to the management company, as it would probably have been purchased using company money. With Tony's death on 26th November 2001, it's now almost impossible to uncover any other exact details. However, what is very evident is Marc's liking of the horse. He was photographed astride it many times. I myself have four photo's of Marc sitting on the horse that were printed in magazines or newspaper articles during 1974 (I guess before Marc left the UK to spend a period of time in America). I saw the horse for myself when I visited the New Bond Street office in 1977. I was making a recording with Herbie Flowers (Marc's bass player at that time). Only several weeks after my visit Marc was killed in a car crash. The horse was kept in the office until Tony decided to vacate in 1982. He sold the horse to Duart (who worked as Pink Floyd's copyright's & royalties manager in the same building). Duart later moved to Australia where he married and set up an equestrian centre. The horse was kept in an attic at his sister's house in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England. Duart told me in his letter that he had intended to keep the horse. However his sister, having stored it for 13 years, wanted the space back in her house (the horse is quite big!). Not having any children, and with the expense of shipping the horse to Australia being prohibitive, Duart became duty bound to sell it. It was transported to the antique shop in Sidmouth where his mother worked. It helped the shop win a window display competition during the Christmas of 2000 and I purchased it in April 2001.
I was so pleased to have acquired it but also saddened to find the horse with a certain amount of damage (mainly chipped paintwork) and interestingly there were also some red marker pen marks on the neck, as if made by a child. I met Gloria Jones at the first screening of the 'Born To Boogie' DVD in 2005 and asked her about the horse. She remembered it well, but didn't think that Rolan (Marc's son) had ever played or sat on it. She did say that Marc had wanted to bring it to their house, but that Tony had wanted it kept at the office. The horse itself is made of moulded fibreglass and is mainly hollow inside. When I got it home I had to get rid of a huge infestation of 100's of spiders living it!! I sought the advice of a specialist carousel horse restorer who immediately spotted the design as being in the style of a famous carousel horse maker. She did a first class job repairing the horse (where needed) without touching the original paintwork as much as possible. The result is stunning. It is a beautiful artefact. A great piece of furniture, let alone a piece of Marc's history now kept in its former glory.
I have been a huge fan of Marc's since I first saw him perform 'Hot Love' on 'Top of the Pops' in 1970. I followed his every move through until his death. He had a huge impact on me personally and in my own song writing. I attended his funeral and although I never actually met him, I certainly felt like I knew him and I miss him to this day. So in case you are wondering - I am keeping the horse!
If you want to get in touch you can write to me at rockinghorse@presentation-partners.co.uk

Marc on the horse printed in a magazine around 1973   My Dad & I put the horse in a van, carefully!!   Old pen marks - probably not made by Rolan! Chipped paint at the rear

Me buying the horse from Duart's mother   Having a run-around in my garden! Chipped paint on the neck/mane My son has a ride on the restored horse in all it's glory