Bill Legend |
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So there I was - thrown in to a band that were already in the charts. This photo was
taken during an early UK tour when T.Rex were really starting to make a mark (if you pardon
the pun!). I was the oldest in the band and already married with two children when I joined. So this was
an unexpected change in life style for me. Marc and I had common Rock 'n' Roll influences, so I always
knew where he was coming from (as it were). I loved Jimi Hendrix's version of 'Hey Joe' and Marc loved
Hendrix too. He bought me a copy of the 'Cry of Love' album saying it was "some of Jimi's finest
guitar playing".
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Here we are backstage waiting to play at Sheffield City Hall. Don't we all look happy!
Steve Curry (who played bass) is on the left and Mick O'Hallaran (our roadie) is holding Marc's
guitar. To his left is sax player Ian .... from 'King Crimson' who played on 'Get It On.
To my right in the corner is Pete Walmsley, a roadie from my 'Legend' days.
There were no glorified dressing rooms in those days.
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The schedule became busy and hectic, but there were some moments of frivolity.
Someone sent me this photo of us having dinner at Tony (Visconti's) parents house in Brooklyn,
New York. Nice one.
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My first ever T.Rex gig was in Detroit on their inaugural U.S. tour. We recorded most of the album 'Electric Warrior'
in America, and much of our time was spent in various places abroad. During the following three years we did five
U.S. tours (plus promotional trips), three Canadian tours, two Far East tours and Australia. Plus numerous U.K.,
European and Scandinavian tours. I must say that I loved the travelling, although it took it's toll on my personal life. This photo was taken at the studio bar during the filming of a German TV programme. |
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This is a page from my passport. If you look closely you can see my USA visa stamp - dated Feb. 21st 1972,
organised by Warner Bros. Records (written by hand) on this particular page. During this time I still had a faith and belief in God. I was living in amongst the rock 'n roll lifestyle and it did take it's toll on my personal relationships, but I never got much involved in the accesses of a rock band. From that point of view I can look back now and say that I must have been protected from all of that stuff and that my Christian faith (even if it was on the back burner at the time) still helped me through. |
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Believe it or not, these are the actual menu's given out during flights that we made.
I don't have many things related to T.Rex. No T.Shirts, no scarf's, only a few photo's,
but I do have quite a few things that I kept from flights and hotel rooms! These are the things
that provide real memories for me.
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A favourate pastime of mine was to look around places whenever I got a chance. This is another souvenir in my collection. Looking back, although I knew we were well known, I never thought of us as being that famous at the time. Perhaps because we didn't have the trappings that top bands have today, and personally speaking, never having had a specialised drum roadie.
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